Creating your own images
If you want to add images to your teaching materials or web
site without fear of copyright infringement, you could try
creating images yourself.
On this page: Converting your own images
to digital format | The finishing
touches | Swinburne services
for creating images | Further information
Converting your own images to digital
format
Scanning your own work
You can easily scan your own creations for inclusion in
a Power Point presentation or web site. Small objects you
have created (such as drawings, plans, etc.) can also be scanned
on a flatbed scanner. Some experimentation is needed for best
results, but the result is a close-up digital photograph of
the object. Please note there are scanning
facilities available in each campus library at Swinburne.
For more information about scanning, see the following sites:
Creating images with graphics
software
Graphics software will allow you to create, alter and organise
you graphics. One of the simplest examples of graphics software
is Microsoft Paint. Paint is "bundled" with Microsoft
Windows software as an accessory and is adequate for making
colour arrows, lines, squares, "buttons" with text
on them and other basic images.
Macromedia Fireworks is another popular graphics program
which can be used to create images for the Web and is available
via the Swinburne Standard Operating Environment. The Swinburne
Training Unit offers courses in Macromedia Fireworks (and
other core application systems). The se courses are available
exclusively to Swinburne staff and are tailored to focus on
scenarios common to Swinburne.
For further information about creating images using graphics
software see the following sites:
Digital cameras
Digital cameras have two advantages over conventional cameras.
First, the result of a photo is available almost immediately,
rather than having to wait for several days for film to be
processed. Secondly, the photos are already in digital form
and can be readily uploaded to a Web page without having to
be scanned but ensure you have the appropriate file
size.
Note: digital cameras are available for loan from
all Swinburne libraries.
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Getting
the best out of low-end digital cameras
Produced by the Technical Advisory Service for Images
(TASI), this site examines the similarities and differences
between digital and film cameras and discusses the skills
required to make best use of a digital camera.
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Digital Cameras in Education
Provides links to tutorials on how to best use digital
cameras.
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Digital
Cameras 101
An introduction to all the basics of digital cameras.
Find out what they are, how they work and what types of
digital cameras there are. Includes a glossary of common
terms and phrases.
Commissioning photographs
In most circumstances, the copyright in photographs commissioned
by Swinburne will be owned by the photographer, unless Swinburne
and the photographer agree otherwise. Contact the Swinburne
Copyright Office for more information.
The finishing touches
Image formats
Digital images may be made and stored in a range of different
file formats. Each of these file formats has been developed
to cater for a different set of needs.
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GIF (Graphics Intercharge Format)
The GIF format is most appropriate for images with large
amounts of solid colours, such as banners, buttons, and
graphs. When compressed, GIF
images can have very small file sizes allowing them to
download quickly.
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JPEG, JPG (Joint Photographic
Expert Group)
The JPEG (or JPG) format is most suitable for photographs
or images that contain a variety of colour values (i.e.
detailed black and white images or fine art). As the JPEG
format allows for more colour variation, JPEG files can
be slightly larger than GIF files. However, if compressed
correctly, JPEG images can be reduced to very reasonable
sizes for download.
Other image file formats include...
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PNG (Portable Network Graphic)
This file format is expected to replace the GIF file format
as it has all the advantages of GIF but offers a smaller
file size.
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TIFF (Tag Image File Format)
Common file format for print and desktop publishing. TIFF
files are very large as they save as much information
as possible about the image to allow for greater colour
accuracy. This is NOT a Web file format, but you may be
converting TIFF files from print publications for your
Web site.
Although there are a number of other image formats available,
we recommend using .GIF and .JPEG formats only. Other file
types can be converted to .GIF or .JPEG formats using image
editing software (such as Macromedia Fireworks or Adode Photoshop),
simply by opening the file with the software and saving it
as the desired format.
Compression and file sizes
In order to display images effectively online, they will
need to be compressed (or optmised). Uncompressed images take
up unnecessary space on the server and can take a long time
to download depending on a users bandwidth and connection
speed. After you digitise your image and make any adjustments,
you will need to save the image as a GIF(.gif) or JPEG(.jpg)
image file depending on the type of image. Both formats compress
the file information making it smaller. When saving as a GIF,
the objective is to reduce the file size by saving the image
and then reducing the number of colours displayed without
reducing the quality of the image.With a JPEG, you will save
the image using various compression settings (low, medium,
high or maximum). Again, the objective is to compress the
file size without reducing the image quality.
For further information see:
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File
formats and compression
Produced by the UK-based Technical Advisory Service for
Images (TASI), this advice document provides an introduction
to image file formats and compression techniques.
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Image
optimisation
Produced by the Department of Marketing and Communications,
University of Bath.
Swinburne services for creating
images
Learning and Teaching Support (LTS) will assist academic
staff with graphics/images that support their teaching programs.
Visit their web site for further details http://www.swin.edu.au/lts/services/media/graphics.htm
Further information
The following sites offer loads of good advice for creating
and delivering images to users:
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Creating
images for use on the web
Produced by City College Manchester, this document
provides an overview of the entire process for creating
images to use on the web. It covers scanning images, using
digital cameras and using graphics software.
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Creating
images for the web
The University of Bath have put together a terrific guide
which explains the process of creating and manipulating
images for use on web sites. It also highlights examples
of good practice.
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Technical Advistory
Services for Images (TASI)
TASI provides advice and guidance to the Further and Higher
Education community on the issues of: creating digitial
images, delivering digital images to use, using images
to support teaching, learning and research.
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