Image quality question, so confused.

[liamb29207894]

In photoshop, I am trying to create thumbnails for Youtube so I have my aspect ratio 1920 x 1080p. I am trying to upload an image off the web by adding a layer and then going to place embedded and selecting my downloaded image. When I selected the image it was fine quality but when I upload it, its very low quality and pixelated.

[Silkrooster]

Thumbnails are very low resolution. Usually around 100 x 100 pixels. This is the reason for the low quality and pixilation.

[liamb29207894]

every tutorial I've watched always mentions to have the dimensions as 1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080 or something around there. Im just confused why when I open the web image as a layer in the thumbnail its a different quality then it was. also does anyone know how to literally copy and paste an image into photoshop without pressing place embedded?

[Silkrooster]

Yeah, but there is a big difference between 1280x1080 pixels and 1280x1080 ratio. They are not the same thing. The former you set in the menu Image>Image Size and the latter is set with the crop tool.
It is the former that will dictate the quality of the image. The latter could be any size but will have the same ratio as that of 1080. Therefore the pixel dimensions could easily be a lot lower making the image pixelated and or blurry.

That said, when uploading to any service you are at the mercy of that service. Some will alter the image forcing it to fit within their guidelines.

[chanaart]

another solution is to have the thumbnail as an Illustrator file. Image trace it and than upload it

[Sebastian Bleak · Accepted solution]

Hi Liam

I use a similar process for my YouTube channel thumbnails. 1920X1080p works great, I usually go down to 1280x720. My question is, what is the resolution of your PSD file? I like to export it as a PNG set to 72dpi or higher.

Before exporting, while you’re in Photoshop, use Comm+1 (Mac) Ctrl+1(PC) to see your image at 100%. That will show you if you have a solid thumbnail for your project. If it looks pixelated then you know its not going to work for you.

“Im just confused why when I open the web image as a layer in the thumbnail its a different quality then it was.”

- Web images are set to 72dpi. What resolution are you using in your PSD file? If it’s higher than 72, like 300, you will see pixilation in your web image.

“also does anyone know how to literally copy and paste an image into photoshop without pressing place embedded?”

- Yes, if you’re grabbing an image from the web, you can Right Click on the image and choose “Copy Image” then paste it into your document. You can also open your image in photoshop, Comm+A= Select All, Comm+C= Copy and then paste into your new document.

It sounds like the image you’re getting from the web is a lower resolution file. If you need more info, please provide us with a link to you PSD and images to take a closer look.

Hope you found this helpful

Sebastian

[D Fosse]

Web images don't have a ppi - that's a print parameter that doesn't apply on screen. Web images only have a certain number of pixels, and these image pixels align to the screen pixel grid. Resolution on the web is whatever pixel density your screen has.

However, if you use print resolution and physical print size as the basis for resizing web images, you quickly get in trouble. That's why it's important to think in pixels only and disregard any ppi figure.

[liamb29207894]

thanks so much! - I honestly believe my entire problem was rooted in the fact that I was using a bad method of getting my file into photoshop. before, I was going to file and place embedded, now I'm copying the image and pressing CTRL+V and the image looks perfect. thanks again!

[Sebastian Bleak]

Awesome! I'm glad you got it to work

Cheers!