Questions on best photo sizes for TGPs/LLs, etc..?

[Simon]

Hiya folks,

I've been a reader of this board since it was opened, but this is the first time I'm posting here. I hope I'm in the right forum for asking my questions. (If not I trust the moderators will move it to where it belongs).

We're looking at making some content packages available for affiliates who want to build their own galleries, free sites, and tours. I'm interested in getting some feedback from the people here on what size and resolution of photos seem to work best for those purposes.

I'm thinking that many people want to keep bandwidth costs reasonable, so for use on most TGPs and Link Lists there's probably some preferred resolution and size that works better than using high-definition full-screen images (which a percentage of surfers would have to scroll to see all of anyway). Am I thinking correctly about that?

Does anyone think there's an advantage to making photos available in several sizes and in several image resolutions, or do you think there's one preferred photo size and resolution that works well enough for all those uses? (And if so, what size/resolution would that be?)

This seems to be one of the boards most visited by both owners of TGPs/LLs and by those who post to them. I'd very much like to get some feedback from both sides of the equation. Any suggestions, advice or opinions welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Simon

[zentoz]

I think from my experience thumbs should ba 80*110
Pics 800*600, no better needed for TGP

[Greenguy]

I don't mind downloading high quality content & then resizing it as needed - some sites I use images that are a bit bigger and better quality & on some, I don't

Of course, if you want a hard answer, 800x600 should be fine.

[GeorgeTH]

Originally Posted by zentoz

I think from my experience thumbs should ba 80*110
Pics 800*600, no better needed for TGP

For me as a gallery submitter 800×600 pixels is the absolute maximum I'm posting... Anything over 700 pixels is fine, and I try to keep the average file size under 50kb (where possible). I must say 80×110 thumbs seem a little small; I make most of mine 105-120 × 160 pixels, and [important!] no watermarks visible on thumbnail

[Ramster]

What George said. Bigger thumbs for TGP submissions.

[Useless]

As a free site builder, I prefer sponsors that just take their large raw photos, watermark them, and zip 'em up. Don't bother with creating thumbs. We all build using a variety of ever-changing thumbs sizes. Any real builder/submitter has a variety of image tools at his/her disposable for re-sizing, thumbing, and general tweaking. Larger is better because I can make them smaller, but I can't make them bigger without fucking them up.

Also, give us zips of 20-30 pics. A lot of sponsors hand out sets of 15, but that means that we free siters have to use two separate photo sets to build a single site.

BTW, thanks for asking our opinions first. It says a lot about you and your program.

[kristian]

Another idea would be to issue webmasters with a form of virtual certificate to be spent at certain stipulated content providers. The certificates could be offered at the start of each month (but are only valid for the duration of that month). Everyone gets a basic certificate. But the value of these certificates increases based on the webmaster's performance in the previous month (0 - 20 signups, basic certificate; 21 - 50, $X certificate, etc).

Your webmasters would have a far greater chance of getting listed on tgps and LLs using this kind of free content. You probably already have alliances with major content providers who would be willing to accept these certificates and receive payment from you at the end of the month.

Just an idea.

[Simon]

Hello Zentoz, GreeenGuy, GeorgeTH, Ramster, Useless Warrior, and Kristian... and thanks for the good feedback!

From the replies in this thread, it looks like there are maybe two basic ways we could go on this.

1. We could supply pix in the 800x600 maximum size, keeping file size reasonable, with pre-made thumbs in perhaps a couple of sizes for those who like them either larger or smaller.

2. We could supply pix in larger, high-definition format, and let people make the photo and thumb sizes/resolutions they prefer for the galleries, sites, tour pages, etc. they build.

I'm guessing that those more experienced in the business would be just fine with the second choice, since it provides more options on what you can do with the content. And I'm thinking that the first choice would be good for those who are newer to things, and who don't have all the tools (and all the know-how) that more experienced builders have.

So maybe the thing to do is offer both kinds of content packs, and let people choose what they want to download.

I do like the suggestion Kristian offered. I can see how it would benefit particularly those experienced enough to understand the advantages of "choose your own" content. And the "more special content for more orders" approach is interesting too. We'll kick those ideas around here and maybe we can come up with something along those lines too.

Useless Warrior, I appreciate the suggestion about using 20-30 pic sets. We've only started looking at the differences between building galleries for TGPs and building free sites for Link Lists. (I've been reading the "Hosted Free Sites - Sponsors Read This" thread that Linkster started.) We'll definitely make sure to offer sets with enough pics that you can build whatever you want.
Also, regarding your comment about us asking for opinions first, I hope folks here won't mind if I do that a lot. We had an affiliate program before, some years ago, that was administrated by people who weren't our site development team. We're doing it ourselves this time, and we want to make sure that we're giving webmasters what they really need, and not just what we think they should be using.

More feedback still welcome if anyone would like to say more about this.

Thanks,

Simon


P.S. I really appreciate the time the people here take to help each other out. I'm sort of an "Elder Noob." I've been a computer user since my Timex Sinclair ZX81. I was visiting bulletin boards on a Fat Mac with a 300 baud modem by 1985. I've been involved with building adult pages/sites/communities since 1996. But I read this board because I still learn things here all the time.

[GeorgeTH]

Originally Posted by kristian

Another idea would be to issue webmasters with a form of virtual certificate to be spent at certain stipulated content providers. The certificates could be offered at the start of each month (but are only valid for the duration of that month). Everyone gets a basic certificate. But the value of these certificates increases based on the webmaster's performance in the previous month (0 - 20 signups, basic certificate; 21 - 50, $X certificate, etc).

Your webmasters would have a far greater chance of getting listed on tgps and LLs using this kind of free content. You probably already have alliances with major content providers who would be willing to accept these certificates and receive payment from you at the end of the month.

Just an idea.

...and an excellent one, too! One creative thinker there!
You can still support newbies with (let's just grab a figure) 2 sets exclusive to them (or only to 5 webmasters/month or so).