PEMBROKESHIRE.NET TUTORIAL: How to resize your images

There are many ways to resize images, I have written this tutorial to show how to resize images using IRFANVIEW.

IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative FREEWARE (for non-commercial use) graphic viewer for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP. DOWNLOAD IT HERE

It is trying to be simple for beginners and powerful for professionals.

For the sake of this tutorial, please make a folder on your DESKTOP
Name it: pictures

Put the photo you want to resize into the "pictures" folder on your desktop. I am using an image called normal_Stack_Pole_Pembrokeshire_Coast_0203.jpg . You may download it from here if you'd like to use the same photo while practicing this resizing exercise.

After downloading and installing IRFANVIEW, Double click the Irfanview icon on your desktop to open the photo program. The icon looks like this:

STEP ONE

With your mouse, left click on FILE on the menu bar, continue holding your left button down and drag your cursor down to OPEN

STEP TWO

A window (as above) will open. Go to your "pictures" folder on your desktop and you should see the image you're going to resize .. in the example above is the normal_Stack_Pole_Pembrokeshire_Coast_0203.jpg. Left click on it once to select it, then click the OPEN button.

STEP THREE

To determine the size of your image, left click on IMAGE on the menu bar and drag your mouse down to RESIZE/RESAMPLE

If using the image normal_Stack_Pole_Pembrokeshire_Coast_0203.jpg, you will see the width is 600 pixels, the height is 400 pixels and the DPI (dots per inch) is 72. Too big!! That translates into 10 x 8 inches (there are 72 pixels per inch). We need to reduce the physical size of the image. The 72 dpi is fine. Make sure the PRESERVE ASPECT RATIO box has a check mark in it.

STEP FIVE

Click on the
enter 50 into the width. Because you have the PRESERVE ASPECT RATIO checked, the Height will automatically change. Please note 72 dpi is FINE for internet images.

STEP SIX

Now you need to 'save' your image with its new size. On the menu bar, left click on FILE, drag your mouse down to SAVE AS. (If you simply click SAVE, you will override your original image, which you might not want to do. I always keep my original images.)

A window will open. Make sure you're saving your new image in your 'pictures' folder on your desktop so you don't lose it. Browse to your desktop/pictures if it doesn't automatically come up in the LOOK IN: location bar at the top of this window. Give your new image a new name -- I have called it Green_Bridge_Of_Wales.jpg. Type this new name in the FILE NAME: window. SAVE AS TYPE: drop menu down and drag your mouse down to JPG - JPEG Files to select the .jpg option. Click the SAVE button.

You now have a new image, called Green_Bridge_Of_Wales.jpg . A much more manageable image size to upload.

If you'd like to take this one step further, here are instructions for CROPPING your image.

With your newly resized image open, LEFT click on the image to determine the top left corner of where you'd like to begin your cropping and holding your left mouse button down, drag over your image to the right and in a downward motion till you 'select' the area you'd like to KEEP. If it doesn't work right the first time, left click on it again, and drag again until you're happy with the area you'd like to save. I've selected the 'main' part of the photo above and am eliminating some of the sky and some of the black section at the bottom of the image.

Now go to EDIT, drag your mouse down to Crop selection and let go of your mouse button.

Our newly cropped and resized photo. 
You need to save it again because you have made changes to the image since your last save. So click on FILE then drag your mouse down to SAVE (name will remain as Green_Bridge_Of_Wales.jpg), click SAVE.