How to save and crop the digital files
You can save either the high res or web-sized files from your online gallery:
The high-res files are large, for printing. The web-sized files are, you guessed it, for web use – they’re small, and optimised for screen use.
I definitely recommend saving all the digital files in high-res so you have them for future use, even if you’re not planning on printing anything now. What if a magazine needs one for press use later on?
And then also save a copy of the web-sized files. That way you don’t need to worry about the image being compressed if you try to save a smaller version from the high-res file.
Don’t screenshot!
Please, don’t screenshot the photo. You won’t get a good quality photo, and all our hard work will be squandered! The same goes for saving a photo that you’ve sent via WhatsApp or Instagram – don’t do it 🙂
Always use the original digital file, as anything that’s been sent through a third party system will have undergone image compression and won’t be high quality.
Photoshop and Lightroom
It likely goes without saying that these are the best options for resizing – but I appreciate not everybody has a copy!
Need your photo in a particular size or format?
I’m always happy to resize your photos to any size you might need – just ask!
If it’s not a photo I took for you, an easy solution is to open the photo in Preview (on a Mac):
Just remember to export this cropped version as a new file, so you still have the original.
Resizing for social media
A great tool is Canva – the free version will allow you to resize and download your photos.
You can search for the kind of image you need to create, eg for an Instagram story:
Select the option you need, and then upload your photo in the “Uploads” section:
Then drag your photo over to the layout.
If your photo is too big or too small for the layout, you can use the “crop” tool to resize it:
I hope that helped – do let me know if you have any questions, or need assistance!