Uploading Images to Dreamwidth
Mar. 18th, 2026 08:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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newcomersHello again! With Tumblr's latest brush with implosion, it seems the tutorial writing bug has bitten me again. Today, I'm finally going to talk about uploading and sharing images on Dreamwidth!
Dreamwidth has given all users a certain amount of image storage to use: Free users get 500 MB, Paid users get 1.5 GB, and Premium Paid users get 3 GB.
There's two ways to upload images directly to Dreamwidth.
The first option has a fair number of steps, but it's the one I know the most about and the one I'm best able to help with.
Option one: In the navigation section (found in your profile or on the site’s home page, among other places), click the Create tab, and select the "Upload Images" option. It'll look like this:
You've got a couple of options for uploading images directly here! You're probably already familiar with this interface, but just in case: If you click the 'Browse' button, a little pop-up window will appear where you can search through your folders and click on individual files to upload. Once you have your files selected, click 'Open' on that window, and they'll be uploaded to Dreamwidth. Alternately, you can open a folder on your desktop directly, then click-and-drag any files you want to upload into the large box that says "or drop images here". You can upload multiple images at once with either method. Keep in mind that images larger than 5MB can take a while to load, so you may want to stick to one at a time with those!
Once you’ve uploaded your images, they will appear on the Upload page below the uploading field, like so:
Here, you can see several optional fields that you can fill out:
Title
Short description
Description
Filling in the descriptions is a very conscientious thing to do*, because these fields will automatically tell screenreaders used by blind people and others what the image is about! The short description I entered for the above image is, "A screencap of an image successfully uploaded to Dreamwidth, including information fields to fill out". This description has all of the important information about the image in it; while I could go on about the size of the information boxes or the relative size of the image, that's less important than the general content of the image. Since I'm talking about uploading and sharing images on Dreamwidth, I included the information relevant to that.
Next to the Title field is a drop-down menu for the security level of the image; this allows you to choose who you want to be able to see the image. For example, if you only want to share it with your access circle, or if you want to share it with a specific filter, you can select them, and then no one else will be able to see it!
At the bottom of the fields to fill out is a field with an image link. If you’re using HTML, then you can copy that link and paste it into an entry; then, when you publish the post, the image will show up where you pasted the link! (Note: Using the HTML provided here will automatically make it a thumbnail of no larger than 100x100 pixels.) You can find out more about how to post an image in Rich Text Format (the kind of entry-making where you can highlight words and select an option to bold or italicize them) by checking out this link. Note that you can use images from any host for this, not just Dreamwidth links, but you need to actually find a different image host to use if it's not Dreamwidth.
To edit any of the image's data fields later, like the title or the description, or to delete the image, visit the Manage Images section. If you don't need to edit anything about the image (except maybe the size of the thumbnail** you want to share), go to View Images.
* I know not everyone can create image descriptions, even all sighted people (I know someone who has a visual processing disorder and has trouble making image descriptions because of it, and I can't imagine it's easy for dyslexic people, either, etc), but if it's the kind of thing that would only take a few extra minutes, then it's considered polite, IMO.
** When talking about images, a thumbnail is a smaller version of an image that you can click on to see a bigger version. Using a thumbnail can be polite if the image you have is actually really big and detailed, but you don't want to take up your reader's whole screen! If an image is wider than, say, 800 pixels, I would recommend this. It's possible that your reader's screen will automatically re-size the image for you, but I like to play it safe.
The second option is to post an image by email, which I have to admit I haven't tried myself yet.
For Option Two, the first thing you need to know here is that it's possible to post to Dreamwidth by email;silvercat17 wrote the tutorial I used to set it up, but you can also use Dreamwidth's official FAQ entries about it over here. If you post an entry by email, you can attach an image as a file to the email, and it will automatically be uploaded to Dreamwidth and included in the post! It won't necessarily have any particular title or description included, though, so you may want to visit Manage Images to edit that.
And those are the basics of uploading images to Dreamwidth! Culturally, Dreamwidth users tend to either share larger images as a thumbnail, or to put them under a cut (Dreamwidth's "Read More"), but otherwise this should cover what you need to know.
But maybe I'm wrong about that! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments of this post, and I'll do my best to clear things up (and then edit the post to include the information). You can also check Dreamwidth's official Media FAQ and see if your question is answered there.
Edit: With thanks toteres for the help!
I'd also like to note that you can share images on Dreamwidth that are hosted elsewhere, but not all image hosting sites have the same positive attitude that Dreamwidth does about NSFW art. If you do a lot of art and not all of it is NSFW, you may decide to host your SFW art elsewhere, and save your Dreamwidth storage for the stuff you can't host elsewhere.
Dreamwidth has given all users a certain amount of image storage to use: Free users get 500 MB, Paid users get 1.5 GB, and Premium Paid users get 3 GB.
There's two ways to upload images directly to Dreamwidth.
The first option has a fair number of steps, but it's the one I know the most about and the one I'm best able to help with.
Option one: In the navigation section (found in your profile or on the site’s home page, among other places), click the Create tab, and select the "Upload Images" option. It'll look like this:
You've got a couple of options for uploading images directly here! You're probably already familiar with this interface, but just in case: If you click the 'Browse' button, a little pop-up window will appear where you can search through your folders and click on individual files to upload. Once you have your files selected, click 'Open' on that window, and they'll be uploaded to Dreamwidth. Alternately, you can open a folder on your desktop directly, then click-and-drag any files you want to upload into the large box that says "or drop images here". You can upload multiple images at once with either method. Keep in mind that images larger than 5MB can take a while to load, so you may want to stick to one at a time with those!
Once you’ve uploaded your images, they will appear on the Upload page below the uploading field, like so:
Here, you can see several optional fields that you can fill out:
Filling in the descriptions is a very conscientious thing to do*, because these fields will automatically tell screenreaders used by blind people and others what the image is about! The short description I entered for the above image is, "A screencap of an image successfully uploaded to Dreamwidth, including information fields to fill out". This description has all of the important information about the image in it; while I could go on about the size of the information boxes or the relative size of the image, that's less important than the general content of the image. Since I'm talking about uploading and sharing images on Dreamwidth, I included the information relevant to that.
Next to the Title field is a drop-down menu for the security level of the image; this allows you to choose who you want to be able to see the image. For example, if you only want to share it with your access circle, or if you want to share it with a specific filter, you can select them, and then no one else will be able to see it!
At the bottom of the fields to fill out is a field with an image link. If you’re using HTML, then you can copy that link and paste it into an entry; then, when you publish the post, the image will show up where you pasted the link! (Note: Using the HTML provided here will automatically make it a thumbnail of no larger than 100x100 pixels.) You can find out more about how to post an image in Rich Text Format (the kind of entry-making where you can highlight words and select an option to bold or italicize them) by checking out this link. Note that you can use images from any host for this, not just Dreamwidth links, but you need to actually find a different image host to use if it's not Dreamwidth.
To edit any of the image's data fields later, like the title or the description, or to delete the image, visit the Manage Images section. If you don't need to edit anything about the image (except maybe the size of the thumbnail** you want to share), go to View Images.
* I know not everyone can create image descriptions, even all sighted people (I know someone who has a visual processing disorder and has trouble making image descriptions because of it, and I can't imagine it's easy for dyslexic people, either, etc), but if it's the kind of thing that would only take a few extra minutes, then it's considered polite, IMO.
** When talking about images, a thumbnail is a smaller version of an image that you can click on to see a bigger version. Using a thumbnail can be polite if the image you have is actually really big and detailed, but you don't want to take up your reader's whole screen! If an image is wider than, say, 800 pixels, I would recommend this. It's possible that your reader's screen will automatically re-size the image for you, but I like to play it safe.
The second option is to post an image by email, which I have to admit I haven't tried myself yet.
For Option Two, the first thing you need to know here is that it's possible to post to Dreamwidth by email;
silvercat17 wrote the tutorial I used to set it up, but you can also use Dreamwidth's official FAQ entries about it over here. If you post an entry by email, you can attach an image as a file to the email, and it will automatically be uploaded to Dreamwidth and included in the post! It won't necessarily have any particular title or description included, though, so you may want to visit Manage Images to edit that.And those are the basics of uploading images to Dreamwidth! Culturally, Dreamwidth users tend to either share larger images as a thumbnail, or to put them under a cut (Dreamwidth's "Read More"), but otherwise this should cover what you need to know.
But maybe I'm wrong about that! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments of this post, and I'll do my best to clear things up (and then edit the post to include the information). You can also check Dreamwidth's official Media FAQ and see if your question is answered there.
Edit: With thanks to
teres for the help!I'd also like to note that you can share images on Dreamwidth that are hosted elsewhere, but not all image hosting sites have the same positive attitude that Dreamwidth does about NSFW art. If you do a lot of art and not all of it is NSFW, you may decide to host your SFW art elsewhere, and save your Dreamwidth storage for the stuff you can't host elsewhere.
Thank you!
Date: Mar. 19th, 2026 02:51 am (UTC)I've spent the past several days watching the flood of new users, trying to catch as many as I can to offer them resources. I've probably caught over two dozen so far. I've been pointing out your Tumblr related tutorials. Happily I've seen other folks recommending this community too!
Re: Thank you!
Date: Mar. 19th, 2026 04:18 am (UTC)Yeah, Tumblr is... Well, the higher-ups reversed the decision, but the language they used had a very strongly implied "For now". I've been plugging my tutorials and Newcomers in particular as hard as I can over there, so thank you for doing the same here!
Re: Thank you!
Date: Mar. 19th, 2026 04:24 am (UTC)People have known for years that Tumblr is abusive and precarious, but some fandoms have really grown around its features and are understandably reluctant to leave. But we've seen wave after wave of refugees every time corporate decides to screw a new pooch.
>> I've been plugging my tutorials and Newcomers in particular as hard as I can over there, so thank you for doing the same here! <<
:D I appreciate your hard work. This definitely works better with a person in each camp.
Re: Thank you!
Date: Mar. 19th, 2026 04:45 am (UTC)True enough! This time was extra bad, though; the change they made fucked up Tumblr's basic functionality in a way that hurts artists and opened people up to harassment. I've thought I've heard Tumblr's death knell before, but if Staff actually brings back the changes they tried without making major concessions, odds of it being the big one are much higher.
>>:D I appreciate your hard work. This definitely works better with a person in each camp.<<
My pleasure! And likewise; I don't think I can keep up with promoting Dreamwidth on Tumblr and tracking down and helping newcomers over here, so I'm grateful you've got that covered 😊
Re: Thank you!
Date: Mar. 19th, 2026 05:02 am (UTC)Agreed. It was extra abusive.
>> I've thought I've heard Tumblr's death knell before, but if Staff actually brings back the changes they tried without making major concessions, odds of it being the big one are much higher.<<
I think so too. They've lost a big chunk of people with every shift, and I suspect that is deliberate.
>>I don't think I can keep up with promoting Dreamwidth on Tumblr and tracking down and helping newcomers over here, so I'm grateful you've got that covered <<
And I'm not on Tumblr so I can't do that part. Teamwork \o/
no subject
Date: Mar. 20th, 2026 08:10 am (UTC)I would like to politely suggest that, if using third party image hosting websites, people don’t use Imgur due to the geographical restrictions. (I very often find journals/profiles full of images that I can’t view!) Personally, I use Postimages; I’m sure there are other viable options.
no subject
Date: Mar. 22nd, 2026 01:23 am (UTC)Do you know how Postimages feels about NSFW art?
no subject
Date: Mar. 22nd, 2026 08:45 am (UTC)Thoughts
Date: Mar. 22nd, 2026 05:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Mar. 20th, 2026 01:13 pm (UTC)Could this be the tutorial you're looking for? I can't find any other tutorial on their journal, at least.
Also, if you do use a thumbnail, it would be nice if you make it link to the full-sized image, as you can see in the post above.
As a note, large images (>5 MB) can take a long time to upload, so you can't use them at once.
no subject
Date: Mar. 22nd, 2026 01:20 am (UTC)The cool thing about Dreamwidth's automatic thumbnails is that the link it generates for you automatically does that! One of the better things about Dreamwidth's image hosting 😅
An excellent note about image size, I'll edit that in; thank you!
no subject
Date: Mar. 22nd, 2026 09:25 am (UTC)That's the one, thank you!
I hadn't seen it before, so it's good to hear I managed to find the right one!
The cool thing about Dreamwidth's automatic thumbnails is that the link it generates for you automatically does that! One of the better things about Dreamwidth's image hosting 😅
I've never worked with thumbnails, so the reminder is appreciated. You do need to remember to copy the link for the thumbnail embed; embedding the thumbnail manually means that users can't get at the full-size image, which I've seen happen several times.
An excellent note about image size, I'll edit that in; thank you!
Thanks for taking my suggestions into account!
no subject
Date: Mar. 23rd, 2026 11:26 am (UTC)I managed to work it out once, but have given up again in recent times. There a
are a lot of options that no longer work (or were when I last tried, maybe six months ago?)
eg. I tried a quick guess this time. Went to 'manage images', clicked on an image I wanted from my library and copied it. But when I paste it into my journal, it's far smaller than I want it (I'd really like it just to sensibly flow to fit most of the width of the post, something that would be automatic on Facebook, for example)
I try 'view images' instead and choose the embed option - that does what I want, but that's not going to be obvious to newcomers. How many people these days know what an embed code is?
What is the drop out rate of new users of DW? I suspect it's very high - instructions on top page of the relevant options might help?
no subject
Date: Apr. 4th, 2026 02:18 pm (UTC)