Compress the image
Here you can compress the image before you send it in an email, put it on the web or submit it to a competition. The tool below reduces the image to the right dimensions and file size directly in your browser. Nothing is uploaded to any server, and the original on your computer is never touched.
Choose what the image is going to be used for, drag in the file and download the finished copy. There are presets for club competition, 4K projection, web, email, Instagram, Facebook and printing in A4 and A3. If you don’t know which one to choose, 1920 px suits most things.
All the dimensions, collected
The same dimensions as the buttons in the tool, with a little more explanation. Always check the invitation to the individual competition — the organiser may have their own requirements.
| Use | Dimensions | File size | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Club competition, RSF | 1920 × 1080 | max 2 MB | JPG. The requirement in the RSF club competition, and what the club uses internally. |
| 4K projection | 3840 × 2160 | max 5 MB | Only if the projector really is 4K. Otherwise it is wasted pixels. |
| Web and website | 1920 × 1080 | max 1 MB | Enough on every screen and keeps the page fast. |
| 1600 px longest side | max 1 MB | Gets through everywhere. Several images fit in the same email. | |
| Instagram, square | 1080 × 1080 | max 2 MB | The classic format. |
| Instagram, portrait | 1080 × 1350 | max 2 MB | Takes up the most room in the feed. |
| Story and Reels | 1080 × 1920 | max 2 MB | Full screen on the phone. |
| Facebook, post | 1200 × 630 | max 1 MB | Wide format. Expect the image to be cropped in the feed. |
| Photo, high quality | 4000 px longest side | max 10 MB | 3000–6000 px is enough for both screen and simpler printing. |
| Print A4, 300 dpi | 2480 × 3508 | no limit | The dimensions turn with the image — a landscape photo gives a landscape A4. |
| Print A3, 300 dpi | 3508 × 4961 | no limit | The same thing in a larger format. |
Rule of thumb if you don’t know which one to choose
- 1080 px — social media and screen
- 1920 px — web, presentations and most competitions
- 3000–4000 px — works for both screen and simpler printing
- 6000 px and up — high-resolution photos and large prints
How to do it, step by step
- Choose what the images are going to be used for. Press one of the buttons at the top of the tool. If you are competing in the club or in RSF, Club competition is the one you want — 1920 × 1080 and max 2 MB.
- Change the file size if you need to. The box below the buttons shows how many MB the image may become at most. If you write 0, no limit is set at all.
- Have a look at Options if you like. There you can strip out GPS position and camera data, or put a watermark with your name directly on the image.
- Drag in the images. Drag them from a folder straight into the dashed box, or click in the box and browse for them. You can take many at once.
- Wait until it says done. Each image appears in the list with its old dimensions to the left of the arrow and the new ones to the right. Large images take a few seconds.
- Press Save. Either on each image separately, or on Save all. The images end up in the Downloads folder.
If you want to see the difference against the original, press Compare or click the thumbnail, and drag the slider.
Common questions
Am I destroying the original image?
No. The tool reads your image and creates a new file next to it. The original stays exactly where it was, unchanged.
No. The tool reads your image and creates a new file next to it. The original stays exactly where it was, unchanged.
The image didn’t come out 1920 wide — it came out 1620. Is that wrong?
No, that is correct. 1920 × 1080 means the image has to fit inside that box. An ordinary camera image is wider in proportion than the box, so it is the height that reaches the limit first. Nothing is cropped.
No, that is correct. 1920 × 1080 means the image has to fit inside that box. An ordinary camera image is wider in proportion than the box, so it is the height that reaches the limit first. Nothing is cropped.
It says the dimensions were reduced to fit under the limit
Then the image is unusually rich in detail — a lot of leaves, sand, snow or noise. The tool first lowered the quality as far as it could and then shrank the dimensions by a few per cent instead of compressing the image to pieces.
Then the image is unusually rich in detail — a lot of leaves, sand, snow or noise. The tool first lowered the quality as far as it could and then shrank the dimensions by a few per cent instead of compressing the image to pieces.
The image didn’t get smaller — it was already small
If the original is smaller than the dimensions you chose, it is left as it is. Blowing up an image does not add any sharpness, it only makes it blurry.
If the original is smaller than the dimensions you chose, it is left as it is. Blowing up an image does not add any sharpness, it only makes it blurry.
Nothing happens when I drag the image in
Check that it is an image file and not, for example, a PDF. If the image comes straight from an iPhone it may be in the HEIC format, which not all browsers can open. In that case set the iPhone to save in JPEG: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible.
Check that it is an image file and not, for example, a PDF. If the image comes straight from an iPhone it may be in the HEIC format, which not all browsers can open. In that case set the iPhone to save in JPEG: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible.
Where do the finished images end up?
In the Downloads folder on the computer. On a phone, the phone asks where the file should be saved.
In the Downloads folder on the computer. On a phone, the phone asks where the file should be saved.
Are my images uploaded anywhere?
No. The whole conversion happens inside your own browser, on your own computer. You can disconnect from the internet halfway through and it still works.
No. The whole conversion happens inside your own browser, on your own computer. You can disconnect from the internet halfway through and it still works.
Does my camera data come along?
No. Aperture, shutter speed, copyright fields and other metadata do not follow the reduced copy. If the competition needs your name in the file — write it in the file name, or use the watermark.
No. Aperture, shutter speed, copyright fields and other metadata do not follow the reduced copy. If the competition needs your name in the file — write it in the file name, or use the watermark.
I use the tool myself for the images on the bird page and in street photography, and for competition images in Bildgruppen Prisma in Västerås.