Saved Images for Web- Lightroom
I think by now photographers know how much this world has moved to being a digital world, but we still need to make sure we understand the difference between having our images optimized for print verses web.
There are several image optimizing ways to prep your images to be seen online and over the next couple days I'm going to cover Lightroom, Photoshop and Bridge on the following topics.
How to save in the best web quality from Lightroom or Photoshop.
How to quickly check if your color, filetype and filename are prepped for web.
How to add keywords quickly to help build SEO online using Bridge
LightRoom
Saving your Images from Lightroom
If you're a photographer that shoots in RAW (which you should) and you're already familiar with working in Adobe Lightroom, then this will just be one of your final steps AFTER you've edited your images.
Go to FILE-EXPORT
2. After going to FILE-EXPORT a window will pop up prompting you to fill out the required info.
3. Export Location: Depending on how your organize your files, this will vary. You'll want to create a folder in the location you'd like, then use the CHOOSE button to find that folder and the images will export into there. You can also, create a sub folder within that folder if you'd like. Using the PUT IN SUBFOLDER BUTTON - you can then fill in the name of what you want your folder to be. I named my subfolder - WEB
4. File Naming: It's so important to keep things organized from the beginning, but I'll talk about staying organized with files later. If you named your files the way you wanted during importing then you can just leave the filename alone. I like to go ahead and name my files how I might want them for my blog, or a client by editing the format in this window.
To edit the format, click the drop down menu and click EDIT.
Once you're in the Custom Edit Mode, you can play around with how you would like the naming convention of your files.
To optimize your SEO I would put your name of business or name, the general photo session type: portraits, midwest weddings, etc. I then usually put WEB at the end so I always know this file was saved out for WEB.
Then sequence your files with any of the options below, I chose by sequence not original filename.
Make sure to preview the example it shows above then hit DONE.
5. File Settings: Unless you're exporting a logo or digital art there isn't any reason why you would be uploading anything other than a JPEG file to the web. Leave Quality at 100 - some people change this to help with file size, but I NEVER do.
6. Color Space: THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT - make sure if you're images weren't shot in sRGB to begin with, that they are being exporting as sRGB now for web.
5. File Settings: Unless you're exporting a logo or digital art there isn't any reason why you would be uploading anything other than a JPEG file to the web. Leave Quality at 100 - some people change this to help with file size, but I NEVER do.
6. Color Space: THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT - make sure if you're images weren't shot in sRGB to begin with, that they are being exporting as sRGB now for web.
7. Image Sizing: The MOST important part when it comes to saving for web - the size.
Always do 72 ppi (pixels per inch)
If you have a blog or like to stick to an exact size then check the Resize to Fit box and follow the dropdown menu to either Long Edge or Short Edge. If I'm blogging with Wordpress I export all my vertical images with Short Edge and all my horizontal images with Long Edge. This allows for all my images to flow on the page, being the same width across - in this case I chose 2000 pixels.
Always make sure to check the Don't Enlarge button while doing this, you don't want to ask Lightroom to blow up your images larger then what will look good.
8. Metadata: I include all of my metadata when saving out of Lightroom, when importing you can create presets for keywords and information you want in your images and that data will remain. In my next tutorial I will show you what you can do with that data in Bridge!
9. Watermarking: I never do this, but this is great if you're giving your clients proofs or galleries. Lightroom allows you to upload your own logo or you can use Lightroom's settings to create just text.
So this is the beginning of what I do in Lightroom to optimize my photos for the web! Next up will be Photoshop and Bridge and how to learn the SEO image tricks. If you have any questions fell free to message me.
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-Tara
TARA SHUPE
Tara Shupe is a Humanitarian Photographer and Video Storyteller, constantly traveling with a camera attached to the hip and a notebook in her pocket. With over 10 years of experience in the field, Tara approaches each story intimately with a hope for inspiring others to think beyond their comfort zone.
