How to Make a Digital Image

How to make a digital image from a photographic print

• If you don't have a scanner:
Take your print to a drug store or camera store and use the Kodak Picture Maker machine to make a digital image. The machine will burn the image file onto a CD. Copy the file from the CD onto your computer and save it at the highest quality. Then go to getty.edu to start your submission. After we receive your form, we'll send you directions for e-mailing the image file to us.

• If you have a scanner:
Make sure you scan your snapshot at the highest quality. We can accept files up to 20 megabytes (MBs) in size.

How to make a digital image from a digital camera

• Use your camera's instruction manual and the software provided with it to load the images from your camera onto your computer.
• Once the images are on your computer, use an image-editing program to save the image at the highest quality.

About File Type and Size

File Type: JPEG or TIFF
Create one of these file types by saving your image with the extension .jpg or .tif in your image-editing program (Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft PhotoEditor, etc.). Go to the File menu and choose "Save As." Then use the drop-down menu to select the file type.

File size: up to 20 megabytes (MBs)
Find the file size of any image by right-clicking on it and choosing "Properties" from the menu. It will appear as bytes (b), kilobytes (kb or k), or megabytes (mb or megs). If your file is bigger than 20 MBs, try saving it as a JPEG instead of a TIFF. Size isn't everything, however. Your image doesn't have to be as big as 20 megabytes. It's more important that you save it using the option for the highest quality available.

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