It also should be more or less square for the main pic. Even when I use small pictures, the bottom is cut off if the photo is longer than it is wide. So now I try to find square or wider pics for the first (main) one. The rest post fine whether they longer or wider. It's just that all important main photo that seems to need an avatar-like photo to look its best.

I must have 50 tips for photos but here's a couple of biggies:

1. Make sure the picture is in focus. If you take a close-up shot, use your camera's "macro" feature so that it will focus. Look for a little symbol of a flower on your camera's controls -- that is for the macro setting. Push it until your display shows the flower symbol. Once it does, you can get the camera REAL close and it will focus. Some of my best shots are macros.

2. Adjust the picture's contrast so that it's clear and bright. If you use any version of Photoshop, hold down the "Cntl" key and press "L" -- that is the "Levels" command and it brings up a screen that lets you control contrast. Sliding the left slider to the right makes blacks darker, and sliding the right slider to the left makes whites whiter. A little sliding goes a long way but it's how I adjust my pictures to be bright and clear.

Start with those two and see if it helps. Practice, practice practice!

--Bob

Oh, I thought of another. This one is not on taking photos but is about photos here.

I've been asked how I get a bunch of photos up.

There are three to add right from the start (not including the main photo if that has not already been adding by someone). After those are in, publish the review. Then you can press edit and add another photo. Publish. Edit. Add photo. After the first three, it's one at a time going through edit.

I do watch the length and make sure I don't have more photos than text. In other words, when the photos get near the bottom of my review, I stop. That way the lay out still looks attractive.

You don't have to actually post a review to add more than three photos to it. You can put it into draft mode, then you can add one more picture each time you re-open it. That's how I usually do it.

--Bob

That's what I do, Bob, rather than publishing it. Although I have published reviews and then wanted to add another picture. Jo still practicing;)

My only tip on photos is to post an original photo whenever you can!  You wouldn't believe how seeing a picture of a product can really tell a lot.  Words can only say so much to describe a product, but a photo helps a bunch AND lets you cut out some sentances since you no longer have to fully describe everything.

Photos are most helpful for vacation spots as those are my favorite to look at :)

Thought of another one.

For the Main Photo don't use a personal photo.  It's much better to find the actual product photo online of the actual product box or logo since that one is usually more accurate and looks better as the main picture.

vivasuzi said…

Thought of another one.

For the Main Photo don't use a personal photo.  It's much better to find the actual product photo online of the actual product box or logo since that one is usually more accurate and looks better as the main picture.

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I agree 100%. Remember, everyone after you will have to use that photo as the main one. Be mindful when posting main photos on first reviews that they will be used on every review after yours.

PattyTherre said…

I agree 100%. Remember, everyone after you will have to use that photo as the main one. Be mindful when posting main photos on first reviews that they will be used on every review after yours.

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I agree completely and always try to get a good picture for the main pic. Unfortunately, we're preaching to the choir here -- how do we get the word to the people who need to hear these things?

--Bob

Well invite more newbies to the message boards :)  That's about the only way to spread all our ideas.

Our photo uploader favors images that are as close to a square as possible. (e.g. 100 x 100 in size)

Use Google Image search to find product pictures if needed. When you find an image as close to 100 x 100 as possible, be sure to click through to the web page where the image appears to save the photo. The picture will always be less pixelated and more clear when you save it directly from the source rather than the google image results page.

PattyTherre said…
It also should be more or less square for the main pic. Even when I use small pictures, the bottom is cut off if the photo is longer than it is wide.

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I'm having this problem with book images.  Even though I shrink down the image it chops off the bottom since the image is longer than it is wide.  I'll keep trying to get it right though :) 

Yep that is what happens. But if you are REALLY into making it perfect, the key is to add width to it, like in Paint you could paste the photo on a blank white canvas that is wider than the photo and therefore make the photo "square" for the purposes of the site.

I usually just post it with it cut off, knowing that the user can click it to see the full image.

Also, a great product I use is MWSnap which let's you take a screenshot of only a certain portion of the screen.  I just make a square box around the image so the image is then square.

bob, you just solved a mystery for me! thank you so much, I never knew about the macro feature. Wow, that explains a lot.   

One problem I came across by a great writer whom I know is that she doesn't have a digital camera or scanner. Is there any hope for that situation? Jo

I do think it's ok to find pics online for your own review.  For my ice cream review, I didn't have any pictures of the ice cream I get all the time nor the cake.  Actually I had pics of the cake but that was pre-digital camera!  So I just found pics of them on the companies website. 

As long as you don't credit the pics as your own and try to fool people, I think it's ok.

PS - Tell your friend to step into 2008 :-D

dovey said…
bob, you just solved a mystery for me! thank you so much, I never knew about the macro feature. Wow, that explains a lot.   

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Glad to help! Taking macro pictures is a lot of fun and they can look spectacular.

--Bob

vivasuzi said…

Yep that is what happens. But if you are REALLY into making it perfect, the key is to add width to it, like in Paint you could paste the photo on a blank white canvas that is wider than the photo and therefore make the photo "square" for the purposes of the site.

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That's exactly what I do! Then again, I enjoy getting the pictures just right.

--Bob

I think I messed something up, I was doing what you are talking about and used paint, but it still wasn't coming out right so I went back to 'edit my review' and it let me delete and add a different one in but after I saved and returned to look, there was nothing at all on the main photo area, a blank spot and now even though I was the one that did it to begin with, it won't give me the option again in my 'edit' area. 

 

Is it suppose to give me the option of editing it or was that option that I had the one time a 'bug' in the system?  I hate that I messed up the main photo, would love to find a way to make it right again even if I could find a way to delete the whole thing and start over? 

Any ideas or do I just live with my screw-up?

I'm not totally sure.

I think you can add the first photo and then it locks. That sounds like a bug if it let you go into edit on the main photo. The other photos - no problem. But, I've never changed the main photo or seen an option to do that.

Check with Meredith meredith@viewpoints.com I'm sure she will be able to figure something out.

Thanks for the input, I may try her next.

onyx95 said…
Thanks for the input, I may try her next.

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Just sent you an email onyx95... we'll get to the bottom of this, no worries.

Frame it, shoot it, post it.  Pictures enhance any story.  I have never encountered any problems posting pics on this site, but if you want to post more than three, it is a pain. 

Meredith or whoever helps her - I have an obsession with making sure all my reviews have a picture, I am having trouble again.  This time (I am able to do it myself if it gives me the option) I just have a list of reviews that didn't even let me try, they were already blank and one of them has a picture of the wrong book altogether (I didn't do it).  Once before Meredith had me e-mail links and pictures directly to her, is that still the best way to get these 4 fixed so I can stop worrying over them?

Emailing Meredith is still the best way to get these types of data issues corrected.

isn't it possible to also just use picassa to make the photo 100x100 so that it fits and shows better. for example I take too big pictures and then change them in picassa -- save them to my computer then upload them.  Not all can have that much of my time but I do try!

LisaCarey said…

isn't it possible to also just use picassa to make the photo 100x100 so that it fits and shows better. for example I take too big pictures and then change them in picassa -- save them to my computer then upload them.  Not all can have that much of my time but I do try!

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Sure, that'll work. Keep in mind that 100 x 100 is the little postage stamp-sized picture at the top of the review. The other pictures can be at least 400 pixels wide. (I make my pictures 420 pixels wide, but I'm not exactly sure what Viewpoints' picture width is.) Pictures with your review can be literally any height, but their width is limited to about 400 pixels.

--Bob