noob question

[danielh13]

This will sound dumb but how do I get my image file size smaller? I just got my first digital camera, sorry not the best with tech. Thanks in advance

[Elwell]

Both the Mac OS and Windows come with basic image management software, search the help files. Also, your camera probably came bundled with some programs, and there are several free ones available on line (Google's Picasa, for instance).

[danielh13]

Thanks Elwell I managed to get the image down to 579kb or so by lowering the quality but that is still too big, maybe it has something to do with how I am taking the pic of it?

[Anid Maro]

There are a few ways to lower your file size.

First of all, check the file format. I'm willing to bet you want to save your file as a "jpeg" (it's typically the most efficient type for images).

Secondly you can adjust the quality (for jpegs). The lower the quality, the worse it looks but the smaller it is.

Thirdly, you can adjust the images dimensions. By making the viewable image smaller, you can cut your file size.

This is how I typically save an image for the web:

1. Decrease the image dimensions so that the largest dimension is "800" pixels. For example, 800x600 pixels or 480x800 pixels.

2. Save in "jpeg" format.

3. Set the "quality" slider to eight.

That usually gets me a nice looking image that is under 100kb. Hope that helps.

[danielh13]

Thanks Anid Maro I have been trying to use Kodak easy share to do all of this with but I just now found out how to save images for smaller canvas size 300x400 only. I have the Gimp photo program but it says it has an error trying to load jpeg plug-in. I also have photoimpression which works well for changing the size, after I save my image with photoimpression the gimp will load the image??? Thanks again for helping

[wil.whalen]

I use MSPaint. It's probably not the best, but you can save as .jpeg through it and stretch/skew the image down to a reasonable size. If you don't have anything that can do it, all windows computers have paint.

[danielh13]

I have looked on paint but I didn't see the canvas size thingy where do you find it at???