Think of photo resolution as “image quality”. Put into some very basic terms, resolution is the quality of the image. As the resolution goes up, the image becomes clearer. It becomes sharper, more defined, and more detailed as well. Why is that? Because there’s more information in the same small space. Your computer, laptop and your smartphone all have image resolutions. There are a certain number of dots in the space that is the screen. Put even more simply, the more dots you jam into the width and height of the screen, the higher the resolution. The less dots, the lower the resolution.
But there’s something that lots of people don’t know about when you upload photos to a social media site like Facebook or Instagram. Every time you post a photo to social media, it loses a tiny bit of quality. It’s not really noticeable for a single upload, but if you save and repost the photo over and over, the quality loss becomes extreme. It’s a concept known as “generation loss”. This is why your reposted photos start looking fuzzy, blurry or even getting weird dark spots that aren’t there on the original file (or upload in this case). I'll also note here that most social media applications also compress as you upload, which also can alter the look of your photos.
So, how to fix this? First off, use the original photo files when putting up photos. For those of you who have worked with me, I normally will send along a file that is marked –is or –de. I use those codes to denote that this is a file that has been sized appropriately to be used on the web (social media). It is sized to upload quickly and also within the standards that are used by most online applications.
I know that our tendency is just to want to grab the photo off the web and post again (or worse, take a screenshot with your phone and then repost), but your photos are going to start to look worse for wear because of generation loss.If promoters need photos, they should ask you for the original file for their posting needs because then they will be getting the best resolution (and image quality!) for their online advertising. This is also why it's better to share from an original posting as opposed to copying and reposting yourself!
So, please think twice before just grabbing a shot from the web and using it over and over again! Your beautiful professional photos will not do you justice – just take a moment and post your original file or send it along to who needs it.
But there’s something that lots of people don’t know about when you upload photos to a social media site like Facebook or Instagram. Every time you post a photo to social media, it loses a tiny bit of quality. It’s not really noticeable for a single upload, but if you save and repost the photo over and over, the quality loss becomes extreme. It’s a concept known as “generation loss”. This is why your reposted photos start looking fuzzy, blurry or even getting weird dark spots that aren’t there on the original file (or upload in this case). I'll also note here that most social media applications also compress as you upload, which also can alter the look of your photos.
So, how to fix this? First off, use the original photo files when putting up photos. For those of you who have worked with me, I normally will send along a file that is marked –is or –de. I use those codes to denote that this is a file that has been sized appropriately to be used on the web (social media). It is sized to upload quickly and also within the standards that are used by most online applications.
I know that our tendency is just to want to grab the photo off the web and post again (or worse, take a screenshot with your phone and then repost), but your photos are going to start to look worse for wear because of generation loss.If promoters need photos, they should ask you for the original file for their posting needs because then they will be getting the best resolution (and image quality!) for their online advertising. This is also why it's better to share from an original posting as opposed to copying and reposting yourself!
So, please think twice before just grabbing a shot from the web and using it over and over again! Your beautiful professional photos will not do you justice – just take a moment and post your original file or send it along to who needs it.
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