What's a Social Media Sized Digital File?
Such a great question!
Unless you are planning to make prints, a 72dpi file that is 1000 to 1200px on the longest side will be fine for online sharing. Knowing that most people want a digital file to share, all prints that you purchase from me are accompanied by a file that is 72dpi and 1200px on the long side. I do sell these files separately for folks who don't want prints, but for a few dollars more, you can have both! (I LOVE prints and want everyone to have them!) These files will make an "acceptable" 2x3 or 4x6 print, but a full resolution file will always give more detail in print.
If you wish to make multiple copies of a small to medium print of up to 8x10 and wish to save a bit, you might wish to consider a file of 2800px on the longest edge/72 dpi which I also make available to you in the Portrait Shop. That said, I cannot guarantee any prints that I don't have made for you!
Here are some comparisons regarding how different file sizes look on screen:
This 1200x800 file is what someone would receive if they purchased this as a print of Ella. It looks great!
This file would make a nice small print and looks the same as the 72dpi online. When I make prints, I use the original size file. This file was 4743px x 3162px before I reduced it for comparison.
If you enlarged this last example (800px x 600px) you would see a noticeable difference in quality as there are a lot fewer pixels. It's looks fine, though, as a small file on a screen, but I would not print this at any size!
Why don't I sell or give all the full size, 300 dpi files?
Any questions? Let me know! Contact me!