BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Answers

Low Resolution Files

Dawn Field

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March 22, 2009

Start by putting all the files into 1 folder.

Open Photoshop Elements editor, and choose File > Process Multiple Files.

The screen for selecting the folder will appear.

Set "Process Files From" to Folder.
Next to Source, click Browse and navigate to the folder containing the pictures you want to resize.

Next to Destination, click Browse and navigate to the folder when you want to resized photos to go. It is recommended that you use different folders for the source and destination so that you don't accidentally overwrite the originals.

If you want Photoshop Elements to resize all the images in the folder and its subfolders, tick the box to include subfolders.

Jump down to the image size section of the Process Multiple Files dialog box and tick the box to resize images.
Enter the size you'd like for the resized pictures. Most likely you will also want to check the box for "Constrain Proportions," otherwise the images dimensions will become distorted. With this enabled, you only need to enter one of the numbers for height or width. Here are some suggestions for the new image sizes:

If your recipients will only be viewing the photos and you want to keep them small, try a size of 800 by 600 pixels (resolution does not matter in this case).

If you want your recipients to be able to print the pictures, enter the desired print size in inches, and set the resolution between 200-300 dpi. Keep in mind that the larger you go for size and resolution, the larger your files will be, and some settings may make the images larger rather than smaller. A good conservative setting for this is 4 by 6 inches, and 200 dpi resolution for medium quality prints, or 300 dpi resolution for high quality prints.

If you want to change the format of the resized images, check the box for "Convert Files" and choose a new format. JPEG High Quality is a good option, but you may experiment with the other choices. If the files are still too large, you may wish to go down to JPEG Medium Quality, for example.
Since resizing images tends to make them softer, you might want to check the box for "Sharpen" on the right side of the dialog box. However, this might make the file size larger than if you had not sharpened.

Click OK, then sit back and wait, or go do something else while Photoshop Elements processes the files for you.

If you are a Windows user, there is a free software called Irfanview that will also batch resize or rename and its pretty easy to use.
www.irfanview.com

Hope this helps,
Carlton

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March 22, 2009

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March 22, 2009