Post deleted by tellywellies

Admin has decided to allow photos to be displayed in the 'Photo-a-Day' threads, rather than just the links to them. A new thread will be started every month, maybe more frequently depending on how many photos are posted. Worth a mention is that the display of images only applies to the Photo-a-Day threads. The rule about them not being allowed in posts still applies elsewhere. The idea is that if we have threads that are actually about photos, it would be nice to just scroll them in order to see them.

For the threads to run properly, some consideration needs to be given to the physical size and file size of images. Photos coming straight off a digital camera will certainly need some resizing before being suitable for display in the forum. The greatest dimension (height or width) of the photo should be about 300 pixels. As a guide of what that might look like, take a look at avatars. These have a maximum size of 80 pixels. Those using PhotoBucket to host their images have access to an option that can resize photos to 320 pixels (see below). This is just about right for displaying photos in the forum. It fits well in the page while still displaying enough detail.

There may be times when 320 pixels isn't large enough to do justice to the detail of a photograph. Should this be the case, a link (only) could be placed in the post that leads to a larger version of it. However, this would involve having two copies of the photo. A 320 pixel sized one for display in the forum and a larger one (no more than 800 pixels recommended) for being just linked to. Both would need different file names for the purpose. For instance: myphoto-small.jpg and myphoto-large.jpg. Alternatively, there's always the option of only a link to a large photo with no smaller one displayed in the forum at all.

Reasons why photographs in web pages need to be kept small:

* Large images really just plain look too big.

* A large image means a large file size. Those on slower connection speeds (especially dial-up) are going to wait a long time for a pageful of photos to load.

* A large file size means that you may reach any download limit quickly. Free accounts with image hosting sites usually have a monthly bandwidth limit. If this is exceeded, it may be that all images in your account will not be viewable until the month after the current one. Best to check the bandwidth usage limits of your image hosting service.

* Anyone viewing your photo for the fist time is downloading it into the cache of their computer. This also applies to viewing a photo by clicking on a link. Whichever way it is viewed, some bandwidth will be drawn from where the photo is stored or hosted. With normal browser settings, this doesn't apply if anyone views the photo(s) for the second time. It's already downloaded into cache and the browser will display it from there. However, if the browser cache has been emptied, the photo file will be downloaded from the hosting site again.

So, if you want to display images on the Web, resizing them is a worthwhile operation. Cut the physical size down and keep the D.P.I setting to 72. These settings determine the file size. Hopefully, the file size will end up being about 40 to 50 kilobytes. This is always a good figure to aim for when displaying images on the web. Less is better but the quality of the photo will suffer if you go too far.

Those using their own web space (perhaps provided by the ISP) to store images will need to edit the size of photos to 320 pixels (or near that) with a photo editing program before uploading them. There are many editing programs but a one worth a mention is IrfanView. This free (for home use) program can down-size photos, which subsequently reduces the file sizes. Anyone deciding to install IrfanView, should read the options carefully during installation. By default, the 'Google Destop Search' also gets installed. Untick the box when the option is shown if you don't want this.

How to reduce photo sizes for web page display using IrfanView:

* Open the photo.
* In the top menu, go to: 'Image > Resize/Resample'.
* In the dialogue box that opens, set the DPI to '72'.
* Make sure the 'Preserve aspect ratio' box is ticked.
* Set the greatest dimension of the photo to '320' pixels (allow the other dimension to adjust itself).
* Click OK and the photo will resize.
* In the top menu, go to: 'File > Save as'.
* Two boxes will appear.
* Select a file name for the photo and set the location of where you'd like to save the photo (Desktop is good).
* Choose 'JPG-JPEG Files' in the 'Save as type' box.
* In the grey box, set the slider to about '75'. This will give a reasonable file size consistent with a good quality picture.
* Click the 'Save' button in the other box.
* Go to the resulting photo file on the Desktop.
* Right-click on it and go to 'Properties'. The file size will be shown.

Other photo editing programs should work in a similar way. Examine the program's menus.

How to resize and use a photo uploaded from the computer to your Photobucket account.

* Above the thumbnails of your Photobucket photos, are options to: move | edit | share | delete.
* Click the 'edit' option above the photo you want to display in the forum.
* When the photo opens, choose the 'Resize' option (above the photo).
* In the box that opens, click on 'Website, Email (320 x 240)' and then click OK.
* The photo will resize.
* To the right of the resized photo, there is a line that says: IMG Code - Forums & Bulletin Boards.
* Left click on the line below that one.
* This will copy a link to your photo on your computer's Clipboard.
* Go to your FunTrivia post.
* Place the mouse cursor in the post writing box.
* Right-click the mouse and choose 'paste' to place the link to your photo into the post.
* Write a few words about the photo above or below it but allow one blank line between the photo and the writing.
* Preview the post and if OK, post it.

If an image placed in a post is too big, I'll need to download and reduce the size of it. Once resized, it will be uploaded to a FunTrivia PhotoBucket account. Then it's just a matter of altering the link in the post to point to the new (smaller) photo. This probably won't be necessary very often as I'm sure members will soon get the hang of sizing photos to requirements before placing them in posts.

Don't let all this put you off posting photos. People post images on the web all the time with no problems. However, it is necessary to consider the above when placing images in web pages. Photo-a-Day is a good addition to the forum in my opinion but I'd think image display in posts can only continue if we get it right.

Finally, please only post one photo each day.

Thanks.

It would probably be a good idea to start a fresh thread each month, or if it gets very popular, even more often. The current thread will be anchored to the top.

I enjoyed seeing the photos displayed in the thread. Can you give some direction as how to do this. I have just figured out how to use photobucket.com and now a change...

The easiest way is to copy the IMG Code that appears under your photo when you upload it to Photobucket. Just click on the code, then come back to Fun Trivia and paste it into your post. You need to change the upper case IMG at the beginning and end to image in lower case, but that’s all.

Actually I think you can leave it as uppercase, I don't think the tags are case sensitive.

Please make sure your image is not huge, if necessary use the edit and resize feature in photobucket which is immediately above your the photo you want to use.

I hadn't looked at PhotoBucket before the Photo-a-Day thread started. I've always used the webspace provided by my ISP and edited/resized photos and images before uploading images to it. That is still maybe best. I sometimes sharpen the photos up a bit before uploading for web display. They also can benefit from such edits as lightening, darkening or altering the hue etc.

However, I'm impressed by PhotoBucket's service. The resizing option is really handy and easy to use. From looking at the various photos in the thread, I think the size nearest 300 pixels looks good. It's big enough to show detail, it gives a reasonable file size and the photo sits well in the page. Perhaps we should all use this size.

Sounds good to me.

Just a note to remind you all that the photos MUST be your own work. Please do not copy photos taken by other people to your PhotoBucket account.

The idea is to try to take a photo each day, although any photos taken by you are quite acceptable.

Thank you.