Thats the "proper" way to save a photo?

sincere · Jun 7, 2009

When i say proper, i mean in a format with the least quality loss. I dont know what other infos you would need. Also, when saving in Photoshop under "Save for web & Devices", what is there to consider?

Moglex · Jun 7, 2009

Saving in TIFF should result in a lossless save.

JPeg will save with varying degrees of compression and thus varying degradations in quality.

Overread · Jun 7, 2009

For photos I now use the following saving methods:

1) I shoot in RAW mode so I always have an untouched (no edit) version of every shot. If you shoot in JPEG always copy each shot you going to edit first into a new folder - that way you always have an unedited version of each shot you have taken - it also have important implications which will become clear later.

2) When you haved edited the shot you have a choice of saving modes:
a) Photoshop PSD file - this is a good format since it saves all the layers of your edit intact - so if you come back to edit all the layers you used first time are still present. They can be quite large save files though
b) TIFF - this is a lossless save formate (no data is ever lost from the file) and like the above they are again larger file sizes. They do save layer details as well
c) JPEG - lossy save format - which means each time the image is saved some data is lost - it does not take many saves before you can start to get image degradation. This is even more apparent if you then try to edit the photo. This is why you always copy the original and edit the copy. The files are however a lot smaller than the above making them good for the internet.
d) Save for web - JPEG format which also drops all EXIF details as well as a few other things so that the image file is as small as possible - you can even specify a filesize (at a possible loss of image quality) to keep filesizes down.

Myself I Save each edited photo as a PSD file - then I make another folder into which I put smaller resized JPEGs for internet upload.

yogibear · Jun 7, 2009

Great question! I usually save Tiff but I have often wondered if there is any advantage to saving as a PSD file. Thanks to both of you.

craig · Jun 7, 2009

I download the raw files as .DNG. I convert my edits to .TIFF and .JPG.

Love & Bass

musicaleCA · Jun 7, 2009

Hmm. No one's mentioned PNG. PNG can be a good choice for the web, particularly web design if/when you need a relatively small file but also need to preserve transparency (JPEG doesn't preserve transparency).

craig, is there a particular reason you convert to DNG? I know Adobe says they have plans to make it an open format, but until they do, I worry they might pull a Microsoft (MS said that their new xml-based formats like DOCX and PPTX would be open formats, and we have yet to see such a thing).

Garbz · Jun 8, 2009

PNG has the two downsides that it is incredibly slow to process (much slower than TIFF with LZW compression) while providing no size advantage, and unlike TIFF with compression does not save layer data or colour profile information as part of its standard spec. A big downside for those who shoot and save in AdobeRGB for whatever reason. PNG really shines where a reduced colour spec is required such as web graphics but is not so hot for photos.

DNG IS an open spec. That is the point, otherwise it would not exist. The complete spec for version 1.2 can be downloaded from adobe for anyone wishing to implement it http://www.adobe.com/products/dng/pdfs/dng_spec_1_2_0_0.pdf

Also on that note Save for Web and Devices tips:
- Tick Convert to sRGB ALWAYS! There is rarely a situation where you want to give someone a lower quality version of your file and don't wish it to be in sRGB. This is a safeguard for forgetting colour management.
- Set preview underneath to : Document Colour. (important if you use a calibration system like Spyder2 which applies a colour profile to your monitor or it won't output the correct image to your display).

bigtwinky · Jun 8, 2009

I shoot in RAW and keep all the RAWs in an folder.
I have a working subfolder under each shoot where I save a high res JPG version of the best "keeper" shots that I have edited, corrected and so on. I typically send this to the client/model. I also have a second folder called web where I resize the JPG to a web format.

So.... shoot and store in RAW, save once in high res JPG and again in resized JPG

musicaleCA · Jun 8, 2009

Well I'll be. Thanks Garbz. Any idea on when camera manufacturers are going to start using DNG though?

Garbz · Jun 8, 2009

DNG support is coming but very very slowly.

So far only Leica, Pentax, and Hasselblad have native DNG support.

musicaleCA · Jun 8, 2009

Figures that Hasselblad would jump on it. I doubt anyone would forgive them if they weren't at the forefront. *kicks Canon* My 450D would like a firmware upgrade boys!

sincere · Jun 9, 2009

Garbz said:
PNG has the two downsides that it is incredibly slow to process (much slower than TIFF with LZW compression) while providing no size advantage, and unlike TIFF with compression does not save layer data or colour profile information as part of its standard spec. A big downside for those who shoot and save in AdobeRGB for whatever reason. PNG really shines where a reduced colour spec is required such as web graphics but is not so hot for photos.

DNG IS an open spec. That is the point, otherwise it would not exist. The complete spec for version 1.2 can be downloaded from adobe for anyone wishing to implement it http://www.adobe.com/products/dng/pdfs/dng_spec_1_2_0_0.pdf

Also on that note Save for Web and Devices tips:
- Tick Convert to sRGB ALWAYS! There is rarely a situation where you want to give someone a lower quality version of your file and don't wish it to be in sRGB. This is a safeguard for forgetting colour management.
- Set preview underneath to : Document Colour. (important if you use a calibration system like Spyder2 which applies a colour profile to your monitor or it won't output the correct image to your display).

Garbz (or else), whatabout the quality option when it comes to saving pics?

BIlinear?Nearest neighbour, bicubic? Bicubis smoother and sharper? What to pick=?

Garbz · Jun 9, 2009

Quick rule of thumb is Bicubic Sharper is more suited to reduction in sizes, Bicubic Smoother better for enlargements. But it also depends on what. For instance when resizing text and small detail I find bicubic sharper tends to bring a little more clarity in enlargements.

Either way this only makes a difference if you're resizing, and my guess is if you're making it smaller it's not entirely critical to keep the picture as good as it gets.