The Internet is clogged with web pages that have oversized, unoptimized images on them.  Resizing pictures to reduce the file size is one great way to cut down on bandwidth and speed things up in the process.  To resize pictures all a user needs is a photo editing program, and luckily one of the most powerful of these tools is also available for free.  This article will show you how to resize photos using a program called GIMP that is available as a free download.

Using GIMP To Resize Pictures To A Specific Size

Say for example that you needed a photograph to be resized to a specific dimension such as 630 pixels wide by 410 pixels high.  To resize images to these dimensions we start by opening the image in the GIMP software.  One the oversized image is open in the GIMP window select Image > Scale Image...  from the menu at the top of the editor window.  Set the image width to 630 pixels and click Scale Image.

Now you have resized pictures that are only 630 pixels wide, but we need them to also be 410 pixels tall.  To do this we need to adjust the canvas size.  Click on Image > Canvas Size and unlock the proportions by unclicking the little chain icon to the right of the height and width numbers.  Then enter in the new height, 410 pixels and press tab to update the preview image at the bottom of the Canvas Size dialog box.  Click/drag on this preview image until the part of the image you want to keep is shown inside the box.  If you are unable to resize the image in a way that keeps the part of the photo that you want you may need to crop the image slightly before you resize the photo.

Saving The Resized Photos

Once you properly resize pictures to the desired dimensions save the image as a jpg or gif file.  Click Save As...  and give the photo a name.  If you receive a warning that JPG can't handle transparency you can ignore it and just click on Export to continue.  In the Save as JPG dialog box click the box for  Show Preview in Image Window.  This allows you to see the final file size once the file is saved.  Use the slider to lower the file size (and quality of the image) until it is within the limits of what you would like to have.  Finally, click Save and the resized photo will be saved to the location you designated.

It may seem like a rather complicated task to resize pictures to specific dimensions and file sizes, but with the GIMP and a little practice it becomes a rather easy task.  Plus the added flexibility and features of GIMP make resizing pictures just one of many photo editing possibilities that normally are reserved for expensive products such as Photoshop.