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This document provides a few ideas on how to put your digital photographs to good use.
Introduction
Digital cameras have become increasingly popular for a variety of
reasons. Their ease of use and instant image production have made them
a staple for many design teams and marketing departments. With just one
digital photograph, a designer can have images for a brochure, banner,
poster, or web site. Knowing how to work with the photos, what to look
out for, and requirements for each medium can greatly help the user.
On The Web
Optimizing photos for the Web is generally quite easy. When creating
Web pages, remember that the size of the of the image file should be
relatively small. If the file is too large it will take too long to
load, at which point your website visitors may just leave. One thing to
take into consideration is the resolution of a photo. A 3" by 3" photo
at 300 dpi (dots per inch) will be a much larger file than a 3" by 3"
photo at 72 dpi. On the Web however, you will not see any difference
between the 72 dpi photo and the 300 dpi photo. So it makes sense to
shrink the file size to 72 dpi for your Web images.
In Print
There are a variety of different ways in which a photo may be
printed, including but not limited to brochures, flyers, simple
documents, magazines, posters, banners, CD labels, and so forth.
Printed photographs do not share the file size restrictions of Web
photos. Whereas you won't see the difference between a 72 dpi image and
a 300 dpi image on the Web, you will definitely see the difference
between the two when they're printed side-by-side. For general printing
purposes, 300 dpi is the resolution to use. For photographic quality
prints on photo paper you may want to go to 600 dpi or higher, if your
image and printer have the capability. For larger banners, posters, or
other items that will be viewed at a distance, 200 dpi will look just
as good without taking as much computer memory.
Steps for Effective Use
There are three basic steps to follow when using your digital
photos. Depending on your actual application of the photos some steps
may vary, but this will give you a general overview of how to put your
photos to effective use.
- Determine the use of the photo - By doing this, you
will know if you need to be taking very high resolution photographs
with your digital camera, or if 72 dpi (good enough for Web graphics)
will work. It is generally a good idea to start with pictures at a
higher resolution and then simply lower the resolution for each
particular application of the photograph.
- Get your photo onto the computer - With a digital
camera, this step is as easy as downloading the photo from the camera
to your computer. If you have a traditional print from a film camera,
use a scanner to scan the photo.
- Use the software - There is a wide variety of software available to help you with all your digital photograph needs. Some free software such as iPhoto for the Mac will help you prepare your images for the Web. You can also use popular image editing software such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel Paint Shop Pro
to manipulate or change the way your photo looks. Many scanners and
digital cameras also come bundled with free image editing software that
you can use for basic touch up work, cropping, simple editing, and so
forth.
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