How do I make a Twitter background from one of my photos?

Making a Twitter background from one of your photos involves saving a copy of the image that is the right type, size and dimensions to be used on your profile.

Image type: The valid file types for a Twitter background image are GIF, JPEG and PNG. Choose one of these when saving your photo.

  • JPEG is good for photos and other complex images with many different colors.
  • PNG is good for screenshots and simple graphics with fewer colors than a photo.
  • GIF has similar applications to PNG. Choose PNG over GIF.

Image size: Twitter enforces an upper limit of 800 K on background image file size. This is pretty generous and you should not have a problem getting most images underneath this limit even at a large size.

Dimensions: Choose the right dimensions so your background image looks decent on most display resolutions. Most Of Zen and Computing readers have a screen resolution that’s between 1024 and 1920 pixels wide. Choose a width in that range for your background image and it will fill most of the screen on most displays. 1500 pixels might be a good choice.

Now that you have the basics down, we’ll cover exporting a Twitter background image in a few of the popular image editing applications. Choose your program:

Make a Twitter Background in Lightroom

  1. Choose your photo and click File → Export….
  2. Export to a temporary location that’s easy to find, such as the Desktop.
  3. Under File Settings check off Limit File Size To and enter 800 in the text field.
  4. Under Image Sizing…
    1. Check off Resize To Fit.
    2. Change the drop down box to Long Edge.
    3. Enter your desired width into the next text box and choose pixels from the drop down menu.
    4. Choose 72 pixels per inch as the resolution.
  5. Click the Export button.

Make a Twitter Background in Photoshop

  1. Open your image.
  2. Click Image → Duplicate….
  3. Close the original. We’ll work on the duplicate copy.
  4. Click File → Save for Web and Devices…
  5. Choose JPEG or PNG as the format.
  6. Locate the Image Size group of settings.
    1. Make sure the “chain link” icon is present between the width and height in order to maintain proportions when resizing. If it isn’t click the line connecting the width and height boxes to activate this feature. You will see the chain link icon appear.
    2. Enter your desired width in the text box labeled “W”.
    3. The height should change automatically.
  7. Look at the image size directly underneath the bottom left corner of the image. It should be under 800K. If not (and you’re using JPEG) adjust the quality settings to get it under 800K.
    1. Choose a quality preset such as “Low”, “Medium”, “High” or “Very High”. Pick the highest quality preset that’s under 800K to get the best image quality.
    2. Alternatively, adjust the numeric “Quality” number until the image is under 800K. As you choose lower numbers, you’ll see the image quality degrade in the preview. Pick the highest number that gives you a file size under 800K.
  8. Adjusting the image dimensions will also affect file size.
  9. Click the Save button to export the background image.
  10. Close your photo.

Make a Twitter Background in iPhoto

  1. Click on your desired photo to highlight it.
  2. Click File → Export…
  3. From the Kind drop down box, choose JPEG or PNG.
  4. If you chose JPEG, choose a quality such as Low, Medium, High or Maximum.
  5. From the Size drop down box, choose Custom.
  6. Enter a max dimension of your desired image size (in pixels).
  7. Click the Export button.

You could also choose max “Width” instead of max “Dimension”. Leaving it set to “dimension” resizes the longest side of your image to your chosen pixel size.

If the image is too large, repeat this process and choose a lower quality setting.

Make a Twitter Background in Picasa

  1. Click on your desired photo to highlight it.
  2. Click File → Export to Folder…
  3. For Export Location, choose where the image will be saved.
  4. Enter a name for the exported folder.
  5. For Image Size…
    1. Check off Resize to:
    2. Enter your desired size in pixels.
  6. Choose an image quality preset such as Automatic, Normal, Maximum or Minimum.
  7. Click the Export button.

If the image is too large, repeat this process and choose a different image quality preset. If you are not satisfied with the results of any presets, choose “Custom” and adjust the slider. Moving the slider left lowers image quality, and moving it to the right uses a higher image quality.