AuntieM Loc: Eastern NC

I am practicing shooting RAW, and have Elements 10 as my processing program; however, I just found out by trying to save my changes, that I don't have a JPEG option, only DNG or dng (don't know what the difference between the two is) with a JPEG preview. How do I save my changes from a RAW file to JPEG, or how important is a JPEG file copy? I know some sites ask you to send pictures in JPEG format. My Elements 10 book by Kelby and Kloskowski only tells me that DNG (dng) is simply a digital negative....so what is the up and down side to saving in DNG as opposed to JPEG, and is there any way I can get changes made to a RAW file saved in JPEG format?

robert-photos Loc: Chicago

AuntieM,

DNG is Adobe's flavor of RAW. It eliminates side cars and has some lossless compression and per Adobe will be forever compatible with Adobe PS.

In PSE 10: Open the file in the Editor. It will first open in the Camera RAW window -- choose "Open Image" and it will open in the Editor's editing window. Use File...Save As (or File...Save for Web) to save as a JPG.

IMAO doing that without first editing your RAW image is a waste of time and effort. Adobe's RAW editor is non destructive to the RAW file, whatever flavor. Changing your file to a JPEG and editing it there loses the advantage of RAW editing.

GHK Loc: The Vale of Eden

Save the DNG/dng (means the same).
Reopen, duplicate and save as PSD.
Do any furthe manipulation and again save PSD.
Only use Jpeg to save small (1400 x 1050 max) for projection or Email.

GHK

achammar Loc: Idaho

If you can't save the file as a jpeg after it is open in the editing window, then it is almost surely set on 16 bit. You can not save a jpeg as a 16 bit file... it has to be 8. With your image open, in the menu, just go to Image, then Mode, and select 8 bit. You will now be able to save it as a jpeg... but remember, it is better to edit in 16 bit mode, then change to 8 bit mode after you are done only if you need it to be a file format that only supports 8 bits (like jpeg)

GHK Loc: The Vale of Eden

This is good counsel.

GHK

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Robert is right. But read what he says carefully. Open the image but remember, it will actually open in the RAW window known as Adobe Camera Raw. Do your initial edits here and as Robert says, then click on "Open Image". All of your edits in the RAW window will automatically be saved to the raw file in a new file called a side car file. This is seamless and you can pretty much forget about it. Just remember, these edits are not permanent and can be undone any time. Then the image will transfer into PSE Editor so you can do more elaborate editing such as layering and filtering. After that you can do a "save-as". But I suggest that if you do some layering or filtering that you first do a "save-as" to Adobe' format called .psd so that if you need to go back later and adjust a layer or filter, you don't have to start over on all your editing work. Saving as a psd saves all the layers, but saving as a jpg throws away all your layers and saves just a single flat jpg image. Trust me, someone will see your images and ask you to send one to them and if you throw away those edits you'll be sorry. They may something like why is the picture shaded so blue. Well, you can go back and change the filter you may have used to make it warmer with a simple slider. Then, and only then you are ready to save as a jpg for printing, sending in email, or saving for the web.

GHK Loc: The Vale of Eden

GHK says: Good sense.