Web Optimization of photos

jassdjassd
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
I am currently taking a Dreamweaver course and the instructor mentioned that she uses Photoshop to Web optimize her photos. Does anyone know what "Web optimization" really means - she doesn't know - and are similar editing tools available in iPhoto ?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    1337_5l4xx0r1337_5l4xx0r Posts: 1,558member
    Web optimization means a couple of things. In the context of .jpg files it means making their dimensions reasonable (no 2500 x 1500 jpegs!) and applying heavier compression to them so that their file size and image quality strike a good balance.



    Photoshop has a Save For Web... option under the File menu. It shows your original PS document, and shows it a second time as another file type (PNG, Gif, JPG). PNG is lossless but not as widely supported as it is a recent file spec. GIF you should use for like buttons and such, where color palatte is limited and colours must match exactly. JPG is mainly for photos.



    With each of those file types you the have options. For JPGs, you can choose 'Quality' from a slider bar. Experiment. Some JPG can be heavily compressed and still look good. Others may need 60% or higher quality to look reasonable.



    Then save the file and it will save a copy that is web ready.
  • Reply 2 of 6
    newnew Posts: 3,244member
    For some more advanced users of PS, you have the possibility to compress parts of a photo (for instance the background), more than other parts. I've always used PS myself but some other tools, like fireworks, supposedly have superior compression.



    However, fireworks as a product might disappear when macromedia and adobe merge...
  • Reply 3 of 6
    kingofsomewherehotkingofsomewherehot Posts: 4,185member
    Web optimization simply means cmpressing the photo so it loads faster over the internet.



    if you are going to display a photo in a 300x200 fram on you web page, there's no sane reason to use a 4MB RAW image taken by your digital camera ... that much detail simply can't be seen in an image shrunken down to fit on a web-page.

    So you optimize it .... compress it (usually into jpg format, but other formats are more efficient for certain images) and end up with a photo that looks just as good (in the given space) and loads in 16Kb instead of 4MB.



    Now ... if the instructor of a Dreamweaver class couldn't explain this, then WHY is she teaching the course ??? I'd look into getting my tuition refunded for that course !!



    And, yes, iPhoto will do this ... select a photo (or multiple photos) ... then Share > Export, then, under "File Export" there are several settings you can adjust to make the photo "fit" what you want. Not nearly as much control as PS, but it might do.
  • Reply 4 of 6
    jabohnjabohn Posts: 593member
    I generally use ImageReady, which comes with Photoshop, to optimize graphics for web design. In fact, I usually start a web page as a mockup in Photoshop, move it to ImageReady to slice up and export to a web page, which I then open in DreamWeaver. ImageReady gives you much greater control on optimization and I find generally it can make the files smaller.
  • Reply 5 of 6
    trick falltrick fall Posts: 1,271member
    It's funny, I never thought to use iPhoto for this. I usually use graphic converter, but iPhoto is probably easier.
  • Reply 6 of 6
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Preview can do this beautifully.
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