Neat avatars

[PJRiley]

I am the first to admit I'm no computer whiz, so thought I'd ask how you guys manage to upload such neat avatars? They are tack sharp, beautiful contrast/color, etc. When I try to keep mine within the 125x125 pixels, the file size is still too big. So, I get a nice photo that turns into a crappy little postage stamp🙁
Not the best example of my photography....
Mary

 

[rogue_designer]

Simple, more graphic images work better. Higher contrast, as a rule too. Generally you want to think in terms of images that still read well, even if they are severely degraded.

Your image, for instance, looks like it has too much small detail to hold well, to my eyes. And mostly in midtones. So it gets hard to tell what's going on when tiny.

Then some photoshop magic to get the image optimization in place (save for web options).

 

[nikon_sam]

Mary,

To tell you the truth I was so surprised when my avatar actually popped up on the screen...I don't change or update it like others do because I don't think I can do it again...
It's a picture of our cat "Ally"...she ran away a few years ago...we still have her brother "Max"...
Max is the blur in the background...

 

[RayPA]

mine doesn't look good, but that's what happens with an old flatbed scanner. I change mine fairly regularly. One way to make an avatar is to post the image in an online gallery somewhere and then go to the thumbnail of the image. Don't click on the image to open/enlarge it. Instead, right-click (cntrl-click on Mac) on the thumbnail and copy the image location. Come back here and paste the URL into the URL field in the Edit Avatar screen in User CP.



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[charjohncarter]

Mary, you have my vote. I can never get it where I want it: size, contrast, MP, etc.

 

[thomasw_]

Mary from Ontario, hello and welcome! It is great to find a fellow canuck posting on RFF even if you are from the wrong province 😛

Do you post your images on flickr or at another image hosting site like smugmug, etc.? Generally they have a function for posting smaller, but higher quality versions of your images for use as avatars.

 

[kshapero]

I usually resize a bunch of photos then upload them one at a time until I get one that looks good.

 

[OldNick]

I just checked my avatar photo in my files, and it is 90 x 68 pixels, created by resizing the original using Photoshop. Works ok for me. Any of the avatars can be examined for properties by right-clicking on the avatar and moving down to open "properties".

Jim N.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Thanks a lot for posting how to do this in a Mac, Ray! 😀 Let's see if now I can change my avatar... Notice that now, it's a staircase. Let's see what it turns out to be later...

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Wow... my clown friend from Nuremberg is now my avatar! 🙂

 

[RayPA]

Thanks a lot for posting how to do this in a Mac, Ray! 😀 Let's see if now I can change my avatar... Notice that now, it's a staircase. Let's see what it turns out to be later...

Your welcome, Francisco! The clown looks good!


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[PJRiley]

Maybe I'll email a larger image to my office Mac, which has CS2. I have a Mac at home but not Photoshop. I spend all my spare cash on gear 🙂
I was going to post this in the RF photography forum, but wasn't sure where it would get the best response. Looks like I'm not the only one who had to resize the thing 5 times!