Best Practices - images for projection

These are the main ideas to remember regarding using digital images for lectures successfully...

When images are resized appropriately, they will display at their best

• • Keep a copy of the largest version of an image (maybe a 1-5MB image which is at least 1000 to around 3000 pixels on the longest side, if possible) as an 'original' from which you can make smaller derivatives.

  • Make smaller derivatives from your larger one based on need (consider whether you are using one, two or three or more images per PPT or Keynote slide).

  • Look into Using Photoshop for resizing images.

  • Avoid having to 'drag' the corners of the image once it's uploaded into PPT or Keynote. It's not the end of the world, but it is one cause of blurry projected images

Know that a standard PPT, Keynote or ARTstor OIV slide is 1024x768.

• • Think of a slide as a 2D layout of a room, and the images are all little rugs used to fill up the room. What size do they each need to be to fill up the room (if that's what you want to do)? View a presentation on our Theory of Using Digital Images. Or download the PDF below. Print it out and keep near you as you get more comfortable working with digital images.

    • University of Texas at Austin also has a great video explaining this idea.

Start organizing images right away

• • Start naming images in a way that makes sense to you and adhere to a naming convention, such as by class. A few recommended naming conventions which could be used:

    • Name the largest version of a file with _full as a suffix or full_ as a prefix.

    • Name derivatives with suffixes (or prefixes) such as _halfvert, _halfhoriz, _qtr, _print, or _web

    • Use a suffix with pixel dimension for future reference, such as _1024x768

  • Organize folders on your computer or in other online image hosting sites by classes or presentations.