RAW, JPEG, TIFF

[AaronA1]

Alright, this has been bugging me and I cannot find answers anywhere. When I take pictures, I shoot in RAW, and have been saving images after editing them as JPEG. My question is, when editing pictures, how should I save them and edit them? Is there a specific way that I should save them, edit them, etc. Say I open up an image in Photoshop, edit it, and save it, what format should I save it in? If i want to take an image and make it look the best it can be when I print it out, what format should it be in?

 

[Big Mike]

There really isn't a right way to do it...you just need to find what works for you.

Your workflow sounds fine...but be aware that JPEG is a 'lossy' format....every time you save as a JPEG, you loose quality because the image is compressed. You can adjust that with the quality/compression slider, but JPEG is still a 'lossy' format.

TIFF, PSD...on the other hand, will allow you to save the image files without loosing anything. You can even save them with the Photoshop layers intact and so on. However, the files are HUGE compared to JPEG files.

My (now old) workflow was to shoot in RAW, make RAW adjustments and covert them to TIFF or JPEG. Then work on them in Photohop...saving the 'working copies' as PSD files. Then when I needed an output file for printing or web viewing, I would save a JPEG copy for that specific use. If I wanted to print at a different ratio (8x10 etc) then I'd save another JPEG copy (from the working copy). I might end up with 5 or 6 versions of some images and with the PSD file, it really took up a lot of space.

Now, I use Lightroom and my workflow is much smoother.

 

[AaronA1]

For some reason, I had a feeling you were gonna answer this question first, and you did! SO AWESOME! I usually shoot in RAW, do RAW image stuff in lightroom, save as JPEG, then do my photoshop stuff, and then I am usually done and it usually gets saved as JPEG. EXCELLENT! I am now in a class at my local college and I just found out that I can print there for free, and that makes me so STOKED....so I was just making sure that if I print out something on a bigger size, that image quality wouldn't be lost because of how I saved the file. I am using a 7D so 18 megapixels makes printing bigger things amazing.

 

[Big Mike]

Since you are using both LR and Photoshop....
What I do, is edit as much as possible in LR, then choose 'Edit in...' and pick Photoshop. Then I do my thing in Photoshop and just save.
It is automatically re-imported back into LR with the changes from Photoshop.

This way, I can still use all of Lightroom's export options with the 'finished' image.

 

[Studio7Four]

Thanks, Mike. My current work flow is pretty much what you described as your old method, so I was going to ask what you do now. I don't have Lightroom but may look into it.

 

[Trever1t]

Pretty much how I've been doing it...RAW > LR3 > tiff export to CS5 and save tiff/create jpg.

Side question if I may? Is it better/easier to print from a jpg rather than tiff?

 

[johnydg]

I would save as a PSD or whatever the source file is, just so you have everything there and if you want to go back and change something, its there. Then I'd save it as JPEG.

 

[KmH]

JPEG only has an 8-bit depth, and is intended as a print ready file type with little or no editing headroom.

Do as much editing as you can either parametrically (Lightroom/ACR, etc), or in 16-bit mode. Only save the file as a JPEG when you have no other options.

Trever1t,

Many print labs only accept JPEG files for printing, because non-layered TIFF files are so much larger file size wise, they just take up way to much of the print lab's server memory space.

Most humans cannot see a difference between a print made from a JPEG, and a print of the same image made from a TIFF.

 

[JimCoventry]

I would save as a PSD or whatever the source file is, just so you have everything there and if you want to go back and change something, its there. Then I'd save it as JPEG.

Work 95% in LR export as PS at 500dpi 16bit 12" long side (Unless you have to have a larger file, then I work 100% in RAW converter from the original) which can be automated exporting a bunch of images at a time (like for a wedding).

Most of my PS actions include conversion to 8bit and saving the file - to size as jpg - and I always save the PS file as it was exported from LR first.

 

[KmH]

For digital images the term DPI (dots-per-inch) is useless, but is used to describe the resolution number of dots per inch an inkjet or printing press can produce.
Those types of printers have to print many dots to render a single pixel. Some types of inkjet printer have print heads that emit 170+ dots per ink color.

Digital images are made of pixels. Digital image size is a function of the image pixel dimensions, and how many of those of pixels are printed per inch (PPI). DPI and PPI are not interchangeable terms.

The DPI measurement of a printer often needs to be considerably higher than the pixels-per-inch (PPI) measurement of a video display or chromogenic print in order to produce similar-quality output. This is due to the limited range of colors for each dot typically available on a printer.

A Nikon D300 set to Large delivers images having pixel dimensions of 4288 pixels by 2848 pixels. At the 500 PPI (DPI, sic) JimCoventry recommended a print would be 8.576 inches by 5.696 inches, which is pretty small.

 

[Garbz]

I would save as a PSD or whatever the source file is, just so you have everything there and if you want to go back and change something, its there. Then I'd save it as JPEG.

The difference between PSD and TIFF is minimal due to TIFF being a highly extensible and layered format. Saving as a TIFF often gives you little to no loss of layered information.

 

[cliffy13]

If I shoot in Raw or Jpeg I always convert to a Tiff before I do any editing (outside of Raw conversion) ,its a lossless format so I dont lose any quality

 

[AmberNikol]

Wow, it's good to know I'm not the only one who edits in two different programs...here I am thinking most people only use one type of editing program. I have Aperture 3, so i edit in there and then edit in photoshop. (since I can't add watermarks in Aperture)

Thanks for all the great advice on RAW, TIFF n JPG images, it really helps me.

 

[tyler_h]

I always shoot raw (burst isnt an issue and cards are cheap). Process is open in Adobe Bridge; basic adjustments here along with any NR; then open in PS as 16 bit (why throw away information before you are finished editing?) for the rest of any editing and sharpening. I tend to keep a copy of the psd along with the raw in case I want to make changes later. For actual use I'll export from Bridge as I have a bunch of presets saved there so its one click for a batch of jpeg's.

 

[PhotoPoser]

Your last observation hits the nail on the head. While it is great to keep all of the detail of RAW and TIFF for editing, most people cannot tell the difference. This is especially true in online formats. Therefore, you should use the file format that is easiest for you. As long as you don't re-save and compress JPEG too many times it will be hard for website viewers to tell the difference.