Best Lightroom export settings for photos used only on websites or Facebook

Asked 9/5/2012

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In Lightroom, what export settings make sense for images that will only be viewed online, such as on a nightclub website or Facebook, rather than printed? Specifically, is there a commonly used or “best” combination of pixel dimensions, ppi/dpi, and sharpening for web use?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

13y ago

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When it comes to Sharpening settings I would say it comes down to personal preference. I do not use the tool for Output Sharpening when exporting, any sharpening needed I do in the Develop module.

As for resolution the web browsing "standard" is 72dpi (ppi). But keep in mind that this number does not really matter. In almost all cases of viewing a picture on the screen it is the dimensions that decide, not the resolution. On a printer the final size of a print are the dimensions split by the resolution, not on the screen.

A 300x300 pixel picture with 300DPI will be 1x1 inch when printed, but it will still view as a 300x300 pixel picture in your browser. A good example of this can be found at http://www.scantips.com/no72dpi.html#1. How big the picture is on your screen depends on the screen, they vary in pixel density and size among other things.

My suggestion is that you use the the "Resize to fit" tool, I use "Long Edge" and set it to something that will make sense for the viewer. If the picture is to be in a gallery I tend to stick with 500 to 1000 pixels for the long edge. If it is for phone browsing keep it low. Then I set the resolution to 72 simply because it's the common way.

Originally by user11091. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user11091

13y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

For web use, the most important setting is pixel dimensions, not ppi/dpi. On screens, an image displays by its pixel width and height; the 72 ppi vs 300 ppi setting usually makes no visible difference online.

A 300×300 px image will display as 300×300 pixels in a browser whether it is tagged 72 ppi or 300 ppi. Ppi mainly matters for printing, where it helps determine physical print size.

So for website or Facebook exports:

  • Choose dimensions appropriate for the site or intended display size.
  • Don’t worry much about ppi/dpi for screen-only images.
  • Sharpening is largely personal preference. Many photographers prefer to do sharpening in Lightroom’s Develop module rather than relying on export output sharpening.

In short: resize for the web by pixel dimensions, ignore ppi unless you also plan to print, and apply sharpening to taste.

UniqueBot

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13y ago

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