People upload photos to pages on social networks, to their websites, open topics on forums, send to friends and relatives via email, etc. Photos taken with modern cameras take up a lot of space. various media information.
Users often face the question: “ how to compress a photo?", because the "large weight" of the image causes the following inconveniences:
- Traffic problem - there are still countries and cities in the world where you can only use wireless internet, accordingly, it is charged by the number of bytes downloaded, so photos need to be compressed so that a person can download them if necessary, and not waste all the traffic on one image;
- Loading speed of web pages – even those users who are connected to a high-speed Internet will have problems loading “heavy” photos, that is, the entire page will be loaded, and the photo will still take some time to load. You also need to remember about loading the page on devices using Mobile Internet, the speed of which is low, and too heavy photographs slow down this process even more;
- Size restrictions – social media and various sites set restrictions on the size of uploaded photos - this is necessary for their normal functioning;
- Original size - photographs that take up a lot of space on storage media are actually several times larger in size than the one in which they are displayed on the screen, which causes various incidents with downloading to/from the Internet.
To avoid such problems, you need to compress photos for the Internet. For personal use, that is, viewing on your PC or laptop, this is not necessary.
Online photo compression
Compressing a photo online is the easiest and most quick way solutions to the problem that the image weighs too much. To do this, you need to go to an online service that focuses on photo compression: basically, it is reducing the size of pictures by reducing the expansion.
Below are several free online services of this kind:
- Image Optimizer - this service provides the ability to compress, optimize and resize images. The service's interface is easy to use: to get started, you need to upload a photo from your device, select the size and optimization option. You can also install this optimizer on your computer:
- Web Resizer – using this online service you can edit a photo: compress, crop, add borders, change brightness, contrast, saturation and some other parameters:
- PunyPNG – also free program, which works with various formats images and is effective in reducing the weight of images:
Photo compression programs
« How to compress photo size?“- such a question often appears before beginning photographers, and not only before them.
The biggest mistake is trying to make a photo smaller without changing the image size, but sacrificing the quality of the image. The result of such actions is blurred image, which does not fit on the screen. To get a good picture with little weight, you can use the simplest graphic editor called Paint:
Reducing the size of an image in paint is not difficult if you follow these steps:
- Open an image using Paint;
- Click on the “Resize” button, after which the window will open:
- In the “change” field, activate “interest”, check the “ maintain proportions", we write down a number that determines how many percent the reduced image will be from the original one. In our case, this is 80%. After clicking “Ok” you can see the result:
- Save the result by clicking on “File”, “Save as”. Next, you need to select an extension and enter a name. This procedure resulted in a reduction in size to half the original size.
You can also reduce the weight of a photo in the professional graphics editor Photoshop:
To reduce weight you need:
- Open the photo in Photoshop;
- Enable the " Save for web and devices» ( Save for Web & Devices), which is located in the “File” menu:
- In the window that opens, set the settings: format and quality. Reduce quality ( quality) more than 50% is not recommended. At the bottom of the window there are settings for width and height, with which you can also reduce the size:
- All that remains is to save the resulting image. Below is the result of the manipulations performed:
How to compress photos to send via e-mail or just for posting on the Internet? As mentioned above, before sending, you need to reduce the weight of the images. When performing compression, it is advisable to adhere to the following rules:
- The weight of the image should not exceed 100 KB, and the size should be 800 by 600 pixels - this is due to the fact that there are still monitors that do not work well with giant pictures;
- When the weight of a photo is reduced, marks may appear on the photo, indicating that it has been compressed. To hide this, you need to blur the photo a little using the Blur tool in Photoshop, setting the value to 0.1 - this will be enough;
- It is best to save images in JPEG format.
We compress a lot
How to compress several photos at once? Often there is a need to send someone a large number of photos or simply post them on a website. Naturally, first the weight of the photo needs to be optimized. This can be done either online or using programs installed on a PC or laptop.
How to compress many photos online at once? To solve this problem, there are specialized services, such as Kraken.io. This service allows you to process a large number of photos at one time, but their total weight cannot exceed 10 megabytes.
For better photo processing, it is better to use applications that are installed on your computer. An example of such a program is Picture Combine - this graphics editor allows batch optimization of photos. The program is easy to use, so anyone can master it:
How to compress multiple photos in Photoshop
Photoshop also has the ability to compress multiple photos at once. To do this, you need to create an action - an algorithm of actions for batch processing photographs.
Below are the steps to create such an algorithm:
- Create two folders. First, save the images that need to be reduced. The second will store already processed photographs;
- Next, you can start recording the photo processing algorithm. In the "Window" menu ( Window) you must click on the item “ Creating a new operation» ( Create new action), enter a name for the new action and click on “OK”;
- Recording actions will begin after clicking on the “Start Recording” button ( Degin recording);
- To reduce a photo, you need to open the file from the folder in which the images for processing are stored (File -> Open) (File -> open). In the "Image" menu ( Image) choose " Image Size» ( image size) — the extension and size settings window will open. After making changes, you must click on “Ok”. You can now save the thumbnail image to an empty folder using the Save As command ( Save as);
- Next, you need to stop recording the algorithm by clicking on “ Stop recording» ( Stop recording);
- For automated processing remaining photos in the File menu you need to select “Automation" ( Automate). Inside this menu, use the function “ Batch Processing» ( Batch);
- To process the entire folder at once, you need to go to the “Source” menu ( Source) select “Folder” ( Folder), then click on “Select" ( choose) and specify the folder with photos. You also need to determine where the processed photos should be sent, to do this in “ Location" ( Destination) select “Folder” ( Folder) and using “Select” ( choose) indicate the created empty folder. To fully automate the process, you need to activate the “ Overwrite, Save Command As» ( Override action “Save As” commands), otherwise you will need to approve the saving path for each individual photo. To start processing, click “Ok”.
Compressing an entire folder
How to compress a folder with photos? This question usually arises when you need to save photos on a medium with a small capacity, for example, on a flash drive. Or when you need to send a large number of photos by email.
Because I am a beginner needlewoman, I will publish planned master classes about what I know. But I know how to work with graphic editors (basics). Therefore, I will share with you my hand-made experience)))
Now more and more needlewomen are acquiring good cameras, which tend to take fairly large photos.
Side notes: You can find out the real size of your photos in Photoshop using the hot keys Ctrl+Alt+0 (zero) - pressed simultaneously. As a result, you see your photos at 100% scale.
It is considered a good practice to reduce photographs before posting them on the Internet.(after all, not all users have fast internet). There are two ways to do this in Photoshop:
Method number 1. Reduce each photo using the "image size" function.
Select in top menu: Image - Image size or hot keys Alt+Ctrl+I (pressed simultaneously)
Set the desired width or height, click OK and the image will be proportionally reduced.
This method is convenient for one or two images. What if we have a lot of these images? Then comes to the rescue...
Method number 2. Batch image processing.
Open the folder with the photos you want to reduce.
Select the necessary photos and drag them onto the work field (or through the menu: file-open)
Select from the top menu: file-scripts-image-processor
The following window opens:
In the window that opens set the options we need:
1. Use open images
2. Select a location to save processed images: I usually select "Save in the same location" and the thumbnail photos are saved in the same folder in created by the program separate JPEG folder (I hope I explained it clearly)
3. File type:
Because we have photos for the blog, check the box "Save as JPEG" and set the image quality from 1 to 12 (the larger the number, the better quality photographs, but the more “heavier” they are, it is better to choose the golden mean)
At the point "Resize" set the size we need (the correct proportions of width and height can be determined using method No. 1 described above, but even if you have photos with different proportions, the program will reduce them without distortion)
Click the "Run" button and - voila! Now we have thumbnail images in a separate folder))
I hope I explained everything clearly)) I will be happy to try to answer all your questions!
ANSWERS ON QUESTIONS:
from Elena Mershchieva - Does reducing the size of photographs change their quality?
Of course, the image quality also depends on the size of the photos. And, if your photo contains a lot of important small parts, you need to reduce the size without compromising these details. The best option is to experiment and find your optimal photo size.
As an example, I’ll give you photos from my camera (Nicon DSLR, a gift from my husband for my 30th birthday), and at the same time I’ll show you how the pine cones bloomed on my Christmas tree))) I post the photos “as is,” i.e. in original size.
Original photo: width 4,288 pixels, photo weight 1.42 MB.
Reduced photo: width 1,000 pixels, photo weight 174 KB
As you can see, the quality has not suffered much, and the “weight” has decreased significantly (again, this saves space for future photos on the blog). And now my page is taking a long time to load.:(Once again, I draw your attention to the fact that you must choose the optimal image size yourself, since everyone has different cameras and shooting parameters.
Good day.
Imagine the problem: you need to crop the edges of an image (for example, 10 px), then rotate it, resize it and save it in another format. It doesn’t seem to be difficult - I opened any graphics editor (even Paint, which is available in Windows by default, will do) and made the necessary changes. But imagine, if you have a hundred or a thousand similar pictures and images, you won’t edit each one manually?!
To solve such problems there is special utilities, designed for batch processing of pictures and photographs. With their help, you can very quickly resize (for example) hundreds of pictures. This article will be about them. So…
I mBatch
A very, very good utility designed for batch processing of photographs and pictures. The number of possibilities is simply huge: changing the size of pictures, cropping edges, flipping, rotating, adding watermarks, converting color photos to black and white, adjusting blur and brightness, etc. To this we can add the fact that the program is free for non-commercial use, and that it works in all popular versions of Windows: XP, 7, 8, 10.
After installing and launching the utility, to start batch processing of photos, add them to the list of edited files using the Insert button (see Fig. 1).
Rice. 1. ImBatch - adding a photo.
Next, on the program taskbar you need to click the “ Add task "(see Fig. 2). Then you will see a window in which you can specify how you want to change the pictures: for example, change their size (also shown in Fig. 2).
After the selected task has been added, all that remains is to start processing the photo and wait for the final result. The running time of the program mainly depends on the number of images being processed and the changes you want to make.
XnView
One of best programs to view and edit pictures. The advantages are obvious: very light (does not load the PC or slow down), a large number of possibilities (from easy viewing and ending with batch photo processing), support for the Russian language (for this, download the standard version, in the minimal version there is no Russian), support for new Windows versions: 7, 8, 10.
To start editing several pictures at once, in this utility press the Ctrl+U button combination (or go to the menu “ Tools/Batch Processing«).
- add a photo for editing;
- specify the folder where the changed files will be saved (i.e. photos or pictures after editing);
- indicate the transformations you want to perform for these photos (see Fig. 5).
After this, you can click the “Run” button and wait for the processing results. As a rule, the program edits pictures very quickly (for example, I compressed 1000 photos in just over a couple of minutes!).
I rfanView
Another viewer with wide photo processing capabilities, including batch processing. The program itself is very popular (previously it was generally considered almost basic and was recommended by everyone for installation on a PC). This may be why you can find this viewer on almost every second computer.
Among the advantages of this utility that I would highlight:
- very compact (size installation file only 2 MB!);
- good speed;
- easy scalability (with the help of individual plugins you can significantly expand the range of tasks it performs - that is, you install only what you need, and not everything by default);
- free + support for the Russian language (by the way, it is also installed separately :)).
To edit several images at once, run the utility and open the File menu and select the Batch conversion option (see Fig. 6, I will focus on English, since after installing the program it is installed by default). 
Rice. 7. Start the photo modification pipeline.
After clicking the Start Batch button, the program will convert all photos to a new format and size (depending on your settings). In general, extremely comfortable and useful utility, also often helps me out (and not even on my computers :)).
This is where I end this article, all the best!
When working with a large number of images, quite often there is a need for their group processing. For example, you need to resize several photos at once, transferred from a camera or phone to a computer in order to send them by mail or upload to social networks or any other service where there is a limit on the size or resolution of the uploaded image. You won't manually resize each picture, will you? There are many programs for these purposes, both paid and free. I will talk about some of them in this article.
Microsoft Office Tools
Now almost every computer user has Windows control installed Microsoft package Office. This package includes an application such as " Microsoft Office Picture Manager" is a program for viewing and editing images. To change the resolution of several pictures, first copy them to new folder, so as not to overwrite the original files.
Click right click mouse over one of the pictures and select the option context menu"Open with > Microsoft Office Picture Manager."
Select the desired images with the mouse or, if you need to resize all the images in the folder, press the key combination “Ctrl+A”. Then click the "Change Pictures" button and on the right side of the "Resize" panel.
We put the switch in the “arbitrary width and height” position, and enter new values in pixels in the corresponding fields.
IrfanView
IrfanView – excellent free application to view and edit images. I still remember how in the early 2000s, when it first appeared, I used it on a computer running Windows 98, since it did not slow down, loading images while viewing, unlike other applications. Now it supports Windows up to the latest version 8 (at the time of writing this article).
So, launch the application and select the menu option “File > Batch Conversion/Rename…” or press the “B” key. A dialog box for working with a group of files will appear.
We add files to the queue in the right area of the dialog: go to the desired directory, select the files and click the appropriate buttons: “Add” or “Add all” (if you need to add all files from the current folder). In the "Output directory for result files" section, specify the folder on the disk where you want to save the photos with the new resolution. To change the resolution of pictures we need a group of buttons "Batch conversion settings". In the "Output Format" drop-down list, select the format of the final image files. If you have photos in "JPG" format and want to leave them in that format, just leave them as "JPG". Next, the most important thing: check the “Use advanced options (for bulk resize…)” checkbox and click the “Advanced” button. will appear additional options. As you can see, there are a lot of them.
In fact, we only need the "RESIZE" group, put a checkmark next to it. Next, in the “Set new size” branch, in the “Width” and “Height” fields, enter new values for the width and height resolutions. If you need to maintain proportions, enter only one value. We save the settings by clicking the "OK" button, the settings dialog will close, and in the previous dialogue, click on the "Start Batch" button. The batch processing process will start, displaying information about the current job.
After processing is complete, click on the “Exit Batch” button. Images with the changed resolution will be placed in a new folder, while the original files will remain untouched.
When working with a large number of photos, quite often there is a need for batch processing!
One example of this batch processing is when you need to resize multiple images at once. In this article I will tell you how to do this using the program - XnView.
For example, we have a specific situation: we need to send a certain number of photos by mail or upload them to social networks (any other service), where there is a limit on the size of the uploaded file. Surely we won't manually resize each image? That's right, that's what they exist for special programs, one of which we will look at today. Viewer and editor graphic files — XnView. By the way, I wrote about how to quickly resize an image in the article “”. I recommend to read.
The program has a simple, clear and convenient interface, high speed work. To get started and launch (version).
This is what the program window looks like; on the left → all folders and files of the system, at the top → toolbar. In this case, we are interested in the Transform tool.
1. Using the Ctrl+O key combination, open the folder with the files that we will edit.
2. Now our files are in the program window → press Ctrl+A (select all files) → and click on the “Transform” tool.
3. A new “Batch Processing” window will appear in front of us. Here you need to specify the folder where to save the images after processing and click tab → “conversion”.
4. In the left column, select the desired processing parameter. In this case it is “Resize”. Next, the add button becomes active → click add. Now that the Resize tool is selected in the right window of the program, set the parameters.
The conversion parameters can be set arbitrarily (by specifying the width and height yourself), or you can let the program do this as a percentage. By choosing, for example, 25%, you will receive this percentage of the original. I leave the “Maintain proportions” parameter as it is, but uncheck the “change height with width” option.
5. After the settings have been made, click → “Run” and start the process. When the process is complete, open the final folder and check the result.
The first screenshot shows the result before batch processing; on the second → after
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