Posting large pictures in Blogger

As is evident from my last entry, I FINALLY figured out how to post large pictures! I had been having problems with picture quality on my previous attempts and was getting really frustrated. Since this took me several weeks to figure out, I thought I'd share my solution.

Here's what I WAS doing (don't do this!) -

After editing, I would upload a full-size jpeg file to Flickr and paste the HTML code into my blog. Then, I'd resize the photo to 810 pixels by editing the width within the code. This method degraded the quality of my photos significantly.

Here's what works -

1. After editing, resize your pictures in Photoshop to exactly the size you need for your blog. Mine are typically 810 pixels wide but it depends on what template you are using. In Photoshop, go under the Image menu, then to "Image Size" and a dialogue box will pop up. You will need to check the "resample image" box, then you can adjust the pixels to whatever is needed. If you adjust the width, the height will automatically adjust to preserve your aspect ratio (and vice versa). The ppi does not affect quality (for blogging purposes) as long as it is 72ppi or greater. Most people's computer screens are 72ppi.

2. Save and upload the photos to Flickr (or another photo-hosting service).

3. Get the html code for your photo from Flickr and paste it directly into your blog posts. The code can be found when you click the "all sizes" button above above any picture in Flickr and choose "original size".

That's it!