It depends on the program you plan to use. Most editing programs (Photoshop, etc.) have a resize option. You should resize it so that it is less no wider than 800 pixels wide and the appropriate ratio of pixels tall. Most programs will automatically choose the height if you put in a new width.

If you don't use a photo editor, you can use Microsoft Paint, which installs with windows. Just open the photo in Paint, choose Image: Attributes to determine the photo size. Then choose Image: Stretch/Skew. Then set the stretch boxes to the appropriate reduction (set both boxes to the same percentage).

For example, if you have a 6MP photo which is 3000 x 2000 pixels, you would want enter 26% into the Horizontal and Vertical stretch boxes, since 26% of 3000 is 780 pixels. Make sure you choose Save As so as not to overwrite your original file. Your image will then be 780x520 and will fit nicely on most people's screens and not be too large to upload.

Another way to reduce file size is to use adequate jpg compression. Most programs give you a choice in the amount of compression you will use. I generally choose a setting about halfway between the two extremes. So in photoshop where the scale is from 1 to 10 (1 small size, 10 high quality), I choose 5 or 7 at the highest. Any higher quality rarely shows up online and just makes the files bigger.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

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