fitting picture into the thumbnail

[Former_Member]

I can't quite get the pics to fit in the dimensions of the thumbnail, i've resized in picnik, i take them far enough away so that it will compensate for it too, but it diminishes the quality of my photos(not that they are great to begin with) i get lucky here or there though, but can't get it right on purpose. any suggestions?

here is an example
http://www.etsy.com/listing/78832258/organic-hemp-necklace-w-purple-blue

[OhKuol]

Try to crop your pictures into perfect squares.

[Cabinfeverclay]

Yes, you have to crop the pics into perfect squares. Get a close as you can with your original picture then crop it. It will still not be a square, so change the format to be a square.

[Former_Member]

Thank you both :)

[Former_Member]

I usually set the dimensions to 1000x800 and use that to crop - that way it looks good in gallery mode which isn't square

[Former_Member]

blythehopesvintage- thank you. my brain doesn't work in square, neither does my camera- it is hard to know what will fit into square when taking pics, i'll try those dimensions.

[LavenderDaisyCrafts]

HandmadeHempMomma:

You are where I was about 2-3 weeks ago! Boy, isn't it frustrating?

Everyone gave you great advice. Crop! Then Resize! -- At least, that is how I do it in Photo Shop. Plus, I'm still learning... :)

[LavenderDaisyCrafts]

BTW: The pictures you took with the darker background. Looks so much better and you can see your jewelry.

[Former_Member]

LavenderDaisy30- thank you, etsy says the whiter the better, but i believe you are right about the darker. Thanks!

[Former_Member]

Here's an idea for "thinking in a square". Try making a little square screen to go over the long edges of your lens. You could make it out of card stock and just tape it onto your camera. It might take a few tries to get the square the right size. That way you don't have to visualize the square, you'll actually see it. :) Then just crop off the black edges in GIMP or Picnik.