Enhancing pictures - tripling the files size

[jonbatchelor]

I am enhancing pictures (thumbnails to be precise) in Nikon Picture Project and the outcome is generally tripling the file size. eg. a 72kb thumb is coming out at 232kb after adjusting just the brightness & sharpness!! What else can be suggested? Is Photoshop a better option, or anything else for that matter?

[ilanphoto]

if you are saving in JPG it could be just a quality setting issue. A file compressed in a JPG setting of 7 will be much smaller than the same file saved with a setting of 12
Maybe the original was saved with a lower setting

HTH

[vanderstouw]

part of the reason the file is larger is that it is having a color space attached to it, most likely...

in photoshop, your files will most likely get tagged with a color space... (even having the file tagged with a color space of sRGB will have this effect).

a good way around this is use the save-for-web function... this will save the file with no attached color space, and will make the file a lot smaller.

[dang]

"Save for the web" will remove any EXIF data from your shot, and it saves it at a very low kb which will add ardifacts also. When you use "Save As", as stated.. you can lower the quality setting to maintain a smaller size aroun 125 kb or so, and not loose too much. When you click "Save As" in Photoshop, it should allow you to adjust your setting. You'll be able to see the kb before you complete the final Save.

[vanderstouw]

it will remove the exif data, but if you set it up right, you will get no more artifacts than with any other jpeg method... it defaults to save as gif... which will give you crappy results, but if you choose jpeg as the save option and set up your compression right, you will be fine...

but as dang said (and i mentioned)... you loose some things... both your color space and your exif data...

[vanderstouw]

it will remove the exif data, but if you set it up right, you will get no more artifacts than with any other jpeg method... it defaults to save as gif... which will give you crappy results, but if you choose jpeg as the save option and set up your compression right, you will be fine...

but as dang said (and i mentioned)... you loose some things... both your color space and your exif data...