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How do I downsize an image without affecting its quality too much?

by kumar
10 replies
  • WEB DESIGN
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Hi Guys,

I bought some stock images from istockphoto, each of which are bigger than
what I need for my site (need 220x220).

I tried resizing them in Get Paint and used 'Sharpen' but the
images become extremely shrunken. What's worse is the images
are of muscular men and when I downsize them, it really spoils the
sculpture of the bodies.

Will appreciate any suggestions.
#affecting #downsize #image #quality
  • Profile picture of the author bryntwr10
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    • Profile picture of the author kumar
      Originally Posted by bryntwr10 View Post

      Use Gimp which is free or Photoshop, Gimp will do the job though, without losing the quality
      Thanks! If its just resizing, would it matter if I am using any
      software (gimp, photoshop, getpaint etc.)? Or does Gimp
      have any special features which helps in maintaining the quality
      even after resizing?

      Appreciate your help.
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  • Profile picture of the author VegasGreg
    Make sure you keep the height/width proportions the same as the original.

    So if you want to end up with 220x220, make sure your original is the same height/width proportionately like 600x600. If you start with something like 600x400, crop off part of the width to even it out first, then shrink it.
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    • Profile picture of the author kumar
      Originally Posted by VegasGreg View Post

      Make sure you keep the height/width proportions the same as the original.

      So if you want to end up with 220x220, make sure your original is the same height/width proportionately like 600x600. If you start with something like 600x400, crop off part of the width to even it out first, then shrink it.
      Thanks Greg. You mean to say, I should first crop the width to 400
      and then resize it to 220x220? But wouldn't cropping mean I will lose some
      part of the image?

      Please let me know if I am missing something.
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      • Profile picture of the author mywebwork
        Originally Posted by kumar View Post

        Thanks Greg. You mean to say, I should first crop the width to 400
        and then resize it to 220x220? But wouldn't cropping mean I will lose some
        part of the image?

        Please let me know if I am missing something.
        You don't want to crop the image, you want to reduce its size. Greg is speaking of maintaining the aspect ratio - the relationship between the width and height. Most (if not all) photo editors will do this.

        Bill
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        • Profile picture of the author kumar
          Originally Posted by mywebwork View Post

          You don't want to crop the image, you want to reduce its size. Greg is speaking of maintaining the aspect ratio - the relationship between the width and height. Most (if not all) photo editors will do this.

          Bill
          I got that Bill, thanks. Wouldn't maintaining the aspect ratio mean
          that if I have a rectangular image (say, 283x424), the resizing will
          also, always effect in a rectangular image? I was aiming for a squar(ish)
          image to put it beside my articles. (A rectangular image gives an
          impression of a banner ad)
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          • Profile picture of the author mywebwork
            Originally Posted by kumar View Post

            I got that Bill, thanks. Wouldn't maintaining the aspect ratio mean
            that if I have a rectangular image (say, 283x424), the resizing will
            also, always effect in a rectangular image? I was aiming for a squar(ish)
            image to put it beside my articles. (A rectangular image gives an
            impression of a banner ad)
            You are correct - if you want to change a rectangle into a square then yes, you do need to crop it. Otherwise you will distort it, the same way that many foolish people do when "streaching" old-style TV programs into the newer 16x9 widescreen format.

            You could make the image into a 424 x 424 image by using Gimp or another editor to impose the image onto a background color that complements the picture to fill in the empty space at the top or bottom. Then resize it to the desired size. Otherwise, have you considered just making another square image?

            Bill
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            • Profile picture of the author kumar
              Originally Posted by mywebwork View Post


              You could make the image into a 424 x 424 image by using Gimp or another editor to impose the image onto a background color that complements the picture to fill in the empty space at the top or bottom. Then resize it to the desired size. Otherwise, have you considered just making another square image?

              Bill
              I think I'll try imposing the image onto a background color. I didn't understand
              your second point. I didn't make the image in the first place, bought it from
              istockphoto.com

              Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author pjCheviot
    Banned
    If you don't keep the aspect ratio - then you will sacrifice quality, since the image will have to be distorted to fit your new dimensions (unless you crop).

    Sometimes you just have to compromise.

    **EDIT** Sorry, Bill - posting at the same time!
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  • Profile picture of the author WebSolutionKey
    Use photoshop/gimp. There are lots of online photo editing software as well. Try picnik.com. You wont lose your picture's quality.
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