Retaining detail and sharpness posting image on web

[LiE_]

I use Lightroom and Photoshop, and whenever I take a photo from Lightroom into Photoshop and resize, by the time I post it on the web the JPEG doesn't look as sharp and has lost some detail. I make sure I always export with highest quality.

Can you share your tips and tricks for retaining the detail and sharpness of the RAW file when outputting to JPEG for the web?

 

[steveash]

When you down-size the image use the Bicubic Sharper setting. When you save the file use either Export > Export As or Export > Save for Web. Anything over around 80% quality should be nice and sharp.

 

[Ledgem]

I struggle with this as well, although using different programs. Usually I need to apply additional sharpening on export.

It's also worth noting that certain websites seem to downgrade the quality of your file no matter what you do. Facebook is absolutely horrible for this and probably represents the best example of this practice. I've seen some photos that appeared sharp and beautiful, and I have no idea how the uploaders did it. In most cases photos seem to appear very soft compared with their originals. I assume their servers are looking to minimize file sizes and are probably redoing the image to fit a certain size.

 

[steveash]

I think you have the best chance of maintaining quality if you upload with the correct size/resolution for the site. I know that Wordpress will only compress an image if it needs to be resized. I imagine other sites will do the same. You can try to google what standard dimensions they require or resize to.

 

[Mark0]

I use PNG files where possible as they are lossless. Sometimes, I'll use a JPG set to the max quality (is it 12?) in Photoshop.