What is a GIF Image
by 
Lina Thorne • Updated · Posted in Photography
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is a file format that can display animation; although, unlike videos, it doesn’t have any sound. It’s a raster format which allows multiple images to be combined in one file. Plus, there’s some information about how long each image should be displayed for. Animated GIFs work similarly to a flipbook – they contain a series of related images. When their sequence is played, they create an effect of a video. Except there’s no sound, and they tend to be of a quite low resolution.
Since the number of colors that a GIF file can display is rather limited, this format isn’t ideal for all kinds of images. But it is great for logos and graphics that have sharp lines and edges. Naturally, the fewer colors they have, the better.
You’ve definitely come across animated GIFs on various websites and social media platforms, in chats, private messages, comments, tweets and so on. With GIFs, people tend to express their emotions and show their reactions online.
The Key Features of the GIF Format
Here are several key features of GIF format:
- Animations. One of the primary uses of the GIF format is for short, looped animations. GIF files can contain multiple images that are shown in rapid succession, creating the illusion of motion.
- Limited Color Palette. GIF has a limited number of colors it can display – it supports only 256 colors. This limitation makes GIF somewhat less suitable for images with a rich color palette; unlike JPEG, for instance.
- Lossless Compression. You can compress a GIF losslessly, which means GIF files can be compressed without any loss of data; therefore, you’ll be able to easily decompress them without any issues. However, lossless compression produces files of a bigger size than lossy compression. Thus, it’s not a great choice if you need to compress your images as much as possible.
- Transparency. GIF supports transparency, allowing one color in the image to be fully transparent. This is useful if, for example, you need to create images with transparent backgrounds.
- Supports Animated Text Overlays. GIF can include text captions, which is great if you want to attract some attention with your images on social media.
- Interlacing Support. The GIF format can use interlacing, meaning that the image gradually loads onto the screen, starting with a rough depiction, then more and more details appear.
- Wide Compatibility. GIF files are widely supported by various software, apps and web browsers, which is why they are commonly used for sharing animated images on the internet.
Advantages and Disadvantages of GIF files
Despite the availability of alternative formats that offer a broader set of features, GIFs still maintain their popularity. That’s because this format has its advantages. Here they are:
- Indexed palette provides efficient storing of color;
- It’s a great choice for graphics, logos, and icons;
- GIF files tend to have a relatively small file size and decent image quality;
- It supports lossless compression and animation;
- You can turn one of the colors into a transparent one. For example, your GIF can have a transparent background.
However, there are also some drawbacks to consider:
- The color palette is extremely limited. You won’t be able to work with high-resolution images;
- There’s no smooth or gradually changing transparency, since only one color can be set as transparent;
- The file size tends to get bigger if a GIF contains animation or if lossless compression is used;
- Does not support EXIF, so your file won’t have any metadata;
- Does not support color management in ICC profiles;
- Inefficient storage of images with multiple layers;
- Does not support vector graphics.
Why You Might Need to Crop GIF
It might be a good idea to crop a GIF. There is a variety of reasons to use a image cropper. Maybe you want to focus on a specific part of a GIF and, at the same time, get rid of some unnecessary details. Or maybe there are some size requirements that your GIF needs to meet, so you have to resize it. Usually, people need to crop GIF images to:
- Reduce image file size. Cropping GIFs will result in their overall file size being reduced. You might need to make the file size smaller to share your GIF with a friend on a messenger or upload to a website or social media. Some platforms have size limits – this is why the size of a file can matter. And if you post your GIF on a website, it’ll load faster if it has a smaller file size.
- Focus on what’s important. Maybe you think that your GIF image has too much empty space. And this is why it doesn’t have the impact that you want. When you crop GIF files, you can focus on what’s important. You can crop them closer to the reaction that is displayed in your animated GIF, so it will be more clearly visible.
- Get rid of unnecessary parts. Similarly to the previous point, maybe your GIF file has not only too much space but also too many unnecessary and even distracting elements. So, the reaction that is shown in your GIF gets kind of lost. Cropping a GIF file can help you remove any distractions and redundant bits.
- Change the aspect ratio. Perhaps, you don’t like the aspect ratio that your file has, or maybe you need a specific aspect ratio. You can mend this by cropping.
Generally speaking, cropping a GIF file allows you to remove everything that you don’t need, focus on the most crucial part, adjust the image to your needs and make sure that it meets the size requirements.
Conclusion
The GIF format is mostly used for memes or reactions; it’s highly popular on social media platforms like Tumblr, Instagram and Facebook. All thanks to its convenience and the fact that it produces files that are smaller in size than videos.