Have you ever wanted to upload a good-looking photo, but its size is way too big? It must be a disappointing and frustrating time. Indeed, compressing size is the solution that comes to mind. However, the photo loses its previous quality after compression. How frustrating! Worry not! In this article, you will learn how to compress photos to achieve their best result.
Why Do You Need to Compress Photos?
The quality and the size of a photo should be balanced. Unfortunately, a good-quality photo requires a large size, which some people might not understand the consequences of. However, there are several reasons why compressing photos is not a bad idea and can actually benefit you.
Firstly, it will reduce the loading time of your website pages. Photos in large sizes will take longer to load on the website, especially with a slow internet connection. You may be patient during the waiting time, but not your website visitors. Researchers have proven that visitors will only want to wait approximately three seconds for a website to load. If it takes more than three seconds for the page to load completely, it increases the chance that visitors will exit without exploring your website.
The next benefit of compressing photos is that it saves you more space in the memory storage of your computer, phone, or laptop by almost 80%. Memory storage is usually limited, and you can save a lot of good photos without being aware of their large sizes.
Sooner or later, it reaches its maximum capacity, and it won’t be easy to delete those photos just to free up some memory space. Lastly, sending images through social networks and email will be a lot quicker. Large-sized photos will take some time to upload, regardless of your internet speed.
Thus, you need to know how to compress photos. Photo compression definitely eliminates any waiting time and allows you to explore more of the other features of social media or email.
How Does Photo Compression Work?
There are various methods of photo compression, yet only some are capable of producing a great result. If you do not reduce the size in sequence, the quality will be poor, and the image will appear blurry. The key is to compress photos properly by knowing the image formats. By understanding the information, you will be able to determine which type of compression to use.
It is because an image format can only support one type of compression. Thus, you cannot apply compression to an image format that is not compatible with another. To simplify, here is a brief explanation of the two types of photo compressions.
1. Lossless Compression
Lossless compression is a type of compression that preserves the quality of a photo without reducing it. No critical data is being removed from the original quality, so your photo will remain as good as before. The advantage of this type is the flexibility. You can restore the photo without any significant degradation or distortion.
However, the disadvantage is the inability to downsize the photo size too dramatically, as this can decrease its quality. So you still need to know how to compress photos properly. The most popular image format to use for this method is PNG.
2. Lossy Compression
Lossy compression is the process of permanently removing insignificant data, unlike lossless compression. In other words, you may not be able to recover the change you have made. It can also reduce the size of photos. However, the image quality will turn horrible if you compress the photo too much.
It is essential not to overdo it and put just the right amount of compression. The most common image format that uses a lossy compression method is JPEG.
Easy Way: How to Compress Photos
1. On an Android Smartphone
Sometimes turning on your computer requires too much energy, especially when you need to compress photos urgently. The solution is to download editing apps to your phone, such as Pixlr, Adobe Photoshop Express, Lit Photo’s Photo Compress, Codenia, and Resize Me.
Usually, the steps to reduce size are relatively straightforward. Let us take Resize me as an example. After you download the app to your phone, launch it and select the photo whose size you want to reduce. You will immediately see options such as cropping, rotating, and reducing, from which you can choose the size you wish to have.
It is very convenient and does not require a high level of photography knowledge to compress photos.
2. Using Online Platforms
Online platforms provide convenience, and once you click one of them, you usually face a big word: ‘Select image’. Let us take iLoveimg.com as an example. On the first page, you can see the option of ‘select image’ which you may click to allow you to choose the photo you wish to compress its size.
You can also select a photo from your Google Drive or Dropbox. Once your photo is uploaded, click ‘Compress Image’ to proceed with the compression. Next, wait for the result to appear. Unfortunately, most online platforms do not allow you to select the size you prefer.
Any Other Tool to Compress Photos?
Typically, you need some editing skills to compress photos effectively using software like Photoshop. Moreover, Windows and Mac computers will most likely provide their default programs installed to reduce photo sizes. Fortunately, there are online platforms that offer such services, including CompressJPEG, TinyPNG.com, and iLoveIMG.com.
However, there is also a photo editing service company that retouches your photos to make them look professional. They are trustworthy and offer the most comprehensive services for your photography needs.
Ready to Compress Photos?
These days, there are numerous ways to compress photos, including using online platforms and mobile apps. However, sometimes the results are not as accurate as you want them to be. On the other hand, learning how to compress photos properly requires time and effort. If you find it too challenging to move or edit on your own, you can turn to a photo editing service company.
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