Saving images for online????????????

[Jacs14]

I just received an email from a nice guy on flickr, warning me about the fact that I had saved my images in large file size online, it made it easy for them to be downloaded and basically used without my knowledge or consent. Now for you guys who don't know me, I do not have a clue when it comes to anything technical and computers and me are an incredibly scary combination!!

So what I basically need to know is ...

1. should I save in two different sizes, 1 for online and 1 for printing??
2. how & what size do I save in, that will also work for uploading to AP.
3. should I start to add a watermark to my images to help protect them??

Sorry for sounding really stupid, there are some things I'm good at but its not computers

[yummymummy]

ok, well I can only tell you what I do. when I'm saving, I save one for web at a smaller size, with a watermark, and one at the original size without the watermark. I just usually save as though I'm saving for AP, 1024 on the longest side, and 250kb. I hope that helps!

[41jas]

The photos I save for Flickr are the same size I need for uploading to AP. No bigger. No matter what size you save to. Anyone can use your photos from there so you can't protect them. Tell you the truth, it doesn't bother me. I suppose it would if they said they took it but other than that I'm not sure you can do anything about it.
I save my photos to 900 on the longest side and save to what ever under 250MB.

[I @ M]

So what I basically need to know is ...

1. should I save in two different sizes, 1 for online and 1 for printing??

Yes, save the file that you want to print as a full resolution copy and any web "published" ones as a low resolution example.

2. how & what size do I save in, that will also work for uploading to AP.

When uploading to the public forums, if they are in a horizontal format stick to 1024 px wide and if they are a vertical file then 800 px high usually fits well on most monitors. If you are linking the files from another hosting site the physical size ( kb ) is unimportant but if you are entering them in a competition here or attaching them to a thread the physical size must ne no more than 250kb.

A very handy program for doing it all for you after a bit of study is BD sizer and best of all it is free from ---- http://www.idimager.com/downloads/freeware


3. should I start to add a watermark to my images to help protect them??

Watermarks tend to spoil good images to me and can be removed by skilled software jockeys, rather look at it as that if you upload a high resolution image to flikr, facebook etc. etc. or anywhere on the web it is fair game for theft if someone really wants it. Best to stick with low resolution images that won't print well and accept the fact that the web is a happy hunting ground of image "borrowers".

[Jacs14]

Thanks for the feedback

[DAdeGroot]

As other have mentioned, if you keep your online files around 1024px on the long edge it does make it more difficult to exploit the images you display online. (Note, that's still plenty big enough for people to use on the web).
Watermarking can help reduce outright theft, but anyone with decent photoshop skills can likely get around that too.

Print size should obviously be exported at the size of the print you're making. LR can do all of this for you (or PS, or most other image editing packages).

[Doninoz]

All the advice given above is good. I will say just one thing more, In Australia, copyright is always to the creator and photos which I sell I don't put on any website but I have caught some people using my photos from my website at sydneynaturally and using it for commercial purposes...one was used on a tourist brochure (large Sydney tourist operator) and another used my images to create templates for embroidery. In both cases I got my Solicitor to deal with it and in both cases I received substantial monetary damages for their efforts. They weren't photos I was trying to sell so the reward was unexpected. What's the point I'm getting at? Keep your eyes open and you might make a windfall like me for very little effort <grin>!

[Jacs14]

thanks for the feedback ... ok so here goes, I have had a go at saving onto flickr which seems to have worked ok, now to see if it works when I upload to here

[Jacs14]

it worked ... THANK YOU!!

[agb]

Even the 1024 pixel size could be made into a 6x4 print if someone wanted to steal it so I have read.

[Allann]

just one more thing that I can see that anyone has mentioned. when saving to web, use 72dpi, when saving for printing use 240dpi. hope that makes sense too.

[kiwi]

Actually a 250k file 1024 wide makes a nice 8" x 10"

[colinbm]

I can almost smell the rain hitting that dirt road
Col

[Dylan & Marianne]

lol darren has pointed out that before :P
we tested it out as well since for the weddings, we provided the clients with all the usable photos at 100dpi 1024 long edge - they print OK up to 8X10 (can tell the difference if put side by side with a 300 dpi image)
my workflow is to save as a TIFF for printing and then I have an action to resize for web (1024 long edge, 100dpi, border , watermark etc)
for what it's worth, on our smugmug site, we chose a right click protect option but there are always ways to get the image anyway.

[whytebate]

I've always been told that 72DPI is more than enough for online display & like the other posters, I stick to around a max of 1024. I'm curious about to watermark or not - but indeed, it can be removed - especially as most people place it in a corner so it doesn't obstruct the image. I guess it is a deterrent. Love the photo - it's a cracker!

[Jacs14]

Thanks for the feedback ... looks like the way you suggested has saved ok for on here so thats good I can still use it and get cc

[mkooper]

I actually put mine up full size on Smugmug. Then I protect them with a password. Now I don't make a living with my photos and I trust the password to be safe enough. I can then share the password with my family.

For those shots I link to this site, I upload a second copy and reduce the size of the photo at 72dpi.

So I have all my photos backed up without external disk or DVDs and I can share with family at the same time.

All at a cost of AU$35 per annum - Bargain! And I can format the screen as I like it and no adds.