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Most beginner real estate photographers go for high-resolution images because they believe they are of higher quality. Although this might be true, the following high resolution vs web size guide reveals the scenarios where the web-size photo might suit your needs better than its high-res counterpart.
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When shopping for a camera, one of the key features you might check is the camera megapixels. Usually, this is because the megapixels affect the overall resolution and quality of the resulting photo. Many photographers don't realize that high res might not suit every application.
For instance, if you want to transfer or upload photos on a site, you don't want a photo that consumes lots of bandwidth or storage space. Understanding high res images vs those meant for uploading on sites can help you make better decisions on the resolution to use.
The resolution simply refers to the number of pixels contained in an image. As the name suggests, high resolution refers to images with a higher concentration of pixels. In
The pixels result from the camera sensor, which is made of small squares known as pixels. For instance, a camera with a 20 megapixels sensor means the sensor can capture images with around 20 million pixels.
Since the pixels help to capture the light details, a higher number of pixels translates into more detailed images.
Web size generally refers to the resolution of the images meant to be shared on social media or standard real estate websites. Keeping in mind that the average photo sizes for website uploading are around 200KB, the web size resolution aims at attaining this file size.
Unlike vector images, high resolution and web size pictures use pixels. Although there are differences between these photos due to the number of pixels per inch, they have the following similarities in how you can edit or resize them.
Whether the image is low-resolution or high-res, they are still pixel-based images with the following similarities.
If you are wondering whether to go for high-res or web size images, the following differences can help you choose a photo resolution that suits your printing or uploading needs.
After taking the real estate photos and retouching them in a photo-editing application, you might need to store them in a memory card, cloud storage, or external hard disk before uploading them on the website or printing them for showcasing your property.
Regardless of your storage media, file size refers to the space the photos will occupy. Usually, this space is indicated in terms of megabytes. The image's file size refers to how many megabytes the image consumes in your storage.
Keeping in mind that high-resolution images have a higher concentration of pixels, the resulting file size is larger. As a result, high-resolution images tend to take up more storage space than their web size image counterparts.
Image clarity simply refers to how easy it is to distinguish the highlights from the shadows. The contrast allows you to see the darkest darks and the whitest whites. A clear image has a smooth transition from one tone to the other.
Since the number of pixels in a camera determines how much detail the sensor can capture, a higher number of pixels means the sensor can capture more color details. This makes the transition of the color tones richer and smoother.
As a result, a high-resolution image tends to be clear and smoother and causes minimal eye fatigue than a web size image.
Loading speed refers to the time the image takes to be displayed on a device or open for viewing on a web page. The loading speed of the image is related to the file size, just like how RAW images take longer to open compared to compressed images.
Generally, higher-resolution photos take more device resources to open and take longer to open compared to their web-size counterparts. If you use a limited bandwidth for your internet, you might notice a significant lag and increase in the internet bill if you work with high-res photos.
As a real estate photographer, you might want to print your photos in large format for showcasing in exhibitions. The last thing you want when printing is the resulting print looking pixelated or low quality. A printer works by printing dots on the paper. The quality of the image depends on the distribution of these dots per inch.
Although these dots are not the same as the square-shaped pixels, a printed image usually has as many dots per square inch (DPI) as the number of pixels per square inch (PPI). Since a high-res photo has a higher PPI, the DPI of the resulting print is also higher.
When these dots are printed closely, the colors appear rich and smoother. This makes the print quality of high-res photos better than that of the web size.
The major distinguishing factor between a high-res and web-size photo is the effect on resizing. When you enlarge an image, you spread out the available pixels to fill the new image dimensions.
Since the pixels of the high-res photo are packed close together, spreading them out might not cause a noticeable effect on the photo quality.
In contrast, web size images have fewer pixels. Enlarging the photo makes the pixels spread out to form noticeable boxes. This makes the photo pixelated and low-quality.
High resolution pictures are best for printing as the photo can be printed in large format without a noticeable loss in quality. They are also ideal for displaying on large screens as they don’t appear pixelated.
If you store the photos in a hard drive, it’s best to store them in high resolution as you can still make a lower res copy from the original.
Web-size images are ideal for sharing with friends and displaying on mobile devices as they load faster and don’t take up less storage space. They are also ideal for web pages, as the file sizes are usually below the upload limit.
High res images are better as they offer you the versatility of retaining the quality for printing and displaying on large screens, as well as compressing them to generate a lower-resolution Web size copy. Typically, it’s challenging to generate a high resolution photo from a lower-resolution version.
You can know whether an image is a high resolution by looking at its clarity. Usually, a low res photo is blurry, and the details are not clear.
The file size of a high resolution picture is usually more than 3.5MB. Note that the size can vary depending on the file format.
The best format for the web is JPEG, as it’s supported by most devices. This allows viewers to view using a wide range of devices, such as phones, Macs, and PCs.
With a good understanding of the high resolution vs web size, you won’t have trouble choosing the right resolution for your real estate website or for printing. If you want to print in large format, go for the high res, and if you want to upload your photos, go for the web size.
