Half the fun of taking photos is sharing them. E-mail, desktop wallpaper, and Web pages are great ways to show
off your pictures—as long as you adjust their size before sending or posting them so viewers can fully
appreciate the photos on their screens. If you've ever received a photo by e-mail that was too large to view on
your screen without scrolling, you've experienced what happens when the sender doesn't resize images before
sharing them.
Pixels are important
Pixels are bits of data that, together, make up an image. The more pixels there are, the higher the resolution
and image quality of the photo. High-resolution photos are ideal for larger prints, but lower-resolution photos
are ideal for e-mailing and onscreen viewing. Fortunately, it's easy to resize digital images once they've been
downloaded to a computer.
When sharing photos electronically, keep in mind that viewers may have varying screen resolutions and resize your
photos accordingly. For example, if you take a photo with a 6 MP setting on your camera and then send it to a
friend without resizing it first, the recipient won't be able to view the entire photo without scrolling.
If you want your photos to take up the entire computer screen, use your photo-editing software to size photos at
640 x 480 (the lowest screen resolution setting). Give the new lower-resolution image a slightly different name
before saving it to avoid overwriting the original, if you want to keep the higher-resolution version for other
uses (prints, for example). For viewers with higher resolution screen settings, this will still provide a
substantial image for easy viewing.
Before sending photos to friends and family via e-mail, make sure your pictures won't fill up their inboxes or
be too large for them to view onscreen.
Edit your photo using HP Photosmart Essential
so it's perfect for e-mailing. Step 1: Double-click any photo from your library. Step 2: Select Edit Photo > Resize from the menu choices on the left of the screen. Step 3: Choose E-mail 640 x 425 from the available choices. (These dimensions are ideal for emailing. You
can create a custom size if you like, but file size may increase.) Step 4: Click the Save a copy box, and then the Save button. Step 5: Browse to the file when attaching it in your email program.
Resize photos for Web pages
If you're posting photos on a Web page, consider how many photos will be displayed on the page before resizing.
Every photo takes up available screen pixels, so the more photos there are on a page, the smaller each needs to
be in order to fit. Photos also require time to download, so Web pages load more slowly when there are multiple
images (and more pixels). Do site visitors a favor and keep images relatively small to save time.
To size images just right for the Web, follow the same steps listed above, but choose
Web/Blog 320x212. Instead of E-mail.
Resizing your photos in Windows Vista is almost as easy as opening them. Just follow these steps: Step 1: Open your photo in Windows Photo Gallery. To do this simply right-click the image file and select Preview.
Or, click the Start menu and select Windows Photo Gallery.
Step 2: Select the E-mail tab at the top of the page.
Step 3: Choose which size image you want. Step 4: Select Attach, and Windows Vista will automatically attach your photos to an email in your computer's default e-mail application.
Learn more about what you can do with HP Photosmart Essential
software, from restoring pictures to removing red-eye and other edits.
Another way to share your photos online is with Snapfish.
Just upload your photos to Snapfish and choose who you'd like to view them. Snapfish sends an e-mail message to
them allowing them to view your photos. It's a great alternative for sharing and printing high-resolution photos
that would be too large to e-mail. Plus, Snapfish offers an easy way for you and your friends to print photos and
get them delivered to your door or to a store near you.
Printable version
