DIY Network

Digital Darkroom: Resizing and Emailing Photos From "The Whole Picture" episode DTWP-107

Erin Manning instructs her student in resizing images for emailing.

The Whole Picture host Erin Manning offers advice location, lighting and composition to take high-quality family portraits. In this segment, she shows how to email digital shots and share them with family members and friends via the internet.

Materials used in this episode:

Digital camera with the self-timer function
Camera owner's manual
Tripod
Clip lights
Reflector boards
Computer with image-editing and email software

advertisement

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

Re-Sizing and Emailing Images

Once you've selected the images you like, you may need to resize them (i.e., save them in a format and resolution that results in a smaller file-size) before emailing them. In this context, "size" refers more to file size more than the height and width of the picture, although that may be related to file size. Most digital cameras allow the option of shooting images at large image-size and resolution to give greatest detail. This may be ideal for printing purposes or advanced multimedia applications, but may result in file sizes so large that you may have difficulty emailing them. Resizing the image allows you to reduce the file size of the images while still leaving a picture that is fine for ordinary viewing on a computer screen.

Various image-editing programs offer different options for re-sizing, but most are functionally similar. Below are the steps we followed when we resized our image using our software.

1. Once you've taken a group of portrait shots you're happy with, upload them to your computer.

2. Open the folder containing your images and go through them (figures A and B) to choose the pictures you want to send to friends.

3. To re-size the image, first open the image use SAVE AS to create and re-name a new copy of it while simultaneously archiving the old one. (You may later want to go back to the original high-resolution image for printing or other purposes.)

4. Under the IMAGE menu, select RE-SIZE and IMAGE SIZE. A dialog box will allow you to manipulate the manipulate the image size and document size. Before changing these, be sure to select the options to CONSTRAIN PROPORTIONS and RESAMPLE IMAGE. These options will retain the proper aspect ratio on your image and prevent it from becoming distorted when you resize it (figure C).

5. Now you can change the PIXEL DIMENSIONS to resize the image. A width dimension of 640 pixels is a good standard-size when emailing photos. Since you've already selected "constrain proportions," the height dimension will now change automatically when you change the width. The height number will change to the proper dimension that will allow the picture to maintain its proper proportions.

6. When you're happy with the re-sizing, SAVE your changes. Your program will now likely prompt you to save the image in jpeg format (the format most commonly readable by most computers), and will offer you options for saving at various levels of image quality. In our program, we opted for maximum quality and baseline-standard for file format. Click "OK" and your image is now suitable for emailing.

7. Once you've composed an email message to the person or persons you want to send the image to, from within your email document, choose ATTACH (usually denoted by a paperclip icon or plus sign). From there, a dialog box will allow you to navigate to the images you want to send.

8. Select and attach the individual images you want to send, then hit SEND. Your friends and family should now have the images you sent in their email inbox.

RESOURCES :

PC Photo magazine
Website: www.pcphotomag.com
Online version of the magazine devoted to digital photography and related technologies.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Digital Photography
Model: 002864235X
Author: Steven Greenberg
Order this book from Amazon.com.
Prentice Hall
Paramus, NJ 07652

Digital Photography For Dummies
Model: 0764506463
Author: Julie Adair King
Order this book from Amazon.com.
Hungry Minds, Inc.

Complete Digital Photography
Model: 1584500077
Author: Ben Long
Order this book from Amazon.com.
Charles River Media
Website: www.charlesriver.com/