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Author: Scott_Burkett, Contributing Editor
| Format Conversions:
This one throws many novice computer users for a loop. As an artist, you'll find yourself constantly trying to get the "most" out of your digital photos. You'll join the collective quest we all share in trying to find the perfect balance between the size of your files, and the quality of the images. Generally speaking, the quality of the image (resolution/size and detail) will directly affect the size of the image file itself. Tip: Always set your camera or scanner to use the *best* resolution available. You can always use image editing tools to scale an image down and adjust its quality, but adding something to it later is a very difficult thing to do - if not impossible in some cases. Popular Image Formats: There are many different image formats that are out there, some better than others. Most cameras and scanners these days can capture directly into either TIFF, GIF, or JPG/JPEG. Some devices may capture images into a proprietary format (some old Kodak digital cameras did this), but usually they ship the camera with a tool that will allow you to convert them into one of the more popular formats. GIF Images: A great all-purpose file format. What you see is what you get. JPG/JPEG Images: An image format that uses "compression" techniques to make your image files smaller in size (so they will load faster on the web). However, be careful - this reduction in file size comes at a cost in terms of the quality of your image. Consider these two images. The first a .JPG at 75%% quality, and the second is a .JPG at 10%% quality: |
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| The images above are small compared to what you might post in a forum, but you can definitely see the "smudging" or compression taking place if you look carefully in the image on the right. With larger images, you'd be able to see this more clearly. The file on the left is 32K, while the image on the right is a paltry 6K in size.
Tip: for simple posting in web discussion forums, we recommend a JPG quality level of between 75-85%%. This seems deliver a good balance between quality and file size. Formats you should avoid on the web: Don't use .BMP, .TIF, .PCX, .PIC, or .TGA on the web. Many web browsers don't even support these kinds of images yet. Also, stay away from the new .PNG file format. This is a newer image format that may catch on, but its too early to tell. How to convert an image from one format to another: This is really easy, folks. :-) Most image editing programs perform this task the same way. In Photoshop, look under the "File" menu, and choose "Save As...". A dialog box will pop up. In this dialog box, you'll see an item called "Format". Just choose the format you want. In Polyview, open your image, and under the "File" menu, choose the "Export Image" option. Again, a dialog box will pop up. Change the setting for "Save as Type..." to whatever image format you desire. |
| Dealing with Images that are "too dark":
Invariably, you'll come across an image that, aside from being a bit too dark, is perfectly lined up and usable. You may be able to use this photo anyway - by adjusting the "brightness" and "constrast" of the image. In Polyview, open your image, and then choose the "Operations" menu option. There, select "Appearance", then "Brightness Adjust". A dialog box will pop up which will allow you to adjust the "brightness" of your image, and even show you the changes as you make them in a "safe-mode". In Photoshop, open your image, then select the "Image" menu option, then the "Adjust" option. You'll see a huge list of things you can adjust about your image. One of them is called "Brightness/Contrast". Select it and a dialog box will pop up, allowing you to adjust the brightness and contrast. Polyview users, there is also a "Contrast Adjust" option located next to the "Brightness Adjust" option. Consider the images below. The first is the original image, the second shows the image after some slight adjustments in brightness and contrast. Note that these images are likely a bit smaller than what you might post in discussion forum, but they work fine for the purposes of demonstration here. :-) |
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