How to Make Icons From My Photos
Photo icons are common on the Internet, adding flare and creativity to websites, social media pages and emails. Including a photo icon on your business cards or mailing labels is one way to make your correspondence personal and attractive. Creating a photo icon requires minimal knowledge of photo editing and can be completed in a short amount of time.
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Instructions
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Choose the photo you wish to convert to an icon. Ensure that the image is easily identifiable at a small size. According to Smashing Magazine (see References), "The basic shape or silhouette of your icon can help users to quickly identify it." If the image is not your own, obtain the proper permission before using the photo as your icon.
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Open the photo file (such as a JPG, TIFF, DNG or PNG file) using your preferred photo editing software.
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Edit the image's file size settings. Adjust the resolution to 72 DPI, the standard resolution for Internet or digital usage. If your icon will be printed, create the file at 300 DPI initially. You can downsize it to 72 DPI at a later time.
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Select the crop tool, and modify its pixel dimensions to fit the needs of your desired photo icon. Most icons are created in a square format and range in size from 300 x 300 pixels down to 50 x 50 pixels. For example, if your photo icon will be used as an avatar to accompany your username on a forum or social network, the size will probably be about 50 x 50 pixels.
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Hold down the mouse button and drag the crop tool over the area of the photo that you wish to use in the icon. Choose a section of the photo which is identifiable at a small size.
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Save your work, using a "Save for Web" or similar option if it is available in your photo editing program. Ensure that the proper color settings are used. Standard Web color settings are 8-bit sRGB. You can also adjust the image quality. Since the overall file size is small, saving your file at the highest quality will not effect uploading time.
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Save the file as a JPG, PNG or GIF, as these are common graphic formats used on the Internet and in graphic design programs. Upload your file to your website or social media site, or place it in your archive folder to use as future print material.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit medium format camera image by Astroid from Fotolia.com
