Photo Export Settings: Formats, Sizes and Quality

The way you export a picture decides how it looks once it is online. Sensible photo export settings keep detail, avoid huge files and reduce surprises when a platform re-encodes your upload. This guide from the Nudzy team explains formats, pixel sizes, quality levels and color space in plain language, with a short checklist at the end.

Key takeaways

• Export from your original or RAW file, not from an already compressed copy.
• JPEG at high quality is the safest all-round format for uploads.
• A long edge of about 2,000 to 3,000 pixels is plenty for most screens.
• Use the sRGB color space so colors look right on phones and browsers.
• Expect re-encoding. Starting with a clean, high-quality file protects the result.

Why export settings matter

Your editor works on a large, flexible file. The exported copy is what viewers actually see, and it is smaller, flattened and compressed. If you export too small, the image looks soft. If you export too large, uploads are slow and may be compressed further.

Re-encoding adds another step. On Nudzy, uploads are re-encoded in a sandbox and metadata is stripped from uploaded media. Because the platform processes your file again, a clean source gives the best final quality. Compressing the same file several times in a row is the most common way to lose detail.

Choosing a file format

Different formats suit different jobs. Here is a practical comparison.

Format	Best for	Notes
JPEG	Photos, general uploads	Small files, universal support, lossy
PNG	Graphics, text, flat color	Lossless but large for photos
WebP	Web delivery	Smaller files, not accepted everywhere
HEIC	Phone storage	Convert to JPEG before upload
RAW	Editing source	Keep as your original, never upload

For nearly every photo, export a JPEG. Use PNG only for graphics with sharp edges or text, since photographs in PNG become very large with little visible gain.

If your phone saves HEIC, change the camera setting to "most compatible" or convert files in your editor. That avoids format problems at upload time.

Photo export settings: pixel size

More pixels are not always better. A phone screen shows roughly 1,000 to 1,500 pixels across, and a large desktop monitor shows a few thousand at most.

A practical rule of thumb:

• Long edge of 2,000 to 3,000 pixels works for most uploads.
• Go higher only if you want viewers to zoom into fine detail.
• Avoid upscaling a small image. It adds file size but no real detail.

Keep the original aspect ratio unless you crop on purpose. For vertical clips and stills that sit together in an album, our article on vertical video for mobile feeds covers framing for tall screens.

JPEG quality: the sweet spot

JPEG quality is usually a slider from 0 to 100, or from 1 to 12 in some editors. Higher values keep more detail and create larger files.

1. Start at 85 to 90 percent for a good balance.
2. Zoom into dark areas and smooth gradients, such as skies or backgrounds, and look for blocky banding.
3. If you see artifacts, raise the quality slightly.
4. If the file is very large, lower quality by five points and compare again.

Values above 95 rarely look better but make files much heavier. Values below 70 start to show visible blocks and smearing.

Color space: use sRGB

Color space defines which colors an image can store. Wide gamuts such as Display P3 or Adobe RGB can look vivid in your editor but dull or shifted on screens that do not manage color well.

Export in sRGB. It is the standard for web and most phones, so colors look the way you edited them. If your editor offers "convert to sRGB" on export, enable it.

Cropping and aspect ratio

Decide your crop before you resize. Common ratios are 4:5 for tall portraits, 3:2 for standard camera frames and 1:1 for squares. Each one suits a different subject, so pick the ratio that fits the picture instead of forcing every image into the same box.

Leave a little breathing room around the subject. Feeds and thumbnails often crop the edges slightly, and a tight crop can cut off something important. Check how the image looks as a small preview, because that is how many viewers meet it first.

Sharpening and noise

Resizing softens an image a little. Most editors offer "sharpen for screen" on export. A low or standard amount is enough.

Avoid heavy sharpening, which produces halos around edges, and heavy noise reduction, which makes skin and fabric look plastic. Both problems become worse after compression. Lighting is the better fix for noisy photos, and our guide to lighting basics shows how to get clean images in the first place.

Metadata and privacy

Photos from phones and cameras carry hidden data, such as the device model, time and sometimes location. Nudzy strips metadata from uploaded media, but it is still good practice to know what your files contain and to remove what you do not want to share before you export or send files elsewhere.

Most editors have an export option to exclude location data. Read our guide on why metadata matters for details. Other sites handle metadata differently, and which sites remove EXIF data on upload shows how to test one. Check the filename too, because names such as a real name or a street can reveal more than you intend. Rename files to something neutral before you export a final set.

A simple export workflow

Create a saved preset in your editor so every export uses identical settings. Presets remove guesswork, save time and keep a whole album visually consistent. Review your preset every few months in case your needs change.

1. Edit from the original or RAW file and keep it untouched.
2. Crop to your final framing.
3. Resize to a long edge of 2,000 to 3,000 pixels.
4. Set color space to sRGB.
5. Export as JPEG at 85 to 90 percent quality.
6. Apply a light screen sharpening.
7. Check the result at 100 percent zoom and on your phone.
8. Name files clearly so you can find them later.

Following the same steps every time keeps an album consistent. If you are planning a full set, see how to pick formats in photo, video or mixed albums.

Export presets belong to a wider workflow of folders, backups and file names, which the budget home studio setup covers. To compare your results with finished work, open a styled-shoot tag such as #beauty and look at sharpness and crop.

Common mistakes

• Exporting a screenshot. Screenshots are low resolution and carry interface elements.
• Repeated saves. Re-saving a JPEG again and again degrades it. Always export from the original.
• Oversized files. Files over 10 MB per photo are rarely needed.
• Wrong color space. Wide gamut images can look flat once converted by a browser.
• Using messy filenames. Clear names help you track versions.

FAQ

What is the best format for uploading photos?

JPEG is the safest choice. It is small, compatible with almost everything and looks good at 85 to 90 percent quality.

How big should my photos be?

A long edge of about 2,000 to 3,000 pixels suits most uploads. That is sharp on phones and desktops without creating huge files.

Should I upload RAW files?

No. Keep RAW files as your editing source and export a JPEG. RAW files are large and are not meant for viewing.

Will the platform change my photo after upload?

Yes, uploads are processed again. On Nudzy, files are re-encoded in a sandbox and metadata is removed, so a clean high-quality export gives the best final result.

Next steps

Set up one reliable export preset and reuse it. When your files are ready, the help center can answer upload questions, and our blog has more craft guides. Nudzy reviews content before it is published, and the terms describe both the review (section 9.1) and what can be uploaded.