Making+Pictures+the+Right+Size

Making Pictures the Right Size

What’s the “right” size for a picture? Well, that depends on the photo. Most monitors display at 72 dpi (dots per inch). So, if you want the picture to be 5 inches wide (probably about the biggest you would want for an e-mail message), the picture would be 360 pixels wide (5 inches x 72 dpi = 360 pixels).

Pixel is short for “Picture Element” and is the smallest unit of visual information used to build an image. If you have ever zoomed in on an image, Pixels are those little squares that you see. The more pixels in an image, the better the resolution.



So, how do you make the picture the right size? Use your imaging software! Most scanners and digital cameras come with some sort of imaging software that will allow you to resize an image.

Open the picture in your imaging software and resize the image to your desired resolution. You can usually do this via an Image or Edit menu. Your menu style and commands may vary depending on your software.

Usually, you’ll get a screen that lets you input the image size in pixels. If there is a check/tickbox that allows you to constrain proportions, make sure that is checked/ticked (this insures that when you change the height or width the picture remains proportional).

That should do it. Since you have changed the picture size, you may want to save it under a different name. Use the Save As command under the File menu of your imaging software.

This comes in handy when you want to place a picture on your desktop or if you send it by email.