Photo Preparation
Do It Yourself or Have Us Do the
Work!
Photos add a lot to your website, whether they are photos of your
staff, office, product, equipment, or just an attractive picture
that expresses the image of your company. It's a snap to download
photos to your ESFI.net Do It Yourself website.
To Do It
Yourself:
You'll need a basic photo editing software, and possibly a
scanner.
Click on the links below to jump down:
Scanning from snapshots
From a Photo Disk
Tips for Fast Downloads
Saving for a Minimum File
Size
Or: We Can Do it For You
Scanning
from Snapshots:
- Scan your photos from a good quality print with the photo
editing program of your choice. The Internet is a low-resolution
medium. Therefore, you do not need the large file formats that you
may be used to for printing.
- Save your photos as .jpgs; set your original resolution for
72-100, and size your picture file to no more than 600 pixels in
either direction (recommended average picture sizes are in the 150 x 175
to 175 x 225 range). Save your file as a 'baseline standard', and
at a low-to-medium image option (your computer will prompt you for
this). If you work from a Mac, be sure to add the appropriate file
extension (.jpg ) to the file.
From A Photo Disc:
- Resize the photos from the disc in the photo editing program
of your choice. The Internet is a low-resolution medium.
Therefore, you do not need to send the large file formats that you
may be used to for printing.
- Save your photos as .jpgs; set your original resolution for
72-100, and size your picture file to no more than 600 pixels in
either direction (recommended average picture sizes are in the 150 x 175
to 175 x 225 range). Save your file as a 'baseline standard', and
at a low-to-medium image option (your computer will prompt you for
this). If you work from a Mac, be sure to add the appropriate file
extension (.jpg ) to the file.
Tips for Fast Downloads:
Small picture files are extremely helpful in keeping the
download time of your web fast. Sizing your photos at 72-100
pixels at a pixel size of 150 x 175 to 175 x 225 is a good start,
but there is more you can do!
Choosing your photos:
Photos with a
simple subject and a simple color range tend to be a 'smaller' in
terms of file weight. As an example, a head shot photo of a person
in plain shirt will be a 'smaller' file than if the person has on
a flowered or plaid shirt. If you are shooting your own photos,
set up shots with simple backgrounds and a minimum of foreground
clutter.
Saving your photos to .jpg for a Minimum File Size:
Many photo editing programs offer a "Save for Web"
option. Read the help menu in your program for assistance, and
experiment with getting your file size down. A file size of under
6 K is recommenced.
For Tips and Troubleshooting, see FAQ
OR:
We Can Do It for
You:
Does all this sound like more than you want to do right now?
Send us good quality prints 4" x 6" OK or images from a
photos CD and we'll do the rest.
We prefer photo files saved in a
PC format; if you work from a Mac, be sure to add the appropriate
file extension (.jpg, for example) to the file so that we can open
it.
Our charge for editing photos is $75 an hour; our speedy
technicians can prepare 4-6 photos per hour at this price and load
them into your website.
Send by photo files by email attachment to
changes@esfi.net, or send all photos on a floppy disc,
ZIP disk or photo CD to our office via snail mail. Include a SASE
if your would like the photos returned to you.
Please Do NOT send
transparencies or negatives. If you need to have slides converted
to picture files, check with a professional photo lab.
Contact us if you have
any questions about Photo Preparation