This is very outdated page. I did this approx 2002-2005. Worthless but I figured I’d keep.
The tips below where done in Paint Shop Pro which is an inexpensive program that is a very good product for the price.
I personally use Photoshop.
Here are some basic tips for scanning and resizing your photos.
When scanning your photos. DO NOT scan over 100 dpi. Most people think that they have to scan at 600-720 to get a good quality photo. This is only on printing. When your talking internet, you are comparing dpi (scanner) to pixels (computer monitors). These are completely different. Plus this will save tremendously on your hard drive. I have actually had 10 megabyte photos sent to me (that’s HUGE!). All you are doing when scanning at a higher dpi is making the file size bigger NOT the quality.
Re-sizing and “cropping” photos seems be the biggest problem for most people when editing photos,
so here’s a basic tips on how to do both :
Open your photo in your favorite editing software (I use Photoshop). This demo will be shown using Paint Shop Pro (about $99) since it is most affordable and a very good program for doing photo editing, graphics….. (sure beats paying $700 for Photo Shop! Paint Shop Pro is what I used to start out with. Most photo editing software works about the same, but you can use most any type of graphics program to achieve the same results..
You can download a trial version of Paint Shop Pro here. (Corel has bought out JASC..updated 10/05..this is old… possibly 2001 or 02, just wanted to leave the info here)
If you like it, visit you local computer store and pick up a copy. You can order it online as well. It’s always nice having the manual though.
Look for a toolbar located on the left hand side (in Paint Shop Pro). If you do not see a toolbar at all go to “View- Toolbars-Tool Palette”. Then you will see an icon somewhere on your left toolbar that looks like a “dotted square”. This is called a cropping tool. You will need to activate this by clicking on it, then you will need to draw a nice rectangle around what you would like to keep (everything on the INSIDE of this square will be saved). If you mess up simply click on the “Undo” arrow or go to “Edit”-Undo. redo it until you get it the way you want it.
Then you will need to go to “Edit-Crop to image” (Paint Shop Pro). This will cut away any excess photo that you do not want in the photo.
Then go to “image”-resize. This will bring up a box with your current dimensions in it. Now you should see the “width” section already in blue ready for your new size. Before typing in anything be sure the “Maintain aspect ratio of “x.xxx to 1” is checked (this will keep your dimensions in proportion). Now go back to the “Width at the top of the same box and type in 325* as the width. You should not have to worry about the height since most car photos are wider than taller, your height should fall WELL below the maximum of 325 (height) that the e-Parts Source Car Show and Classifieds Requires.
Once you have typed in 650 (our maximum size allowed in our classifieds and our “Customers Rides” section is 525 wide, so you can type this in if you wish), you can click on “OK”. This will bring your image to the maximum width dimension. Now to save it simply click on “File-save as” and this will bring open your “local” folders. Find a folder you will remember, or create a folder and name it a_photos. I name all my useful folders with an “a_” in front (i.e. a_scripts a_photos a_showphotos…), this way, the folder will be listed at the very beginning of your folders since they are alphabetical. Anyway, once you find a folder you want to save your photos in, open that folder, then you will find at the bottom of that box “File Name”. Name your photos, then in the “Save as Type” drop down box, look for .JPG or .GIF (I strongly recommend .JPG for photos). Then click on save. There you have it, your photos are all set for either the Classifieds or your bike listing. So have at it Hope this helps you!
A couple of tips on saving your image files:
- When saving photos, its a good idea to name them something like fatboy_tank.jpg or fatboy_fender.jpg. (notice no spaces, I use the underscore to fill a space).
- Also, when you are naming your files, its a good idea to keep the first word the same, this way when you open the folder all the photos of that same car will be grouped together (since they are in alphabetical order). Name them like in the above tip NOT tank_fatboy.jpg and fender_fatboy.jpg these photos will be completely separated and hard to find. This is just a useful tip in file management.
If you still need help, still don’t want to edit your own photos, or you don’t have any type of editing software, you can email your photos to us (be sure to remove the _SPAM in the email address before sending!!) and we will upload them for you.
Please be sure and let us know the Customer Rides number (reference number) you are.
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