Which "best" app for sizing photos for Internet sharing?

[AlaskaMoose]

I have been using a standalone version of Adobe CS6 for several years now, and don't want to pay the Adobe CC monthly fees. Instead, I plan to do all my photo editing with Photo Lab 3/NIK Software bundle, in addition to Canon DPP and Luminar 4. One of the features I will miss the most is the resizing mode used in CS6, because of its simplicity and accuracy. I am presently using a 2019 iMac running under Mojave, because CS6 is not compatible with Catalina.

This is what I like about the CS6 option above: I choose the photo to size, and enter the horizontal pixels. The vertical pixels are automatically changed to match the aspect ratio. Then I display the image at 100% (looks like a 7" horizontal x 5" vertical on my MacBook screen), and then write my name on the photo. The next step is to "Save For Web" (perhaps on JPEG at the maximum resolution possible), and then save the image to a folder on the desktop. The images are good for sharing on the Internet, or to email to friends and family. They look real nice on computer screens, but in reality are very small in size and aren't very good for printing.

Since I plan to switch from CS6 because it is not compatible with Catalina (and also because I don't want to pay the Adobe monthly fees), is there a standalone app that would allow me to size photos as I have indicated above. I am not interested on sizing a batch of photos. Even sizing a single photo would be fine. I store my "sharing" photos at "SmugMug."

The following example is a photo sized and edited for "web" using CS6. This JPEG photo was sized around 800 pixels across, and saved for "web," which in turn compresses the size even further while maintaining maximum resolution:

 

[kenoh]

Can you use Adobe Bridge for this (its free)? It will resize during export then you can edit it to put your name on it using something like Gimp? or even just use Gimp? or Pixelmator? Lovely creature in your image btw...

 

[BrianBaughn]

It may be difficult to find anyone who has done a side-by-side comparison of Photoshop's "Save for Web" to other software options.

GraphicConverter is another app you can look into. It has a "Save for Web" option.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

It may be difficult to find anyone who has done a side-by-side comparison of Photoshop's "Save for Web" to other software options.

GraphicConverter is another app you can look into. It has a "Save for Web" option.

I forgot that I have Graphic Converter in the iMac I use for photo editing. I was looking for photo-sizing apps at the App Store, and there are several. But I would probably have to buy a few of the apps before choosing a favorite. If either Luminar 4 or DXO's Photo Lab 3 would have such a pull menu feature, it would be perfect for me. I am not a professional photographer, and am not photo editing every day.

I purchased Adobe CS5 at a school discount years ago, then upgrade to CS6. After paying all that money for these apps, there is no way to I would pay for apps that depend on monthly fees. I am using CS6 less and less each time, as I learn Photo Lab 3, because CS6 will be useless as soon as I replace the 2019 iMac's OS (Mojave).

 

[BrianBaughn]

If you have GraphicConverter you can use its actions in Automator to create a application droplet…something like this although you'll have to determine what to actually do and if it fits your needs:

 

[AlaskaMoose]

If you have GraphicConverter you can use its actions in Automator to create a application droplet…something like this although you'll have to determine what to actually do and if it fits your needs:

View attachment 1671066

Thank you very much Brian!
I do have Graphic Converter. In fact, for several years now I have always had this app in my photo editing computer. I started using GC, if I well remember, in the '90s. Back then it was called, "the poor man's PhotoShop" for obvious reasons. The GC automator window you posted above is exactly what I want, since I allows for preserving the quality on the "web-ready" photo all the way to maximum, and also, because all I have to enter is one of the image dimensions, horizontal or vertical for example, and the other dimension is automatically chosen to maintain the correct aspect ratio.

Before I upgrade the OS and get rid of CS6, I plan to give GC a try to see if it can recognize Canon CR3 RAW files. As it is now, I download the CR3 files to my computer, and use DPP to convert them to TIFF or other format that CS6 and other apps can recognize. But GC may be even better for this task. I will see how it goes for a couple of weeks. My next step is to upgrade the OS to Catalina.
______________________

The following is for those who still want to use Adobe CS6 running under Mohave, and still have CS6 recognizing Canon CR3 RAW files. The following "fix" will probably work for most new cameras, not just for Canon R-series cameras such as the R/R5/R6. Anyway, download DNG Converter (free Adobe app), and convert the RAW files to DNG. Now CS6, as well as Photo Lab, and probably Luminar, will recognize the Canon CR3 RAW images.

 

[Clix Pix]

DXO PhotoLab 4 has a new "instant watermark" feature (I haven't tried it yet since I don't customarily watermark my images). As far as exporting, one can adjust the sizing in DX0 PhotoLab 4 easily..... I recall doing it when I first set up DXO PhotoLab 3 when I bought it last year. I have it set to 1800 x 1800 pixels and the shorter side then automatically displays at whatever size it actually is. This is what I use for sharing images in forums on the web.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

DXO PhotoLab 4 has a new "instant watermark" feature (I haven't tried it yet since I don't customarily watermark my images). As far as exporting, one can adjust the sizing in DX0 PhotoLab 4 easily..... I recall doing it when I first set up DXO PhotoLab 3 when I bought it last year. I have it set to 1800 x 1800 pixels and the shorter side then automatically displays at whatever size it actually is. This is what I use for sharing images in forums on the web.

You are correct about that. I haven't tried it with Photo lab 3, and don't know if you can control the amount of IQ on the final step to get it ready for Internet posting. It seems that one can do that using Graphic Converter, and with CS6. The next step after sizing is to select the image format (GIF, JPEG, etc.), and to choose the resolution from low to maximum. Then I save it. This last step further reduces the image size to perhaps 200-450 KB.

 

[Clix Pix]

I have mine set up so that I export 1800x1800 pixels at 100% jpeg to my desktop. From there I can do whatever else I want with the image, and most of the time that involves sharing it on the internet in this and other forums in which I participate. I don't print my images and I don't have a reason to save them as .TIFFs, so for me the system I've been using works out well for me. If I printed my images or had them printed at really large sizes and mounted for gallery viewing that would be another whole situation, of course.

In my previous computer I had Graphic Converter but somehow I apparently never brought it over to this 2018 MBP....guess I wasn't using it all that much earlier and at the time I was making a transition from my 2015 machine to this one it slipped through the cracks. I probably still have the original purchase info and license, all that somewhere but I actually haven't missed GC, so that tells me something!

Last time I used Adobe's CS was way, way back at version CS3! I had it and was using it until Aperture came along and then I pretty much found myself sticking with Aperture and ignoring CS3. I didn't bother upgrading to CS 4 and then the next time I changed machines I didn't bother installing CS3 on the new machine. Now, of course, the whole CS series is obsolete anyway and I am not that interested in getting into the subscription model of Adobe products. I really don't need that for the kind of processing I do and the limited volume I do.