DA Photo Contest Forum / Website / Site Issues / Size Issues Persist / Latest Posts

RE: Size Issues Persist

jill028 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:12:20 GMT

I am seeing a lot of size issues in the voting windows again and I thought this might be a good thread to bring attention to.

RE: Size Issues Persist

Tcall — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:27:29 GMT

vijayforfilms

Do you have any images posted?

If you post at 800 to 900 pixels it will provide a full size image than the voting size, but at less risk of loosing quality.

RE: Size Issues Persist

Tcall — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:24:25 GMT

Daniel

thant is an excellant idea!!!!!!!

RE: Size Issues Persist

vijayforfilms — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:25:12 GMT

hi
i m not happy with u r idia coz .......if any bady want to pic and want to anlarg
so how is this passibal.......and the second thing is any bady want to see the pic on net thy want to very clear and very ditaile. so how is thi possibal in 800pix.plz incresse this.

tans
regards
vijay

RE: Size Issues Persist

Daniel — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:48:02 GMT

[quote][b]Tcall (8/12/2008)[/b][hr]Daniel

That is great to hear. I wonder if any tutorials could be more obviously referenced for members. I for one, find this site a little confusing to navigate. It may be my homeschooling my ma gave me.[/quote]

Tom, I dont know if it is possible, but what i'm suggesting is aquick comment that will say "image too large" AND will ALSO leave a link to Richards tutorial.....

Daniel

RE: Size Issues Persist

Tcall — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:33:36 GMT

Daniel

That is great to hear. I wonder if any tutorials could be more obviously referenced for members. I for one, find this site a little confusing to navigate. It may be my homeschooling my ma gave me.

RE: Size Issues Persist

Daniel — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:26:21 GMT

Tom, I think it already exists in the articles section.... yes, Richard has one in the article section.

Daniel

RE: Size Issues Persist

Tcall — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:17:51 GMT

I thought it not possible to be too rich, too thin or too big?

The tutorial idea sounds great. we could use more tutorial threads as well. so who does it and can keep it simple.

RE: Size Issues Persist

Daniel — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:03:43 GMT

[quote][b]Stormhaven (8/12/2008)[/b][hr]Good idea, Daniel. Then I could cease from including the following remarks for OOF full size submissions-("check out Forum discussions on image size problems"). I get tired of typing that in the comments section, but people won't get the message any other way.[/quote]

I know what you mean.... i see a nice looking photo in the voting window.... i click "see full size image"..... and yike... a grainy monster.... i just think a pull-down menu option might get used more often.... and the DA members educated..... maybe that would dramatically help....

just a thought,

Daniel

RE: Size Issues Persist

Stormhaven — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:42:04 GMT

Good idea, Daniel. Then I could cease from including the following remarks for OOF full size submissions-("check out Forum discussions on image size problems"). I get tired of typing that in the comments section, but people won't get the message any other way.

RE: Size Issues Persist

Daniel — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:07:03 GMT

could we add to the pull-down quick-comment menu "image too large" that also displays a link to the article with a tutorial on resizing?

RE: Size Issues Persist

Kamikaze — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:54:43 GMT

[quote][b]jmbphoto (8/12/2008)[/b][hr]I should be 600x800 or so that will work well with everything.[/quote]

not every shot is landscape format, there should be a horizontal and a vertical limit.

RE: Size Issues Persist

jmbphoto — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:55:50 GMT

I should be 600x800 or so that will work well with everything.

RE: Size Issues Persist

Dirt_Diver — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:26:16 GMT

I think the problem people are having is the fact that they are trying to save the image to a certain file size and they don't know how. Instead of using save for web they are using "save" over and over again until the file size gets down to where it needs to be. What if we also added a tutorial section to the site?

At least we could get people to create a tutorial and show others how to save images.

I personally don't upload any images larger than 720px or a file size of 200kb because I don't want someone stealing it and reprinting it. at 1300px (someone mentioned) you can produce a fairly clean 4x6. I'll pass on the large sizes personally but just some thought for the rest of you.

RE: Size Issues Persist

Kamikaze — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:47:40 GMT

Yes, if you don't mind loosing some quality. There are several (expensive) programs capable of doing that, normally used by law enforcement agencies or astronomers.

For the purpose of this site I would advise against it (tough a pixelated image can have its purpose under digital art).

RE: Size Issues Persist

ptuardb11 — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:41:56 GMT

if the picture is too small, is there a way for the photographer to "blow it up" and make it larger?

RE: Size Issues Persist

User3079 — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:41:20 GMT

I would suggest maximum 900 pixels for all the images except panoramas, which can be 1600 pixels long. From my experience that sizes are the best for the screen view, you could see all the details, but they wouldn't be big enough to stimulate downloading and using them illegally. :)

RE: Size Issues Persist

Dirt_Diver — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:36:21 GMT

Look at the rules for this challenge.

[url=http://www.dpchallenge.com/challenge_rules.php?RULES_ID=17]Link[/url]

[b]Your submission must be:[/b]
*
[u] no larger than 200 KB (204,800 bytes).[/u]
*
at least 160 pixels, and no more than 720 pixels on each side.

RE: Size Issues Persist

Dirt_Diver — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:33:26 GMT

[quote][b]hahn23 (8/12/2008)[/b][hr][quote][b]Dirt_Diver (8/12/2008)[/b][hr]426px on the shortest side is way too big what if someone enters a panorama?? other sites are 160px on the short. I suggest 160px on the shortest side.

As for the longest side I suggest 720 and files not allowed over 200kb. This would also do better things for the server.

Joe[/quote]
Joe, what site(s) constrain image submissions to 160 pixels on the shortest side? That is not much bigger than a thumbnail, so seems quite small to me. I'm not doubting your word.... just would like to visit the sites with such a limit.[/quote]

[url=http://www.dpchallenge.com]
www.dpchallenge.com[/url]

RE: Size Issues Persist

hahn23 — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:25:04 GMT

[quote][b]Dirt_Diver (8/12/2008)[/b][hr]426px on the shortest side is way too big what if someone enters a panorama?? other sites are 160px on the short. I suggest 160px on the shortest side.

As for the longest side I suggest 720 and files not allowed over 200kb. This would also do better things for the server.

Joe[/quote]
Joe, what site(s) constrain image submissions to 160 pixels on the shortest side? That is not much bigger than a thumbnail, so seems quite small to me. I'm not doubting your word.... just would like to visit the sites with such a limit.

RE: Size Issues Persist

hahn23 — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:21:06 GMT

[quote][b]DFish (8/12/2008)[/b][hr]....When I do my conversions, I go RAW to TIFF, TIFF to JPG and downsize from there. With the conversion and downsizing, I loose quality and the upload does not represent the true image. ...[/quote]
[color="navy"]If you convert to JPG and then downsize, you could be reducing your image quality, as your workflow suggests you are performing at least two file saves in the JPG format. JPG compression, by definition, discards pixels and interpolates between "like neighbors" of remaining pixels.... that's how the JPG format results in a smaller file size. Each JPG file "save" will reduce image quality by 2-3%. Suggest you perform your resizing operation on the TIFF format file. Only as a last step should you convert to JPG for Internet upload purposes.

Furthermore, images larger than 640 pixels on the longest dimension will be subjected to an additional conversion by the site's image resizer. Eric (Admin) has stated that the JPG quality is set to 100% for voting window purposes. That said, it's yet another JPG conversion.... which could result in additional loss of image quality.

The image deterioration from JPG "saves" is cumulative. JPG format is the only format allowed for uploads here. The key to retaining image quality is to convert to this "lossy" format as the last step only. All other post processing work should be applied to the image in one of the "lossless" format[/color]s.

RE: Size Issues Persist

Dirt_Diver — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:14:46 GMT

426px on the shortest side is way too big what if someone enters a panorama?? other sites are 160px on the short. I suggest 160px on the shortest side.

As for the longest side I suggest 720 and files not allowed over 200kb. This would also do better things for the server.

Joe

RE: Size Issues Persist

Kamikaze — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:13:01 GMT

Having an image no larger than the usable space on the browser has a few advantages, the biggest being a controlled resizing (as I doubt anybody takes pictures sized 640 pixels).

I think I am with the OP on this one, as many large size images tend to prejudice due to the resizing blur on the voting screen, and prejudice is very hard to overcome with quality.

RE: Size Issues Persist

DFish — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:36:55 GMT

While I understand what you are saying I disagree with option 1. What you are proposing is basically catering to the least common denominator at the expense of those that know how to use the added resolution. There are images that can only be properly displayed at higher resolution. Some images, without the benefit of showing the detail captured fail to convey the true story of the image.
.[/quote]

By this comment, I understand that you assume that anyone who uploads at less than 2000 doesn't understand how to use added resolution, and don't submit images whose story is told at higher resolution. This is pompass and selfish. I happen to know that there are people who would rather load max res but are restricted from doing so.

When I do my conversions, I go RAW to TIFF, TIFF to JPG and downsize from there. With the conversion and downsizing, I loose quality and the upload does not represent the true image. I'm a fairly new and non-paid member, so there are more restrictions on me. I don't expect to really compete and win against the expert photogs here, but I would like to have a bit my latitude in my uploads. I know my photos look better on my computer than they do on this site. I totally agree with Richard that uploads around 1k+ for ALL would be the best way to go. Of course, the panaramas would be allowed more size by the very nature of the photo, so the restriction being moved to the short side could well be the answer to the delema.

RE: Size Issues Persist

mgrzelak — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:42:55 GMT

Richard, thank you for taking the time and interest to write the guidelines and detailed instructions on sizing a photograph for submission. While writing this response, I am in the process of printing those instructions. As a new member, I do more looking and voting than submitting simply because I am intimidated by the quality and the professionalism of the photos that I view. I realize that everyone has to begin somewhere and that is why I have chosen this site, a learning tool so to speak to get feedback along with reading the articles that are posted to help new members. I realize that voting on submissions is time consuming, I look forward to seeing actual comments but too often, that is not the case. I see posted numbers without the comments so it is difficult to evaluate one's submission when the numbers range from 5 to a 10 for a single photograph. Is this good, bad or indifferent? And what does unique mean, on a flower submission? Sorry, I strayed from my original comment, just looking for answers. Thanks again, for the guidelines, Monica

RE: Size Issues Persist

jebeke — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:34:43 GMT

More and more people have widescreen monitors. I think restricting the vertical size is the most important here. Other photo-sites also restrict sizes. www.jpgmag.com always ask to post 2000 pix at minimum. They do the rescaling themselves. On Flickr you can even see different sizes. For reviewing, one should indeed have a fixed size. 1024 is - I think - a minimum vertical screen resolution people ([i]interested in photography !!![/i]) have, nowadays. My proposal would be to fix the [b]vertical size to 1024[/b], whether it's now portrait or landscape.

Jan
[url=http://fotoverbeke.com]http://fotoverbeke.com[/url]

RE: Size Issues Persist

PhotoshopAbuser — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:32:29 GMT

I have always sized my submissions here to 620 or so on the long side. I don't like scrolling that much and always thought 640 was a rule here. I just keep them in a separate folder so there is no confusion with another version of the photo.

RE: Size Issues Persist

hahn23 — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:55:13 GMT

[quote][b]Tcall (8/11/2008)[/b][hr]I guess size does matter!

There is a point to all of this and it is EDUCATE members. If I vote on an image and the full size is like trying to see an 18 wheeler from about "6 inches" away ( no pun meant here) then I will tell the "member" about the idea of reducing thesize of their................ uploaded image ;)

Simple, no?[/quote]
[color="navy"]Sizing images for Internet display or email display is not easy. One has to think about ppi and available screen size. The ppi is easy.... 72 ppi is standard for most Internet display devices. That means you should size your images at no larger than the majority of monitor display size. In general, many monitors are no taller (vertically) than 720 pixels. This means that if you want voters to cast their opinion on your image, it's usually best to constrain your images to 720 pixels on the vertical dimension, proportions constrained.

Of course, you can size your image larger. But, it will mean that some voters/ viewers will need to scroll around their monitor screens to see your image. This rarely results in higher scores.

In summary, images which deviate from the voting window size of 640 pixels on the longest dimension, in either direction, will discover impairment of their score. Not illegai, but not a "joy".[/color]

RE: Size Issues Persist

Tcall — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:36:34 GMT

I guess size does matter!

There is a point to all of this and it is EDUCATE members. If I vote on an image and the full size is like trying to see an 18 wheeler from about "6 inches" away ( no pun meant here) then I will tell the "member" about the idea of reducing the size of their................ uploaded image ;)

Simple, no?

RE: Size Issues Persist

hahn23 — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:23:40 GMT

Okay, so anyone who is having trouble with sizing images, please send me a message. I'll be happy to help.

RE: Size Issues Persist

Dolittle — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:13:17 GMT

Hi Richard,

I had no idea that my photos were so large at 2000 pixels that it was ruining my scores. I really hate to show everyone my flaws! :w00t:

If you desire to critizise me on my photos, please do so. If I feel the pain for two or three seconds, it won't hurt me at all.

As they say at the Olymics, "you have to feel the pain to swim the 400 meters".

Dolittle

RE: Size Issues Persist

Tocky — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:23:00 GMT

[quote][b]hahn23 (7/7/2008)[/b][hr][color="navy"]Problems persist at both ends of the extremes of image sizes in the contest.

1. Some images in the contest are relatively small. They are at a disadvantage when compared to images sized to 640 pixels on the longest dimension, proportions constrained. Small images are not prohibited, but they really are so small, it's difficult to discern and inspect details. Definitely not in the best interests of the participant to upload a thumbnail sized image. [/color][color="firebrick"]It's possible this contest site should have a minimum dimension for the short side of an image, proportions constrained. 426 pixels would be the minimum dimension I would suggest.[/color]

[color="navy"]2. Some images are huge, when viewed at full size. Rarely, does a very large full size image help the score of a voting window version. It's because some people are showing a 100% pixel view. That is going to reveal all the flaws and fuzziness in the image. Or, some people are sizing up their images beyond the pixels available, forcing their post-processing application to interpolate pixels. That will degrade an image's quality every time. The 2000 pixel allowance for members was intended to facilitate panorama images. That's a great use of the full size feature. But, if a member has a square or a standard rectangle (3:2 or 4:5) and upsizes to 2000 pixels on the longest dimension, it will not be to the advantage of the image's score. [/color][color="firebrick"]It's possible this contest site should have a maximum dimension for the long side of an image, proportions constrained. 1080 pixels would be the maximum dimension I would suggest. [/color]

[color="navy"]3. The 2000 pixel allowance for panorama images should be retained. Although, [/color][color="firebrick"]it would be in everyone's best interest to place a vertical maximum dimension on panoramas of 800 pixels[/color].

[color="darkgreen"]How can we help members and registered users size images to their best advantage? For new members with "how to" questions, there is a sizing article: [/color] [url=http://www.dailyawards.com/article_viewer.aspx?ArticleID=159][size="2"][color="firebrick"]Size your Image for Contest Success.[/color][/size][/url][/quote]

As a newcomer, I am sorry I took so long to look at this thread, ....... I was confused before, but I know what to do with my images now, I think. I have also bookmarked the article and will read soon.
Thank you, the forum is wonderful, I need to make better use of it.
Tocky

RE: Size Issues Persist

Stormhaven — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:16:51 GMT

[quote][b]hahn23 (7/8/2008)[/b][hr][quote][b]Kiwi (7/8/2008)[/b][hr][quote][b]LAC (7/7/2008)[/b][hr]Who titled this original post?:w00t:

sorry.............. [/quote]

Well spotted! ROFLMAO. ( Sorry Richard, this is at your expense, hope you can see the funny side of this.)[/quote]
My funny side is ample. ;)[/quote]

The way I hear it, your "ample" side is funny.

RE: Size Issues Persist

hahn23 — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:48:18 GMT

[quote][b]Kiwi (7/8/2008)[/b][hr][quote][b]LAC (7/7/2008)[/b][hr]Who titled this original post?:w00t:

sorry.............. [/quote]

Well spotted! ROFLMAO. ( Sorry Richard, this is at your expense, hope you can see the funny side of this.)[/quote]
My funny side is ample. ;)

RE: Size Issues Persist

Kiwi — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:51:25 GMT

[quote][b]LAC (7/7/2008)[/b][hr]Who titled this original post?:w00t:

sorry.............. [/quote]

Well spotted! ROFLMAO. ( Sorry Richard, this is at your expense, hope you can see the funny side of this.)

RE: Size Issues Persist

Wacky Jacky — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:15:17 GMT

[quote][b]LAC (7/7/2008)[/b][hr]Who titled this original post?:w00t:

sorry.............. [/quote]

You sly sly woman:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

RE: Size Issues Persist

LAC — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:12:11 GMT

Who titled this original post?:w00t:

sorry..............

RE: Size Issues Persist

Tonka — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:55:09 GMT

I think a size which would allow most viewers to view the image at their monitor's capacity would be nice..

I think 1000 would do nicely or maybe 900? :D...;)...

I think the 2000 save for panoramas is too big...I think 640 is a bit too small though now that I have seen mine and others slightly larger..

Perhaps the voting window could allow a larger than 640 size appear without having to open a new window? the voting window could show 640 up to 1000?...maybe ????

RE: Size Issues Persist

Stormhaven — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:25:32 GMT

Unfortunately, this very serious issue will continue until two things happen. (1) Eric considers (does) not allowing large size photos, except for the Panorama category, which in the long run will help everyone, and will prevent misunderstandings between voters and submitters. (2) Everyone is notified of the problem and the solution, once, twice, or as many times as it takes, until all members have gotten the message. It's not just new members who need the info, everyone does, and most folks don't read the forum, so there has to be a continual campaign to help everyone perform up to best of their ability. That's JMO, but I'm sticking to it.

RE: Size Issues Persist

SkyBlueRose — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:54:11 GMT

I hadn't entered any images for a long time but just did recently. Since it had been awhile I reviewed Richard's article before upload to double check on the suggested preparation. You can find answers to most questions you may have somewhere on the site but I have to admit when I first joined it took some digging to find it. I think it would be helpful to have a link to that article right from the page you prepare for upload.