How can I take a large photo and make that into a YouTube Thumb?

[christopherw31662392]

I have a very photo that is 5MB and I want to make that into a YouTube Thumb which has to be no larger than 2MB. I know when I transform the image some of it will be cropped out, I’m not concerned about that, I just want to be able to make it into a YouTube Thumb.

This is what I’ve done so far. I brought the image into photoshop 2021, duplicated the layer, then did a canvas size of 1920 x 1080. I then transformed the top layer to make it fit within the canvas. I then flattened the layers, saved but it’s still too big to use for YouTube. What am I doing wrong? (The reason why I put it in layers is so I could save the original file if I want to go back in the future). 

Also, Is there a way to take a large image and make it into a specific MB size? 

I tried asing this question before but maybe I didn't ask the right way. I'm using a Mac just so you know. 

[Jumpenjax]

How are you saving the file? Jpeg? If so, when you save and the information about the file comes up image options, where is the quality? If it is above 8  you should slide the quality to 8 and save that should make the file smaller but not lose to much quality.

[christopherw31662392]

I save it as a jpg and when I go all the way down in terms of quality it's still above 2MB. 

[Stephen Marsh]

You need to use export, not save/save as.

[christopherw31662392]

It keeps tellimg me I don't have permission to save it when I try to export it. 

[Stephen Marsh]

Are you on a Mac? If so what version? Apple have been locking down and restricting permissions with each new OS release, which then require you to set permission for various apps to access.

[christopherw31662392]

I'm on a Mac. MacOS Big Sur Version 11.4

[Stephen Marsh]

How are you exporting?

* File > Export > Quick Export as...

* File > Export > Export As...

* Right click on layer and selecting one of the two previous options

* File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy)

[christopherw31662392]

I'm exporting it, Export As then I choose Jpg. I'll leave 2 screen shots. 

[christopherw31662392]

Oh my god! Web (legacy) worked!!!!  I have been at this the whole day, I can't even explain. THANK YOU!!!! 

I feel like there should be a much easier way to make a file smaller. 

[Nancy OShea]

Go to File > Save as copy.  Give your copy a new filename like YouTube.psd.

Close original PSD.

Flatten YouTube.psd image.

At this point you have a choice. 

Either use Image > Image Size and change the width to 1280px and height to 720px.  Or use the Crop Tool to achieve the same result (see screenshot).

Use Ctrl/Cmd + S to save file.

Hope that helps.

[Nancy OShea]

I forgot to mention, you will need to export PSD file to optimized JPG before you upload it to YouTube.

File > Export > Export As > JPG...  (see screenshot).

[christopherw31662392]

Okay I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong but when I follow your instructions, I made the PSD file flat, I then cropped it with your specs, I even put in the 96 like you had it and for some reason it takes a super long time for me to save and then it wont save it as a jpg, I can only save it as a Large Document Format, PNG, Tiff.

With your second comment, so are you saying after I flatten the PSD file and crop it, I then export that as a jpg? Is that why I can't save as a jpg? 

[christopherw31662392]

When I try to do teh export I get An Unknown error occurred. I did it 2 times. 

[Stephen Marsh]

I believe that I have seen other forum topics with Export Legacy Save for Web permissions error issues (bug), you could look for release notes and or update instructions to see if this is the case.

[christopherw31662392]

After when I crop it like you said it then becomes a really big file as seen below, 

[Nancy OShea]

OMG no wonder it's taking so long!!!   You have 122880 pixels which is enormous!!!!

YouTube wants images that are 1280 pixels x 720 pixels.  See screenshot.

[christopherw31662392]

Lol, yeah for some reaosn it was making it 1280 inches so I then typed in px next to the numbers and that worked. However, when I try to export it like you said it keeps telling me I don't have permission to save the file. I tried a bunch of times to differnt locations but nothing seems to work. 

[Nancy OShea]

You need to save files to your primary hard drive and you should have a computer user profile with administrative level permissions.  If not, try creating a new computer user that has the right permissions to save files.  If this is a work or school-owned computer, ask your IT dept for assistance.

[christopherw31662392]

This is my computer, not a schools. So I can't save a file now because I need some sort of administrative level? I'm lost. I thought I could just save files. I never had this problme before.

[Nancy OShea]

This could be a memory issue.

Shut everything down.

Reboot your computer and try saving an average sized file to your hard drive.

Failing that, you will need to solve your permissions problem.  Google it for your operating system.

[Stephen Marsh]

The other topic thread is here:

Why is image size is smaller than when I save it?

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop/why-is-image-size-is-smaller-than-when-i-save-it/td-p/12172...