UPDATE:
While everything below holds true, the way photoconnect
accepts images is changing. It will feature only images
from photographers who have their own websites supplied
by photoconnect. Unlike other photographer website
solutions, photoconnect allows you to tap into market
offered by people searching for images on the web.
More details will be on the site soon so you might want to check back. In the meantime please do not submit any images for review.
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You may or may not already have scans ready for web presentation
on our site. If not images should be scanned as follows:
Firstly, each file name must be less than 20 characters
(including .jpg). File names should not include abnormal
characters such as . or , $, #,~,@,\ or /. You may use -
or _. Avoid spaces in filenames.
Files to be submitted must be .jpg with image
width or height maximum of 550 pixels and minimum of
200 pixels. File size must
be less than 100kB. Submit at smaller dimensions
to ease the process of meeting this limit.
To achieve the file size you will normally need to use approximately
20% - 30% compression (quality setting 7 - 8 on Photoshop;
confusingly some software may call it 70% - 80%! If the result
does not look perfect then something is amiss.).
Sometimes decreased quality or increased compression will
be required to achieve the desired result. If image quality
visibly suffers then simply submit at a smaller overall pixel
size.
Ensure that your monitor is properly calibrated using Photoshop's
tools or equivalent. It is recommended that you use the sRGB
colourspace.
Apply whatever enhancement is required to make this image
look good on the buyer's screen. Remember that when the final
image is delivered the buyer will probably want you to reproduce
what is seen on a much larger scale. You must be able to
do this.
Be aware that while you may apply sharpening for the screen
image, the buyer may not want the final delivered image sharpened
as they often prefer to do this themselves. Do not sharpen
the originals. Turn off in-camera sharpening if you shoot
with a digital camera.
If you want a copyright notice on your image then please
place it there yourself - it must be unobtrusive.
Once you have the necessary scans in place, it's advisable
to organise them. Group your images for consistency of subject
matter - it may help you if you store each group you submit
in a folder. One folder for each submission which will correspond
to one of our pages. Submit up to 16 images for each page.
We are experienced in knowing how search engines work to
find images. We accordingly may make minor additions or amendments
to your submission. If you do not wish us to do this (for
example sometimes keywords are intentionally mis-spelt) then
please let us know.
The most likely reasons for lack of quality
are:
- Scan too small. Scan
30% larger than you final target size. Save as a .tiff.
Manipulate and crop that .tiff; resize to 550 pixels
or less as the final step other than sharpening.
- Lack of tonal range. Scan
at the maximum bit rate your scanner permits. Use histogram
and curve functions to get the best out of the image.
- Monitor not calibrated. Always
make sure your monitor is calibrated - if not what is
perfect for you may look dreadful on other monitors.
- Incorrect sharpening. Sharpen
after resizing using 'unsharp mask'. Do not over-sharpen
as image quality suffers.
- Manipulating .jpgs. Save
your scan as a .tiff. Always manipulate .tiffs. After
resizing, make final save as a .jpg.
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