It's all about Optimising

So.. What is Optimising? 

Image Optimization - Optimising has various target destinations such as bit depth, resolution, dimensions and the intended image output so an example would be screen worldwide web. Data gets rearrange or gets rewritten to improve efficiency of retrieval or processing. When looking at image optimization it is using the most compressed so that would be the smallest file size which is visually acceptable images that are in the proper file format for the specific role of the image. It is needed for two reasons which is download time and bandwidth used. To you they could sound interrelated but they are very important for many reasons. The storage of the hardware if the third reason that many get applied in some cases. 

It involves choosing a suitable graphic compression format. Compression actually reduces the image file size and also the consequently the time which it takes to actually download and display in your browser. Files which are commonly compressed are GIF, JPEG and PNG. These compressed formats reduce file sizes by removing some information from the images. An example, using the JPEG format would reduce overall tonal range to reduce file sizes which means highlights and shadows because a lot less pronounced. If you’re reducing the file size of the image is can be a significant issue for websites which may have a larger subscriber bases such as maybe a new website. Some site owners can actually get charged for the amount of information of data which gets downloaded from their sites so that means if the website is very popular and the larger that the images are than they greater the traffic costs overall. 

Just a brief example – more information below.

Image optimization is actually an easy process. Firstly use Photoshop and edit the photo how you want it to look. Once you have manipulated your image to the correct appearance and canvas size you need to use the ‘save for web’ in the file menu. Using this will allow you to exercise fine-grained control over images and the file size. Many websites have JPEGS when they should actually use GIF's or PNG's. When looking at a JPEG graphic or a JPG they are determined by the quality of the overall image and also the image canvas size. Most JPGS look best but are the most efficient between 50-70 qualities. When looking at quality the factor is pretty much between 1 and 100, 100 is the highest quality which will determine how much compression is actually being applied to the image you’re using. In this case 50 would be the lowest range and the less important picture and then 70 being the highest for the larger for the important images which could be a graphic title or possibly a headshot. If you’re using a GIF or PNG graphic then its determined by the canvas size and also the number of colours in the optimized image. Most graphics and logos don't need 256 colours to actually look good they could use around 32 or 16. Either one of these graphics can look good as a large or small graphic depending on the type of graphic you’re creating. 

The image above is showing the higher quality picture. I have zoomed into the image which shows a good resolution overall. Below shows the image which i have print screened and zoomed into which shows a lower image quality because it’s not 100% in focus and and the resolution is starting to show the pixels in the image. 

So for now you know about Optimising I can tell you how to optimise an image! It is an easy process. First of all edit your photograph in Adobe Photoshop, its best using Photoshop rather than using a different program which aren’t at the same level as Photoshop. Once you have set the canvas size you want you can now save your image by going to ‘save to web’ in the commands at file menu. This will allow you to exercise fine grained controls over an image and its overall file size! You can then select the format for the job. If your image is very similar to a photograph then you should defiantly use a JPG format. However if it’s a graphic or something similar than I’d suggest you to use a GIF format or even a PNG format. Websites should be used GIF formats or PNG’s rather than JPEG’s which some sites do use. You MUST make sure you look for anything that looks distorted around the edges in JPGs which could should the poor quality of your image or graphic.