Sizing Files to Submit to Monthly Contests
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I know the files we submit are suppose to be 500kb or less. Every month I struggle with getting the file small enough. This month I saved the file as a .png. I kept playing with the resolution and dimensions in Photoshop until it was small enough. But my picture didn't end up as clear as I would have liked it. How small can the dimensions be. I'm trying to keep them at least 5" x 5". Do they have to be this big? How about the DPI? I start out at 300. Is 150 Ok? Any suggestions? Thanks!
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@deborah-Haagenson Hi Deborah!
300 dpi is a good resolution for printing, and it's great that you have you originals this big. For internet viewing though, the standard in 72 dpi! So don't worry about getting much much smaller here. It's still all good
Also, JPG is typically the smallest format I think. -
@deborah-Haagenson when you are complete with your file, I usually select all and copy merge. I then paste into a new file, image size it to 72dpi and make sure my longest side it being the width or height is around 1200px sometime even smaller like 900px. Export to jpg and you will be fine for posting everywhere.
FYI to anyone reading my comment, this also helps me when I create the slideshows. I usually have to reformat about half the submissions cause the file size is larger then it needs to be or the format is wrong. You only need high resolution images if you are printing.
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Thank you both for this information! I've got it now. This size and dpi will actually make for pretty good size, 16 x 12.5 inches if I calculated that right. My file would be much smaller in inches, which is probably why my images are a little fuzzy.
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@deborah-Haagenson by changing the dpi your image size will remain the same in actual size but the pixel count will drop. It is also a good practice if you have your own website/portfolio. The smaller the file size the quicker the load for the end user.
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@deborah-Haagenson Also you can save your jpeg to compression 8-9. That'll shrink your file size.
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@sigross Thank You!
