iPhoto: which to do first or not to worry?

[stickman.walks]

Let`s say I have two photographs stored on a hard drive. One is a RAW file and one is a JPEG. With everything that I know, the following things seem true with iPhoto: - Upon import, iPhoto will make a copy of the RAW file - a JPEG copy - and this is what you are editing and working on in iPhoto. - Same for the JPEG photo - iPhoto will make a copy of it - a JPEG copy - and this is what you are editing and working on in iPhoto. - Each time I open these JPEGs and make changes, they lose a bit of quality, however small or noticeable? - iPhoto 2011 lets you save edits as 16-bit TIFFs. So after I import these two photos - should I immediately save them as TIFFs (untouched and unedited). And then go ahead and re-import them as TIFFs and make all the changes I wish. Or should I import them as iPhoto does, make the changes and then save them as TIFFs. I want to turn the JPEG into TIFF and the RAW files also to TIFF. But since I might not finish editing the images in one sitting, I don`t want to risk losing quality. Just looking for what the best method would be.

 

[Garbz]

I didn't believe what you wrote so I looked up the iPhoto FAQ. Sorry but this has to be one of the most retarded workflow designs that I've seen, and I can't believe they actually try to justify it in the FAQ.

Anyway from what I've read I gather that there's no way to get 16bit data back. The initial conversion is done to JPEG then the JPEG is re-opened. You've just lost the biggest benefit of the TIFF format which is being able to work all the data in the original RAW image. What a load of ********.


Given the limitations I suggest option B. Open the photo, make changes then save them as TIFFs 16bit. Your edits (assuming iPhoto actually works in 16bits internally, which is a big assumption given it's potentially retarded methods) may be of higher quality if you save your interim file at 16bits.


I'm sorry to say but from what I saw in the FAQ the best method would be to look for another program to edit your RAWs.