Howdy Friends! I hope all is well with you and yours. This weeks post is about something dear to all of our hearts! How to post your images online with the very best quality! I will mention a few considerations first.
I see arguments every single day in online groups and forums concerning this very topic! A lot of the people arguing their position are exceptionally passionate about Photography. A large portion of those passionate individuals will fight to the death about exceptionally detailed Photographic principles, and practices.
Everyone Is An Expert – Because Everyone Has A Voice
Just the other day an interviewer asked Dakota Johnson if she thought technology increased communication. Her answer was brilliant. She stated that communication is definitely on the rise, however connection is another matter.
I loved her answer! Right off the cuff with zero thought! Brilliance! Another difficulty with this ability to communicate so easily is that you can be paid for your opinion!
In order to increase viewership or followers,… so you can increase the money you are paid,… systems are developed to attract those followers.
You do not actually have to really know something. You simply need to use key word search functions, to find the highly searched topics, use those key words to rank high with Google, and write a compelling argument for your position. I mean if you have a hundred thousand followers you really have to know what you’re talking about right?
Yeah right… we need to consider the source of that information. Yes, even mine. As I type this my father comes to mind. One of his quotes… “I might not always be right, but I’m never wrong.” ^_*
So when I’m researching important information this now takes me exponentially longer. I really have to dive deep to find the proper sources for the best answers.
Personally I’ve Never Claimed To Be An Expert At Anything
One reason for this is that every single time I thought I actually knew something, someone would come along and show me just exactly how little I actually knew. Another reason is a quote I read at a very early age, from the famed Mathematician Blaise Pascal… “If you wish people to speak well of you, do not speak well of yourself.”
The last reason I do not wish to be an “expert?” What’s left to learn? Personally? I have an insatiable thirst for knowledge. I must admit here and now, that my thirst is generally limited to topics I’m extremely interested in, over a thirst for knowledge of every topic.
However my closest friends and my assistants will tell you that my curiosity and insatiable need to answer questions that my pea brain develops, knows very few bounds, and seems limitless.
Ok – My Considered Opinion On Posting High Quality Images
FaceBook is probably our number one consideration here. Instagram has gone the way of Video. FaceBook too with stories (which I currently do not do). Twitter is more about text. Linked-In is really about posting your professional qualifications. Snap-Chat goes away. Tic-Tock is about Video.
If you do a Google search on social media images sizes, you’ll get hundreds of links on what they are. Some of those links will be very old and outdated information. ‘Gol ‘durn it! Even FaceBook doesn’t really know what they are going to do from one day to the other!
Hootsuite is a company that offers a way to post on multiple platforms with a schedule. Their 2024 image size chart is pictured below. Notice that there is very little uniformity across different platforms. You would drive yourself crazy saving images of different sizes for different places.
All Of This Feldercarb Is A Pain
This is the key reason I’ve basically stopped social networking. I do not have, nor do I wish to commit, the time and effort necessary for all of this crap! Not to mention those individual platforms control what everyone sees anyway. I could have thousands of followers and only a small percentage of those followers will see what I post.
FaceBook and My Website are where I post the most, with YouTube coming soon. And that will be it! Honestly I’d rather just post to my website. I own that and no one but me controls it! From the chart above you will not see what I personally size my images to. Read on…
When ever possible I like to do things only once. So when I export an image out of LightRoom to post it someplace, I export those images to a portfolio file. From that file this is where I upload anything I’d post online or place in an email, and also place it on my 12.9″ iPad Pro. Many images for many uses, but I still only wish to do this once!
As of last year 92.3% of internet users access the internet using a mobile phone. There are approximately 4.32 Billion active mobile internet users! Yup! A billion with a “B”
2017 was the first time mobile traffic surpassed traffic from desktop computers. In 2011 mobile users of the internet only comprised 6.1%. In 2015 this was up to 37.2%. As you can see this is exponential growth, and has increased quarter over quarter since 2015.
Market Share – United States Smart Phones
As of September 2023 Apple has the highest market share at 56.41%. In other words, more than half of all smart phone sales are manufactured by Apple. Samsung is in distant second place with 26.58%… that’s almost 30% lower than Apple. Together those two comprise 83% of market share.
So effective January of 2024, every single image I now export to my portfolio file is a .webP file. (more on this format below… read on) converted to the image P3 colorspace at 2048 pixels on the long side for the landscape orientation and at 72 dpi. Why 72 Dpi? Because you do not need any higher resolution than that online, or on TV. 300 dpi and above is for prints only. Why the image P3 colorspace?
Because it’s larger than sRGB but smaller than Adobe RGB 1998, which looks terrible on the internet, but is best for prints. It is also the color space developed by Apple for all of their devices. Who has more devices looking at the internet? Apple! So I know my images will look awesome with those people and most of the web population!
The .webP file format is MUCH smaller than a jpeg file and contains more information and detail. The web gods do not like to play nice together. The .webP file format has been around for a bit but not all browsers supported it.
Today the only browser that does not support this format is Apple’s Safari from OS X Big Sur and before. There’s a small population out there with software that old, and probably not peeps I would be in front of anyway.
For a vertical orientation image otherwise known as portrait, there are different concerns. FaceBook really likes the vertical orientation the best. If you would like to really make an impact on FaceBook with your image, post vertical orientation images! Size them to 2048 pixels on the short side at 72 dpi, and yes webP. They will take up the most of the room on a page.
Of the images above, both are sized exactly the same… but the file on the right (or the bottom one if you’re on a phone) is less than half the size of the file on the left. So far FaceBook really likes this file and compresses it less.
Also? Remember to compose your images at the time of capture from every angle and every orientation. This is something I learned at a very young age. It’s almost impossible to make a landscape orientation image into a good looking vertical orientation. And vertical orientation images? These go on the cover of Magazines! ^_^
As most of you know I’m not a fan of the 4×5 aspect ratio. I like the 2×3 or the 2×1 aspect ratio or even sometimes square. Well, sadly FaceBook likes the vertical 4×5 aspect ratio. How do I get around this?
If the image looks good square I’d prolly do that, at 2048 pixels on all sides. This still has a lot of impact. Or? If I really dislike the padding Facebook will place around my 2×3 aspect ratio image, I might go to the trouble to size it 4×5. But I Rarely do this. I pretty much leave the padding issue alone.
All of these image file types look totally awesome on my iPad which is where I show my clients examples of images for sale, and the 2048 pixel size is perfect on the iPad. On Facebook the 2048 pixel size looks really good if someone happens to be looking at your image on a mainframe and double clicks it to go large.
When All Is Said And Done…
Social networking sites are NOT the best place to showcase your images. The quality can go down. You have less control with how the viewer might be actually viewing your image. Or they could be on a terrible non-calibrated monitor. Also theft of your work can be rampant.
Once again the Print is King! This is truly the best way for someone to see exactly what you wish your art to look like. The next best place for your images in upon your own website! See my number one assistant for that. Click this link to arrive at Ted Vieira Consulting Do not forget to mention the Garrett Winslow special for great prices!
All of this being said, we still post to Social Networking Sites. While you’re doing that I hope this information assists you! Thanks for being here!
