Discussion On How To Properly Orient & Size Pictures

[Gsmblue]

I take pics and post straight from my iPhone. Once I take a pic i hit the edit button, then the wand icon, then save the pic. This way it posts fine.

I don’t always remember to do this though.

[Gary Lewis]

I take pics and post straight from my iPhone. Once I take a pic i hit the edit button, then the wand icon, then save the pic. This way it posts fine.

I don’t always remember to do this though.

That’s a very helpful tip! I’m going to try it here and then post up a how-to on that.

Here’s a shot I just took with the iPhone upside down. Then I hit Edit, the wand, and Done. At that point it showed “Actual Size = 3.1 Mb”. That’s obviously way over the 1 Mb limit, so I clicked Actual Size and it gave me options. I picked 452 KB and it saved it. And here ‘tis, right-side up and full width:

[Gary Lewis]

I know this forum is a pain with regard to uploading pictures. That one thing causes more problems on here than anything else. So let's have a discussion about how best to do that.

But first, here are the two main issues:

• Image Orientation: In the old days it was obvious which way we should hold a camera. But now that we use our phones as cameras it isn't so obvious. However, the camera knows which way you are holding it and encodes that orientation in the EXIF info in the picture's data. And when smart devices view that picture they automatically re-orient the picture so it looks like it should.

  Unfortunately our forum isn't smart and it doesn't read the EXIF data. So if you didn't hold your phone "right" when you took your picture it will be sideways or upside down on the forum. And the way to fix that is with software - which we will discuss here.

• File Size: There's also a max file size when uploading pics to the forum of something less than 1 Mb. But most phones take a much larger picture than that, so you have two choices: First, you can skinny the file size down yourself in some software on your computer or your phone. Or you can let the forum do it by clicking one of the three "Resize" buttons in the Insert Image" dialog: Small; Medium; or Big. However, even Big makes your picture less than full screen, so if you want it full screen you'll have to do it yourself.

Given that, let's talk about ways to fix the orientation and make the file size smaller. And this morning GSMBlue posted in another thread a good idea for iPhones, so I'm going to move his post here - if he agrees.

[Gary Lewis]

That’s a very helpful tip! I’m going to try it here and then post up a how-to on that.

Here’s a shot I just took with the iPhone upside down. Then I hit Edit, the wand, and Done. At that point it showed “Actual Size = 3.1 Mb”. That’s obviously way over the 1 Mb limit, so I clicked Actual Size and it gave me options. I picked 452 KB and it saved it. And here ‘tis, right-side up and full width:

Well, that is interesting. The first time I used the wand I was given an opportunity to change the file size, but it doesn't seem to give me the same oppo on other pics.

Anyway, to give y'all a how-to on what GSMBlue suggested, here's a screenshot from my phone showing a picture I want to post and the Edit button in the upper right corner. Click Edit:

Then click on the "wand":

And then click "Done":

[Gsmblue]

Well, that is interesting. The first time I used the wand I was given an opportunity to change the file size, but it doesn't seem to give me the same oppo on other pics.

Anyway, to give y'all a how-to on what GSMBlue suggested, here's a screenshot from my phone showing a picture I want to post and the Edit button in the upper right corner. Click Edit:

Then click on the "wand":

And then click "Done":

I hope it helps

I only get the option to choose a file size when selecting an image to upload.

[Machspeed]

I hope it helps

I only get the option to choose a file size when selecting an image to upload.

That's great info, thank you!!! I was previously downloading the pictures into a corel program that does it automatically and then saving them. This will be easier!!!

[Gary Lewis]

That's great info, thank you!!! I was previously downloading the pictures into a corel program that does it automatically and then saving them. This will be easier!!!

Yes, it will be a whole lot easier. But we all need to share our experiences with it, like the resizing option. I saw it and used it - once. But can't find it again.

And, if someone has a similar shortcut for other devices, please let us know.