What is a JPG ?

 JPG images are better at holding more colour information when they are being saved.

This means that shading and subtle colour changes look better if you save them as JPGs.

JPGs are most commonly used for photographs as they can hold information about the thousands of different colours in a photo without making the file size too big.

To do this they use a 'lossey' form of compression. This means that some of the picture information is 'thrown away' but if it's done right this shouldn't be noticeable to the naked eye.

How to created your images

1. Use a scanner for existing pictures

2. Take the pictures with a digital Camera

1.Scanning a Photo

  1. Lay your photograph face down onto the glass 'bed' of the scanner. Position according to the manufacturer's instructions. Close the lid.
  2. Back at your computer, open the scanning or image-editing programme. This may open automatically.
  3. Click on the 'preview' button. (Some programmes may use terms other than 'preview' and 'scan'. If so, follow the instructions provided by the software manufacturer.
  4. A preview scan of your photograph should appear on the computer screen. Check that you are happy with the preview before proceeding.
  5. If you have the option, check the scan resolution. Make sure you are scanning at between 150 and 72 dpi (dots per inch) or 28 dcpm (dots per centimetre). 72 dpi is the optimum resolution for images viewed on computer screen. Lower resolutions may result in poor quality images, while higher resolutions mean your images will download more slowly.
  6. When you are sure your settings and the positioning of your photograph are correct, click on 'scan'. (This does not mean that your scan is saved on your computer - that's the next step!)
  7. Once your photograph has been scanned, you need to make sure that the scan is saved as a .jpg (JPEG format is the appropriate file type for saving digital images). Choose a suitable name for your scan when saving, and be sure to remember where on your computer you put it (your desktop is a good place), as this will help you find it later. example denise1987.jpg
  8. Please ensure your images are no more than maximum height 800 pixels and minimum width 505 pixels (If your submitting 2 version of the same image - large version will be 800 x505 pixel and the small version should be 460 x300 pixels).
  9. Resizing of your scans be done in your image-editing programme by following the manufacturer's instructions.

2. digital Camera

Downloading you pics

A digital camera holds your photos as computer files, and before you can do anything with them apart from look at them on the camera's own little screen you generally need to copy them to your computer.

Some cameras can be plugged straight into your TV so that you can have a slideshow of your pics - it's called video output, and you'll need a special cable for it. But mostly you'll want to copy your pics to your computer, and probably print them out.

There are various ways to transfer your pictures from the camera to your computer.

How to do it What this means What you do
Linking Up Connect the computer and the camera and copy the files. Use a cable, or a special holder or a wireless link.
Swapping Take the bit (memory card)that stores the pictures out of your camera and put it in the computer. Take a card or disk out of the camera and put it into a special reader on your computer.

Jargon

Here's some jargon to look out for:

Jargon What it means
USB: The latest and fastest way to send computer data down a wire.
Serial cable: The old-fashioned and slower way to send computer data down a wire.
Cradle A special holder for your camera that is plugged into your computer.
IR: Infrared - send the information over the air, just like a TV remote control.
CompactFlash: A common sort of computer memory, often comes as a square.
Memory Stick: Another sort of computer memory, rectangular instead of square.
Pixel Short for Picture Element, a pixel is a single point in a graphic image. Graphics monitors display pictures by dividing the display screen into thousands (or millions) of pixels, arranged in rows and columns. The pixels are so close together that they appear connected.