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claireplymouth

How to include photos in a post (revised)

It's frustrating to many newcomers to see all the posts with photos included in the text and have no idea how it's done. With this post I'm attempting to explain the process so posting photos will be not only possible, but easy. This post is evolving and I'll keep revising it until it works. Comments are welcome and I'll include them in the next version.

We have an FAQ on How do I use HTML Code to change fonts and insert stuff in posts? that gives general information on inserting items in Garden Web forums. FAQ's are good, but new posters need to know they' exist.

There have also been many posts by different people giving their own preferences. Some of the posts have been terrific, and at some point I hope to track some of them down and link to them. What I'm presenting here is my preference mostly to get the information out now to people who need it now.

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To post a photo you need a digital camera that you can connect to a computer. You transfer the photo to the computer, then you upload that photo to the internet using your browser. You can either upload to a photo hosting website and then post a link to that site on Garden Web, or you can upload directly on some forums.

Once you have the photo somewhere on the internet, you have two choices for Garden Web. You can post a link to the website URL in the Optional Link URL box at the bottom of your message (don't forget to name it in the Name of the Link box), or you can post a link in the text of your message that links directly to your image on that website. The website URL is on the top of the page; the image HTML code is somewhere on that page.

These are the most commonly used methods to get a photo on the internet:

You can use a web hosting site where you can set up your own photo albums (there are many, such as Photobucket, Picasa and Picture Trail) or you can use TinyPic.com which is more of a web photo transfer site,

The advantage of the hosting site is that you can set up a page with many photos on it and organize them by topic. A great example is sedum37's site on Picture Trail (see the Flora in Winter thread).

diggingthedirt (on an earlier thread) adds this reason for using Picasa:

"Here's why I like google's picasa web more than the tinypic.com option:

If I select a small size for my photos when I post them via picasa, you can click on them and be taken directly to the larger size photo in the picasa album. If I click on a small tinypic photo, I end up at a page that offers me an account at tinypic; the original photo is nowhere to be found.

The small size Carol used (320px x 221px) seems really useful for threads where there are a lot of images. I often use an old laptop with limited graphics memory, and loading an image-heavy thread takes a VERY long time, and makes my computer behave badly. So, yes, the photo-hosting site is a personal choice, but there are a lot of details to consider when you choose!"

The disadvantage of the hosting site is that you have to set up an account, which some people may be reluctant to do.

The advantage of TinyPic.com is that it's very easy to upload one photo and link to it, and you don't have to set up an account.

The disadvantage of TinyPic.com is that you can only upload one photo at a time, which is not useful if you want to show many photos.

Whatever method you use to get your photo on the internet, you still have the options of posting a link to the website (in the optional URL box) or posting a link to the image in the body of your text.

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That said, I use TinyPic.com myself to include an image in the body of the text. I suggest you try TinyPic.com at first so that you can work out the bugs and get confidence that it will actually happen. Once you've mastered this, you can explore hosting sites to find whatever suits you personally.

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You don't have to set up an account at a hosting site if you use TinyPic.com.

1. The photo files on your computer must be in a format such as jpeg or jpg.

2. Using Tiny Pic, you hit the "Choose File" button and it searches your computer desktop.

3. Choose one then select a size ("Resize" button), and then UPLOAD NOW.

4. When the file is uploaded, copy the HTML tag, not the IMG tag.

5. Paste the HTML tag in the text message of your post, not in the "optional link URL".

This is the easiest way I know.

Claire

Comments (26)

  • diggingthedirt
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You might add ... or, I might add ... that photos more than about 700 pixels wide make it almost impossible to read a thread, because you have to scroll left-to-right to see the text between the photos. This affects ALL the text on the page, everyone's posts, not just the text around your own photo(s). It's a garden web "feature" I guess, my own web sites don't behave this way.

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    DtD: You bring up another excellent point, which I will add to the next version. My immediate worry is my own posting of photos. When I export the photos from my Canon ImageBrowser I've been using the custom settings they call Medium, i.e. 800 x 600 pixels. This size looks fine in the window I use in my Safari browser, but is this width (800 pixels) a problem for other people?

    This photo is 800 x 600 (800 wide):

    Rotating the camera 90 degrees makes the photo 600 x 800 (600 wide)

    If I choose the Small size, a photo becomes 640 x 480 (640 wide) and considerably colder, with all that snow.

    Rotating the camera 90 degrees makes a photo 480 x 640 (480 wide) and still cold.

    How are these sizes for people? There are always custom sizes, but these two (Medium and Small) are common sizes for reducing the size of photos. Maybe I should be using the Small setting.

    Claire

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I was lazy, I probably should have stayed with the same two photos at different sizes (an extra step in my image browser).

    This photo is 800 x 600 (800 wide):

    640 x 480 (640 wide)

    Rotating the camera 90 degrees makes the photo 600 x 800 (600 wide)

    480 x 640 (480 wide)

    Claire

  • diggingthedirt
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Either of those sizes works fine on my monitor. The smaller ones will load considerably faster, though, and offer enough detail that nothing's lost. The Picasa small is waaaay smaller, I'll test out those sizes when I have a mo.

    Thanks!

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    No consistency here in different programs. One Medium is another's Small, so we can't give an easy rule for the befuddled person who is only trying to get a photo on GW in an acceptable form. I was hoping this would be easy - I should have known better.

    I just tried exporting a photo from iPhoto in two sizes, Medium and Small.

    iPhoto Medium 640 x 427

    iPhoto Small 320 x 213

    This post is evolving in strange directions. For my purposes, it means that I should use Small size if I use the Canon ImageBrowser, but Medium size for iPhoto.

    Claire

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    DtD mentioned loading time as an issue also, so there are two effects related to the size of the photo as posted.

    1. Big photos mess up the readability of the thread - you have to scroll back and forth and back and forth to see both text and image.

    2. Big photos load slower - you have to sit around tapping your feet (or go wash the dishes) waiting for the pic to show up.

    All this will be added to the next version, hopefully in a concise, sensible fashion.

    Claire

  • corunum z6 CT
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Claire, I transfer pictures from Canon Image Browser to Picasa where, in the original setup of uploading to a new account and creating an album online, Picasa recommended 640x480 for posting on a website. I've not touched the settings and the 640x480 remains constant when I post on the web. In the new Birds/Mobile thread, I've posted directly under your latest entry where the difference is obvious and is, thankfully, sans snow. (The iris are lovely, BTW.) So, if the initial setting choice on a web photo album is numeric,the user has an easier time if they know the ratio size. Obversely, small, medium, and large is like buying a jacket made in Malaysia vs. Scotland - you have to try it on.

    Hats off for trying to perfect this for new folks.

    Jane

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    DtD/Jane: I'm seeing different processes here; i.e. when do you resize your photos? Do you convert the photo to a smaller size when you transfer it to your computer desktop, or do you upload the full size image to the internet web hosting site and then reduce the size for the link to GW?

    I've never used a web hosting site. Does that site become an application on your computer desktop that uploads for you? Do you transfer a photo to your desktop or directly to the web hosting site application?

    I started out using a dial-up internet connection (I now use a wireless modem, faster but not a blinding speed). Because uploading took so long, I've always resized photos so they're smaller by the time they get to my desktop and are ready to upload. I then use TinyPic without further resizing.

    There are a lot of variables here that I'd like to be able to explain (but I have to understand them myself before I attempt an explanation).

    If any newbies are still reading this, the next version will be easier to follow.

    Claire

  • corunum z6 CT
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Claire, I do not resize the pictures inside the Canon camera's software program. Yes, Picasa IS a free program loaded onto the computer's HD via Google. When I connect my camera to the computer via the USB cable or use the SD card, Canon Image Browser (or any camera brand software) transfers the pictures into its own program's current date folder. No resizing necessary. Normal picture size transfer is roughly 3648x2736, about 1.3MB. (A 640x480 picture is about 80kb. A huge download time difference.) After the pictures are in the camera's desktop program and I decide which ones to keep, it isn't until Picasa (the installed program) is opened on my desktop that IT automatically searches the computer for new pictures (because I told it to) and mirrors them into itself.

    I do not think this is a duplication of memory effort because the picture is stored in only one file on the HD but is shared/referenced/mirrored by the two programs, i.e., camera and Picasa.

    When a photo is to be uploaded to the Picasa web hosting site, it is ALREADY in the Picasa desktop program and is displayed by Picasa the same way as a camera program displays pictures- very easy. Open Picasa, sign into web account to open access to web hosting site if not automatically done, choose pictures to upload, click upload to web and another window opens to show that they have been successfully uploaded and can be viewed WITHIN the Picasa web hosting site as an album. Again, once the account is set up and a one click initial decision on the 640x480 recommended web size is made, it then becomes automatic for every picture upload and posting thereafter. Picasa DOES allow the user to change the upload size of the picture, but again, they recommended the 640x480, roughly 80kb, for web posting size.

    Yes, broadband speed is important and can be tested online. People with hard-wired, high-speed cable connections will not suffer the wait that dial-up or sometimes sluggish wireless will. However, in your generous effort to create simple to read instructions for "How to post pictures on GW", I suggest the same size picture 640x480 that most email programs also find acceptable for transference speed. So many variables among so many varied users on GW. For what it's worth, when you gave me instructions more than 3 years ago on how to post, I tried Tiny pics, some other web hosting site, but for me, Picasa is the easiest and fastest. I have a hard-wired, HS cable connection with a speed that ranges between 13500-18000kbps so the larger pictures are not bothersome. But uniformity of picture sizing would undoubtedly help everyone with loading time and the GW page display format.

    Hope something said here is of some use to you. Go get 'em, Tiger.

    Jane

    (don't know HTML, so pls forgive the caps used for emphasis. I know there is an HTML 'how to' on FAQ but have not mastered or remembered it)

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks, Jane. I'm mulling over the issues and trying to extract the bottom line information that will be helpful.

    I'm thinking that the choice of how to post photos depends largely on whether people have a hard-wired high speed connection and a nifty computer with lots of free space (for yet another program/application), or if they have an old computer crammed to the gills and a connection speed that creeps rather than leaps.

    Claire (processing all sorts of new information)

  • diggingthedirt
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    There are a couple more factors to consider; anyone who'd rather not know can stop here - I won't be at all offended.

    You can post a very big image and resize it within the browser, using

    img height="512" width="384" src = "yoururl/IMG_2205.jpg"

    in which case the entire image is transferred over the network and Firefox or other browser software resizes it in the fly. That still poses a problem for people with slow connections, but solves the page width problem.
    That comes out like this:

    instead of full-size:

    The other factor is graphics memory, which varies widely and is used by your system to render the file into a visual form on your monitor.

    I have a fast connection, but when I'm too lazy to bring my new laptop home from the office, I struggle along with an old one. The difference is amazing - a thread like "whats blooming" which has several images more than 1000 pixels wide, takes a very long time to load.

    Thanks for pulling this all together, Claire!

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You've confused me, DtD. You said "You can post a very big image and resize it within the browser.." I understand the commands, img height="512", etc. but I don't understand where you're applying them. Does this mean that you've posted the very big image on GW and you click on it to get the website URL where it sits, and then change the height and width at that time on that website? and then the change will be reflected in your GW post?

    This also brings up a fun issue: We've been talking about standard sizes like 800 x 600 and 640 x 480 which just determine the relative size of the photo and the photo still looks the same. But if you start playing with img height=whatever and width = whatever you can distort the photo into a tall skinny or squat fat photo like the old funhouse mirrors. This could be interesting.....

    Claire

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    DtD: I thought about it, and I'm assuming that you add these commands in the Message box before you submit the message. In other words, you have a huge photo sitting in Picasa or Photobucket or wherever, and you want to make it smaller so the page width isn't so bad on GW.

    When you set up your message on GW, you link to that photo on Picasa, etc. but you add the resizing commands just as you would other HTML code, like bold or italic text. That way, the photo on Picasa, etc. stays the same size, but the GW photo is reduced. Am I correct?

    Concerning playing with the funhouse pictures, Jane emailed me this link which shows how that works.

    Claire

  • diggingthedirt
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You're right that the code goes into the post that you type; that makes the actual browser resize the image. If you use picasa, and select your size there, you can still change it after you paste the link they provide you.

    I recently used it on another thread to include a photo that someone else had linked to; the link was to a hosting site (tinypic or something) that did not provide size options, and the image was over 1000 px wide; so I re-sized it manually when I included it in my post.

    And, yes, you can really wreak havoc with your garden by resizing images, and not just in html code. Why diet? No longer necessary, Photoshop has solved this age-old problem for us.

    Confused yet? LOL!

  • deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    One more question. One reason I post so many photos is I have the photobucket app on my iphone. I can directly from my iphone either upload a picture already taken (on Camera Roll of iPhone) or I can tell photobucket I'll be taking a new photo right then for it to upload. It's so fast and easy! Therefore I don't go through iPhoto and don't have the resizing option when I export. I checked out that link claire suggested with the HTML codes, but I noticed that those codes stretch or shrink the image based on the parameters you give it. I'm not exactly sure of my ratio of a photo taken with the iPhone (4:3?, 5:7?) so I don't know correct ratio to put in those commands. Using the wrong ratio would create squashed up or stretched out flowers. What's the iPhone ratio for photos, which I assume is a standard ratio?

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Deanna: I don't know much about iPhones or Photobucket, but there's no way you should have to type in the HTML codes to resize a photo. DtD gave those as a specific way to deal with an unusual situation after the fact. That would not be a normal procedure.

    The link was just to a fun way to distort your photos if you were so inclined.

    There must be "account settings" or "mobile settings" or "email settings" you can click on to customize your upload. This should just give you a few simple options for photo size. Maybe someone here has an iPhone and can comment.

    Claire

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Deanna: I found this link about iPhones and Photobucket.

    It looks to me as if when you upload a photo you are actually emailing the photo to your Photobucket account. If so, the app is probably automatically resizing the photo to what it considers an appropriate email size.

    Claire

  • deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Even though they're e-mailed they are still on the large side. I've included a link to a recent post using pics I uploaded to Photobucket straight from my phone. The size isn't TOO large, but for our fall swap I was hoping to post several pics of plants in bloom I'll be bringing. Those size pictures would make for an incredibly long post. I'd still like to figure out a way to resize them. If I can't then it's probably best to upload into iPhoto and put them in Photobucket from the computer. Oh, how lazy I am! I have to do it the "long" way! (Aren't we spoiled sometimes?!)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Sample of GW thread with Photo Bucket iPhone app pictures

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm way out of my league here, but How to resize photos within Photobucket sounds promising.

    also How do I resize an image? if the strange colored little ponies in the first link annoy you (I have nothing to do with them; I'm not that Claire).

    Claire

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Deanna: Even though the photo was resized when it was emailed to PhotoBucket, you should be able to resize it again when it's in the online album. You would then link to it as usual.

    Claire

  • terrene
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It's too bad that GW doesn't make it easier to post photos.

    I edit my photos in a simple picture editor, ftp them over to a folder on a friend's web server, and then insert the html image code into my post. This is a very simple process, but does require some web space, and a bit of a learning curve.

    How does a person use thumbnails in their posts? I wish that people who post more than a few photos in a single post would either use thumbnails or link to an album. The "What's Blooming" threads get very unwieldly to load and scroll through for example. Even though I have Comcast hi-speed and WIFI, I share the connection with 2 gamers - who tend to hog the router. Sometimes my computer crawls at the speed of dial up!

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    To be honest, I'm lukewarm about thumbnail photos. I'd rather see a series of reasonably sized photos that I can just scroll through and see enough detail to appreciate the plantings.

    Clicking on a thumbnail brings out the usual problems of slow loading of an online album, and I often just don't want to be bothered. That's just my experience with a moderate connection speed.

    Claire

  • saibaba75
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    im new here ....but it seems to me that there are better ways to get your photos ( conditions , circumstances, plants / flowers are a visual experience) in a thread ........a single small picture per posting? .......
    the site arch. could have been a bit more user friendly .....getting bogged down in communication strategies sucks the energy out of the exchange......sorry kids this site looked promising...all the best

  • diggingthedirt
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    LOL!

    I was re-reading this thread, thinking maybe there'd been an update to the FAQ, and remembering that I'd thought about suggesting that Claire add something.

    The detail I'd meant to suggest has to do with the hosting service you choose. These threads have a very long life; long after they've been scrolled off the front page of the forum, people find them while doing Google searches. It's really nice to have the images still available when you come upon a 5 year old thread, so, if possible, pick a hosting system that will allow you to let your photos accumulate. And, try not to remove photos that you've posted, if you can remember which ones those are.

    Maybe the previous poster was right, GW system architecture could be a little more user friendly, at least by providing a gallery space where we could stash posted photos.

  • Steve Massachusetts
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    DTD,

    Many forums do have a Gallery to store photos. Threads like "Show us your garden" or "Mobile features..." could be stored there. It may be a just a simple request to GW might allow that to happen.

    Steve

  • claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Very good suggestion DtD and Steve - I just sent an email to GW about a possible Gallery.

    "On the New England Gardening Forum, we have several recurring threads heavy with photos. Some of these have been posted regularly for years now, and we like to refer back to previous threads.

    It's getting more and more difficult to handle the reference links, and the earlier threads are getting perilously close to sliding off GardenWeb into oblivion. Is there some way we can post these earlier threads on a separate site (like a Gallery) so the photos and discussions are easily available even when they're a few years old? (the suggestion was initially made by steve_mass on a current thread).

    Two of the ongoing threads are:

    Show us your gardens - a photo thread - April 2012
    http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/neweng/msg0321532125456.html?6
    posted by pixie_lou

    and:

    Birds and other mobile features in the garden 2012 #2
    http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/neweng/msg021001279615.html?15
    posted by claire

    There will probably be other photo threads in the future that we would like to save as well.

    I'm the editor of the New England Gardening FAQ and I can add text posts to the FAQ, but not the many photos. I would be happy to serve as a Gallery editor if need be.

    Thanks,
    Claire"