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How-To: Put Pix in Your Auction

The previous chapter covered all the different ways to get images into your computer, so this chapter assumes that you have the image already in your computer. If you have a digital camera, a Snappy, or a new scanner, you'll need to read the directions and try a few sample images so you have something to work with for this chapter.

Once you have a picture in your computer, you may need to adjust the image format or size to display it on the Web. Different equipment comes with different software, so we can't tell you exactly which buttons to push in your software. We'll give you some the general information that you need to know to make sure your images are ready for the Web.

Image formats for the Web:

There are two industry-standard image formats that can be viewed in browsers like Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer, gif and jpeg (or jpg). Jpeg is an industry standard that is designed to render photographs accurately, but allow for compression of the image without losing quality. If your software has an option to save images to jpeg, (usually with a jpg extension), this is your best choice. Gif photographs will not show colors as well, and they are really designed for graphics other than photos.

If you have a digital camera, it is likely that it saves files to jpg format automatically, since the majority do. If using a scanner or video capture, you may have to select "jpg" as an option.

Troubleshooting tip: Just naming a file with ".jpg" on the end doesn't make it a "jpg" file. You need to make sure that you have selected this as the file format in any software you may be using. Look for a "save file as type:" selection box or something similar on the save screen in your software, and make sure that jpg is selected.

Sizing your Image for the Web:

One of the commonest mistakes beginners make is to try to use images on the Web that are too large. Images that are too large take so long to download that people quickly get tired of waiting, and go elsewhere. Gigantic pictures are not even that attractive in many cases. You can show just as much detail in a reasonably sized image.

There are two things you must know about your image before you decide if you need to change anything, the file size (how much storage the image file takes up on your hard drive) and the display size (height by width).

Image File Size: This refers to how many bytes of storage the file takes up. You can view this information in some imaging software, or you may need to look at your folder of images in File Manager (Windows 3.1) or My Computer or Windows Exploer (Windows 95). Depending on your settings you may see file size in k (1000 bytes or characters) or the full file size. In other words, a file taking up 30,000 character of room may show as 30k or 30,000 (30k is actually a little more than 30,000, but this isn't a computer science course, so don't worry about it).

The file size, that is, how much room the file takes up in storage and how long it would take to download over the Web, because of its file size is influenced by two factors, image display size and image compression:

Image Display Size: The height and width of an image is measured in pixels, or dots on the screen. A standard screen on a PC is 640 dots by 480 dots or pixels. The best size for a web merchandise picture is somewhere around 320 x 240, which is about 4" by 3" on an average screen. This will give you good detail, and the user will not need to scroll their window. It will also be relatively small in file storage size.

Image Compression: Gif and jpg images are both stored in compressed format. The software removes some extra information that makes the file size smaller without losing image quality unless you go overboard and compress too much. The jpg format is designed specifically to make photographic file sizes smaller without losing quality, which is one of the reasons it is highly recommended as the file format for Web photographs.

Note that compression does not refer to reducing the size of the image that the viewer sees, but rather how efficiently it is stored in its file. An efficiently compressed image downloads quickly, but looks as good to the viewer as one a lot larger in file size. Most programs that save in jpeg format have an option that allows you to specifiy the compression. If your program uses numbers for the jpg compression setting, (Like PhotoImpact) try 80 or so.

If your software doesn't use a number for jpg compression, but rather a quality setting, you'll need a little more trial and error. Try the medium or even low quality settings, and see if there is any loss to image quality, then check the file size.

Here are some specific image sizing tips for different devices:

Sizing images from a Scanner: Many scanners have a default scan of 300 dots per inch, or even more. Since computers display images at about 75 dots per inch, this will magnify your image to four times its actual size once it is displayed on the screen. Either scan your item at about 75 dpi, or scan it at a higher resolution, and then reduce it. Another way to make any image smaller is to crop it, or eliminate space around the edges. This can be done in nearly any imaging software. Don't forget, a 300 dot (pixel) wide image will take up about half of the viewable web page width, and is plenty wide in most cases. If you set your scanner to 300 dpi, one inch of the object you are scanning will take up about 4 inches on the screen. This will seldom be what you want.

Sizing images from Snappy: The default image size from a Snappy is usually set to 640 x 480 display size. This will be way to big, and the viewer will have to scroll the image in the browser window. Set it to save and 320 by 240, and save as a jpg, and you should be fine.

Sizing Digital Camera Images:

 

Troubleshooting tip: We have found that if an image is about 320 x 240, and saved at about a quality setting of 80-85, it will nearly always be well under 30k and a very good quality image.

A really great utility that allows you to compress both gif and jpegs while viewing the compressed images side by side with the uncompressed image is Smart Saver from Ulead Systems. This is great to use if the file is already in gif or jpg format, and you just need to compress it. You can download a free trial by following the links on their home page.. They also make terrific imaging software, Photoimpact, which comes with the Microtek Scanmaker E3, or can be purchased separately.

If you plan the size your scan or video capture, crop as necessary, and then compress the jpeg appropriately, you can easily produce images that are 10k to 30k in size.

Image Quality Adjustments:

If your picture is not quite perfect, the same software that you use to view and adjust size and compression of your pictures will also allow you to make some easy adjustments to the picture quality so it looks better to your viewers. These are totally optional, but sometimes you can really help a picture out with a few minor tweaks. The following are the four most common photo adjustments, and what you can use them for. Remember these are optional, but once you have the basic image capture and sizing down, you might as well look into these for the best images:

Brightness: If the picture looks too dark, you can increase brightness. If it looks washed out, you can reduce brightness. Look under "format" or "adjust" menus in your software for a brightness control.

Contrast: Somewhat related to brightness, contrast is how much difference there is in the light and dark areas of your picture. If your overall picture seems muddy or very light areas are coming out gray, tray increasing both the brightness and contrast for a better looking image.

Color balance: Sometimes, depending on your lighting, and your input device, pictures might be a little too red (or green or blue). You can find these options under the adjust image or format menus in your software. You can also set these options in your scanner capture program, or in the Snappy capture program before the image is even captured.

Sharpness: If your picture is totally out of focus, or you moved in closer than the minimum focusing distance of your camera, nothing will make your picture tack-sharp. But using the sharpen setting in your software will make a slightly soft picture a lot sharper. Look under special effects or adjust image in your software. When you find sharpen, try it out at a low setting, and see how it improves the picture. You can sharpen more than once to sharpen it a little more.

Once you've adjusted your pictures if necessary, your ready to put them on the Web as the next step in getting them into an auction.

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