Pixilated photos

1. 72

   William F. Torpeyposted 9 years ago

   I have two rare photos (the only two known in existence) of my grandfather, lightweight boxing champion Shamus O'Brien, on my hub titled, "Irish Boxer's Dignity Restored in Yonkers After Half a Century."
   
   Both photos have been automatically enlarged by HubPages. One photo was taken from a March 25, 1913 boxing poster and the other from a Feb. 15, 1916 newspaper article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
   
   HubPages has threatened to remove these photos because they are badly pixelated. However, both of these illustrations are central to the hub and are the only known likenesses of Shamus O'Brien.
   
   Removal of these illustrations would seriously devalue the hub.
   
   HubPages says I must bring my question to this forum ... so my question is this:
   
   What do I have to do to prevent HubPages from removing these photos and making my hub far less interesting and valuable to readers (and viewers of the photos?)

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      Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      This forum post explains what to do to solve the problem:
      http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/118555#post2503839

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   2. 89

      Patty Inglish, MSposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      
      
      If I was no good at image manipulation via computer and had this situation, I'd take the original images to a photography shop and ask to have the images restored and cleaned up, then upload the new images.
      
      Cord Camera here in Columbus OH, which just closed its last store,  had a couple of people who would replicate old photos digitally and then clean and sharpen the images. Before F & R Lazarus stores closed, their downtown branch had a photo shop that specialized in enhancing and restoring old photographs and newspaper pictures. I'm looking for a new place now, but am learning more about image manipulation via computer.

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2. 97

   Glenn Stokposted 9 years ago

   HubPages wants to have quality on the site and this includes images. I'm sure you'll agree that the second picture of Shamus O'Brien in your hub shows the pixels very stongly, and that takes away from the reader's experience.
   
   The problem is that that picture was a smaller version and already in poor shape. Once it was enlarged, it only got worse.
   
   My suggestion, as a solution, is to take the original image in its original size and put white space around it using paintshop, making a new image with the same dimensions as the right column width. Then when you upload that image to use in your hub, it won't be enlarged any further. It will keep the original size and not become pixilated.

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   1. 72

      William F. Torpeyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, Glenn Stok. I've never used paint shop, but I'll try it if that turns out to be my best option. I appreciate your good advice.

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   2. 0

      sheilamyersposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I was going to make the same type of suggestion. It seems that if a photo is any less than about 225 pixels on a side, it will get stretched to fit into the photo capsule and lose much of its resolution. A white or colored border added to the picture using Paint or photograph software will keep the main image from being stretched.

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      1. 72

         William F. Torpeyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you, Sheilamyers. I appreciate your help.

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3. 72

   Valerie P Davisposted 9 years ago

   If you have Adobe Elements you can use the Enhance>Adjust Sharpness tools to customize the sharpness. This can really improve images. But you'll still likely need to add a border to keep it from expanding too much.

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   1. 72

      William F. Torpeyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, Valerie P Davis. I'm a computer dummie so I have no idea what Adobe Elements are, but I'll keep that option open if I can't find something I can understand better.

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4. 91

   Jodahposted 9 years ago

   I have a hub that has an image of a 100 year old newspaper clipping that is central to the story. I was told by Hub Pages that the image was poor quality, so I asked for a manual review of the hub an explained the stuation. The image was then passed.

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   1. 72

      William F. Torpeyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, Jodah. That's a great option that I may end up using.

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5. 72

   William F. Torpeyposted 9 years ago

   HubPages has now marked my hub with one of those red devils denoting pixelated photos. I do not know how to reduce the size of the photos to reduce the pixels so it will take a while for me to find someone who can do it for me. Does HubPages have a time limit on their threats to delete these photos?

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6. 60

   LindaSmith1posted 9 years ago

   If you have paint, and have photo in computer, click on open with paint and then click on resize.  Click on pixels and change theme to 400 pixels and save. Then try pic again.

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   1. 92

      Jayne Lancerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I don't think that will work, Linda. He needs to place the photo on a white background in order that it has a border. That way, it won't need to be enlarged on HubPages.
      
      William should just play around and experiment with an easy online photo editing program like pixlr.com/editor/, or sumopaint.com--that's what I started on when I was new to editing images.

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   2. 72

      William F. Torpeyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, LindaSmith1, for your suggestion.

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   3. 72

      William F. Torpeyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, LindaSmith1, for your suggestion, Jayne Lancer. Insofar as I remain a computer dummie, I think I know someone who could help me do as you suggest. Unfortunately, neither of the century-old photos were sharp and clear when they were originally published -- so HubPages may not be satisfied with the outcome in any event. It appears likely to me that I will be forced to remove the hubs from HubPages entirely. We'll see.

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      1. 97

         Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Old photos are okay as long as you don't allow them to stretch to fill the right column, which causes the pixilation. You simply have to avoid the image becoming pixilated by doing what I explained above to fit it to the width of the right column using white space around it. And  Writer Fox added the useful information to make the width 260 pixils.

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7. 60

   LindaSmith1posted 9 years ago

   Contact HP  and explain situation. team@hubpages.com

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8. 67

   Theresa Franklinposted 9 years ago

   I had the same issue. When I used the right arrow and made them 1/2 column, it shrunk the pictures to an appropriate pixilation. Have you tried that?

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   1. 72

      William F. Torpeyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Both photos are already at the right side, Theresa. The original photos are both fairly small and not of good quality, but they are the only ones in existence as far as I know.

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      1. 31

         Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         William, just follow the instructions I gave in the link above.  Add enough white space around the photo until the photo is clear at a 260 pixel width. I do it all the time.

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9. 93

   sallybeaposted 9 years ago

   That's a really good tip, I did not know that and I have been here nearly two years!!!
   Thank you so much for that.

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10. 85

    CassandraCaeposted 9 years ago

    Use an image software such as gimp and make a black box that is 500 x 500.   You can then place your image in as a layer.  Add some text to the black part and it won't distort when you add it back.

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11. 85

    CassandraCaeposted 9 years ago

    Gimp is free and I would be willing to do it for you for free since you are computer illiterate.   You can contact me through my profile page.

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12. 73

    relacheposted 9 years ago

    If the really old pictures are an issue, you might consider taking the pictures to a photo studio where they can scan the originals and make not only good quality digitals, but print an archival copy on acid-free paper.

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13. 0

    celebassistantposted 9 years ago

    There is actually a way to enlarge the photo with photoshop so that it gets bigger without getting distorted.  I don't know how to do it, but anyone who has Photoshop will know how to do it no problem.

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    1. 72

       William F. Torpeyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I appreciate everyone's advice, but with the help of a friend I was able to reduce the size of the two photos that are badly pixelated. However, they don't look a whole lot better -- and the white space around the pictures has made it impossible to have the caption appropriately under the photo. We spent more than two hours trying to improve the two old photos. Frankly, I was much happier with the pixelated photos than the smaller photos that I'm sure will not be good enough for HubPages. It appears that HubPages would prefer that I delete the hubs in question rather than allow these photos on my hub. These are not just any old photos -- they are irreplaceable. There are no other images of Shamus O'Brien, who was a prominent Yonkers boxing champion 100 years ago!

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       1. 92

          Jayne Lancerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          Have you got the original photos?
          
          I've never studied my scanner settings, but when I scan an original photo, the result is much, much larger than the original, and it's never pixelated. Maybe you and your friend could try re-scanning and messing about with the scanner settings.

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       2. 97

          Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          Did you start over with the original (small) version?  Or did you reduce the pixilated larger version?  If you did the latter you are using a worse representation of the original. You need to start with the best version you have, even if it's not perfect.
          
          It would be terrible for you to delete your hard work just because you are having trouble getting this task accomplished with the image. It's doable when done right. Did you do a google search for an archive of the newspaper you took it from?

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          1. 89

             Patty Inglish, MSposted 9 years agoin reply to this

             +1

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14. 84

    psycheskinnerposted 9 years ago

    If you have the originals, rescan them at a higher dpi

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    1. 92

       Jayne Lancerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       +1

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