Help needed - How to make a photography book epub?

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

I do not believe it is unreasonable to think that a user can rotate their device to see a picture.

I wouldn't expect a user to rotate a desktop monitor or a laptop computer, though. ePUB is not only for handheld readers.

I would not expect ePUB to address this issue. Perhaps screen resolution would be reasonable but most eBook readers scale the images already so that is one way to handle the problem.

What would you (as an ebook creator) do with a large landscape picture? There are two basic possibilities:

1. Leave it in its natural landscape orientation. Most readers will be using a portrait reader, and will therefore not see the picture in full size, but "reduced" to have the image width fit the screen width. Some users will be able to change the orientation by rotating the device, that's fine.

2. Pre-rotate the image to make it "fit" in a portrait screen. Again, most readers will be using a portrait reader and see a rotated picture, they can easily rotate the device and see the picture as intended, some of them will have to disable the auto-rotation in their devices, though, or they will just see a smaller portrait picture in a landscape screen. Users with non-portable devices can't rotate the screen.

I would favour a variant where the natural orientation of the image is also specified in a CSS property, EXIF tag or whatever, and the reading software will handle it appropriate.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by Jellby

I wouldn't expect a user to rotate a desktop monitor or a laptop computer, though. ePUB is not only for handheld readers.



What would you (as an ebook creator) do with a large landscape picture? There are two basic possibilities:

1. Leave it in its natural landscape orientation. Most readers will be using a portrait reader, and will therefore not see the picture in full size, but "reduced" to have the image width fit the screen width. Some users will be able to change the orientation by rotating the device, that's fine.

2. Pre-rotate the image to make it "fit" in a portrait screen. Again, most readers will be using a portrait reader and see a rotated picture, they can easily rotate the device and see the picture as intended, some of them will have to disable the auto-rotation in their devices, though, or they will just see a smaller portrait picture in a landscape screen. Users with non-portable devices can't rotate the screen.

I would favour a variant where the natural orientation of the image is also specified in a CSS property, EXIF tag or whatever, and the reading software will handle it appropriate.

You are thinking that people would rotate the screen either manually or automatically to see the picture in the best format. I do not think so for manual devices (most of them). I think people would rotate their device to see a landscape picture but would only leave a portrait picture alone. They would not know if it would be any bigger even if they went through the steps to rotate it and some eBook Readers don't even have the option to rotate the view of an ePUB in the first place.

On a computer the screen is already landscape so all they have to do is resize the window to see the picture bigger. However you are right that a rotated picture would not do as well on a computer. Do you really think that ePUB is a major format for people to read on a screen? I only proof on a computer, I do my reading on a mobile device.

Dale

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

You are thinking that people would rotate the screen either manually or automatically to see the picture in the best format.

No, most people would just take the default, but it would be nice to have the option.

Perhaps I wasn't clear. My point is that, given the attached picture (assuming it was intended to be viewed in large size), none of the two options is optimal, as both assume some default screen orientation, which may or may not be altered by the user. I wouldn't care if ePUB readers allowed the user to select a picture in the book and display it fullscreen in the optimal orientation (or not), but I haven't seen that option in the Adobe engine (and I wish there were some competition here).

[bobcdy]

I agree with Jellby that it's impossible to format an epub so that the images will fill, or almost fill, the entire ereader screen of every ereader. However, I would think that formating for the 4/3 ratio will do fine for the majority of current ereaders including the IPad (that has a close to 4/3 screen ratio). I'm surprised, however, to hear that the IPAD can't maintain a smooth photo on its screen and only shows a "wobbly" and "liquid" image (wannabee),

I also don't see why users of an ereader would object to changing the orientation of the reader to see the full photo in its correct orientation; as Dale indicated such is necessary for many image viewings in paper books.

As far as the problems with images when using Adobe DE on a computer, I guess my belief is that ADE is NOT the proper tool to use to view large images with a computer. If one needs to view epub images in detail, then it's necessary to unzip and extract the images, and view them in Photoshop or an equivalent.
Bob

[DaleDe]

By the way, it is not necessarily only one choice. There could be two files with one optimized for landscape and one for portrait. The user could choose the one they wanted. Not much more work to make.

Dale

[wannabee]

I'm surprised, however, to hear that the IPAD can't maintain a smooth photo on its screen and only shows a "wobbly" and "liquid" image (wannabee),

I didn't mean that the image was wobbly on an iPad but that the concept of presentation was. ePub in it's current form is just the wrong way to present the material you have.

As far as the problems with images when using Adobe DE on a computer, I guess my belief is that ADE is NOT the proper tool to use to view large images with a computer. If one needs to view epub images in detail, then it's necessary to unzip and extract the images, and view them in Photoshop or an equivalent.
Bob

You prove my point. http://www.flickr.com/ Much more appropriate.


Or if you want to narrow your audience to iBook for the iPad only.http://www.pigsgourdsandwikis.com/20...nd-iphone.html

Can't think why you would want to present your superb photography on a halftone e-ink screen.

[bobcdy]

wannabee,
Thanks for the post and the comment on my photos - they are of the Republic of Georgia and were taken when my wife and I visited there in 2006. A great country; very scenic, quite inexpensive by Euro standards, and certainly not especially dangerous although one probably needs a guide to help with the language.

You seem to misinterpret my posts. My original post was in respect to otco's request for info about making an epub of photographs. I personally have little desire to create such a book of my photos, although I might if I had a large screen color ebook reader such as an IPAD. I was merely demonstrating that it is feasible to create such an epub; and I think it is obvious that epubs are valid for showing photographs ON AN EREADER, but not on a computer. As far as the gray-scale ereaders, my Sony 950 does a great job of gray-scale photographs when they are sized for its elongated screen.

As far as Adobe DE, my point is that ADE is not designed for showing large images on a computer screen,and in fact is is really adapted best in general for ereaders rather than a computer. Although I use ADE on my computer to proof text of an epub that I'm creating, I always use an ereader for actually reading epubs for enjoyment, etc. and NEVER use ADE on the computer screen.
Bob