General Tips for Web Images

Images

Use a Good Image Editor

I prefer using Adobe Photoshop Elements because it is powerful enough to edit most images and costs less than $100.

Photoshop as a great feature to "Save for the web" that you can use to set the image quality, size, etc. And it shows you how many seconds it will take for someone to download the image file.

There are others you can try but I find Photoshop works best for me.

Consider the page/image background

For example, if you are selling t-shirts and want to post a picture of one, it may be better to match the background of the photo and the web page. If your web page background is some other color or a watermark then using a transparent image background may work best. This is where you'll need to use image/photo editing software.

Reduce the Image File Size

You should pay special attention to how big the image file is and try to keep it less than 50K bytes. This may require making it smaller and/or lesser quality. The primary reason is so the web page will load quickly for visitors - not everyone has broadband DSL or cable.

Adjust the Dimensions of Your Images

Different web site layouts have varying limitations how how big a picture can be but typically you want to keep them no bigger than 400 pixels wide which is a few inches. A larger picture results in a larger file size as well.

The default size restriction for most sites is 640x640 pixels which is pretty big.

Lighting is Important

Lighting has a big impact on pictures you take. Too much and the image is washed out. While too little lighting may result in a blurry or dark picture.

Even if you use a flash there likely will be bright spots from reflections if the flash is direct. That's why professionals will set the flash to point away from the subject a little thereby using indirect light. Or they cover the flash with something to diffuse the light.

Another good idea if you are taking pictures of small items is take them outside on a fairly sunny day; Avoid shadows or direct bright sunlight.

Use a digital camera and experiment to see what works best.