This is an older topic where image usage and policies were discussed. I am dusting this off to have a dedicated space to discuss pictures issues to match our To-Do list in SWDb 3.0 dealing with pictures pages, galleries and so on.
Some things to consider when uploading pictures
a) file size: several megabytes should give you pause. Web-optimized Jpegs or PNGs should be better. Resolution is more important than DPI, so for example what you upload should ideally be 1000px or so in width, but doesn’t need to have the quality of a raw file from a digital camera.
b) file types: jpeg is best, png also works, we’re working on making the SWDb webp compatible.
c) image dimensions/size for 1) dvd covers 2) posters 3) screenshots 4) people pictures 5) soundtrack covers: aim for 1000px wide minimum, but don’t have to be too much more than that in most cases. Better safe than sorry: feel free to upload larger versions, where you use the pictures scaled down versions will be used, until we need them in bigger.
d) copyright matters: don’t upload what was made by others. This applies especially to photographs of people. Cite sources or photographers. It’s harder with stills, posters, lobby cards, etc. In most of these cases a clear copyright owner can’t be identified, we’re rolling with our educational mission to make these accessible…
e) image descriptions: this is where it gets tricky, see dedicated post(s) further down.
f) File names: very important to not put special characters in there, and ideally also avoid spaces. Pick a descriptive name and add numbers, that is best, e.g. MovieNameLobbyCard003germany.jpg
Also:
We need to clean up unused images (see below)
We need to make better use of galleries and more convenient ways to look at bigger versions of images
I still need to figure out how we best deal with galleries, picture descriptions and categorization. This is an area of highly overdue improvement in the SWDb but also something I have not the best experience with
Working on an update to the database that will make the invidual pictures’ pages more useful and prettier. Will keep you posted.
What it means: It will make more sense to give pictures descriptions that have links and much more, because it will be more prominently placed.
@Mickey13 has been doing a great job adding tons of pictures to the database, and throughout or other improvements we keep uploading more and better pictures. The agove items are still an open question, so they may follow us into the post-3.0 era.
Whoever has pictures (posters, covers, lobby cards, stills etc) that aren’t in the database, please let us konw or point us to them.
Not exactly a pictures thing, but neary completion of a little cleanup project: moving all VHS covers from pictures pages to where they belong: VHS subpages…
Edit: done.
Speaking of pictures… This year we’ve been uploading so much stuff, we keep running into our disk’s limit. I will have to upgrade, in the meantime if anyone has problem problems uploading pictures, this is why.
Just a shout-out to @ozerovocka who is feeding us tons and tons of rare images, which I have been uploading and adding to the database for days now. Thanks so much, what an enrichment.