Easily Shrink the Size of a Digital Photo Using IrfanView

Shrinking a digital photo involves reducing its dimensions and/or resolution. This can be accomplished quite easily by using IrfanView, the leading freeware image editor.

On Unix/Linux platforms, use the free software image manipulation utilities from ImageMagick.

Steps

  1. Download and install IrfanView.
  2. Run IrfanView. Click File > Open.
  3. Browse to the photo you wish to shrink.
  4. Left-click the name of the photo to select it.
  5. Click the Open button. The photo will appear in the IrfanView window.
  6. To reduce the dimensions of the photo, click Image > Resize/Resample.
  7. Select the options you prefer and click OK.
  8. To reduce the quality of a .JPG image without changing its dimensions, click File > Save As and select JPG - JPEG Files from the drop-down list. Click the Options button and use the slide bar to select a lower image quality. This will reduce the disk space used by the photo.
  9. After altering the image, click File > Save As and select a new file name. Click the Save button to create the new image.

Tips

  • Images over 500 pixels wide will be truncated in wikiHow, thumbs next to text should be 250 pixels wide
  • If you reduce the quality of an image too drastically, simply re-open the original image and try again. This time, save it at a higher quality. You may have to experiment a bit to find an acceptable compromise.
  • If you use a type of digital camera that uses a proprietary picture format, such as RAW or NEF, you will need the add-ins file for IrfanView.

Warnings

  • IrfanView is free for "non-commercial use only."
  • IrfanView is not available for Macs.

Related Articles

  • Resize Pictures Using IrfanView
  • Batch Convert Images Using IrfanView
  • Print an Image Using IrfanView
  • Create a Slideshow Using IrfanView
  • Count Your Shutter Actuations With IrfanView

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