Which Format in PSE15: After processing a RAW image in PSE, what is the best format to save your work- PSD, JPEG, TIFF, etc? Is there any loss of data? I'm assuming yes if you save as...

Ricinus Loc: Leduc Alberta

After processing a RAW image in PSE, what is the best format to save your work- PSD, JPEG, TIFF, etc? Is there any loss of data? I'm assuming yes if you save as JPEG. I'm new at this so just feeling my way..

Thanks, Mike

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

JPEG "compresses" the data to smaller files. PSD and TIFF do not compress, have larger files and saves the layers so you can go back into the file and work on it.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

If you are using layers and have the hard drive space and think you might go back to edit again at some point, save as psd.

After you save a psd with all your work showing, click flatten layers and "save as jpg" for posting, emailing, printing etc. Best of both worlds.

Ricinus Loc: Leduc Alberta

Linda From Maine wrote:

If you are using layers and have the hard drive space and think you might go back to edit again at some point, save as psd.

After you save a psd with all your work showing, click flatten layers and "save as jpg" for posting, emailing, printing etc. Best of both worlds.

One question, when I "save as jpg", do I still have the original psd or is that altered?

Thanks Mike

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

When you "save" you get options that will let you "over write" or replace the original. Most think that is bad. When you "save as" you are making an entirely new copy. Most think that is wiser.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Ricinus wrote:

One question, when I "save as jpg", do I still have the original psd or is that altered?

Thanks Mike

bsprague wrote:

When you "save" you get options that will let you "over write" or replace the original. Most think that is bad. When you "save as" you are making an entirely new copy. Most think that is wiser.

To expand on bsprague's, in order to change the file type (from psd to jpg) you must do "save as." And as he said, any time you "save as," you are creating a new file, regardless of type.

So do initial save in psd format, then select "save as" and be sure to open the part of that dialog box that offers file type, not just name change.

Ricinus Loc: Leduc Alberta

bsprague wrote:

When you "save" you get options that will let you "over write" or replace the original. Most think that is bad. When you "save as" you are making an entirely new copy. Most think that is wiser.

Gotcha, Thanks a lot that helps immensely..

Mike

Ricinus Loc: Leduc Alberta

Linda From Maine wrote:

To expand on bsprague's, in order to change the file type (from psd to jpg) you must do "save as." And as he said, any time you "save as," you are creating a new file, regardless of type.

So do initial save in psd format, then select "save as" and be sure to open the part of that dialog box that offers file type, not just name change.

Great, thank you..

Mike

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Linda From Maine wrote:

... , click flatten layers

Linda, Merge Layers... taking a well contoured photo and flattening it ... OUCH... like ironing the wrinkles out of a sheet -- never !

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

I usually save as a jpeg and a psd. The latter so I do some re-editing if I want without having to go through everything I did before.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

I always save as PSD so I can do subsequent edits at will. You can then "Export as new file" using any of the format selections that are presented with various file size and quality choices. Exported files then go into a folder labeled "For emailing" or "For Facebook", "For printing", etcetera. I use the relevant app to,share my pics. I don't like the way Elements uses its internal Share module to do that.

cthahn

PSD

Kuzano

There are a number of unique reasons to save in TIFF, and for me, another reason is that my camera can produce RAW, Jpeg AND I can switch and shoot TIFF.

The biggest reason TIFF is not used so much is that the files produced out of the camera, or after editing and saving are quite large. BUT, didn't we all quit worrying about file size when storage memory became so cheap.

TIFF uses a higher bit depth than Jpeg and does not compress, unless you choose knowingly to do so.
TIFF maintains the ability to go back and edit layers.

There are a couple of other reasons for TIFF, but my primary reasons are that, unlike most camera's, I can shoot TIFF SOOC, and the reasons I mentioned.

I have been able to shoot TIFF out of the camera with Olympus DSLR's and Fujifilm camera's. So, since I primarily shoot for SOOC (and choose NOT to Post Process), TIFF gives me more alternatives later with the original file. However, I have not done Post Processing other than a tweak or two for about 5 years. And I don't deal with RAW files at all.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Ricinus wrote:

After processing a RAW image in PSE, what is the best format to save your work- PSD, JPEG, TIFF, etc? Is there any loss of data? I'm assuming yes if you save as JPEG. I'm new at this so just feeling my way..

Thanks, Mike

I don't think it will matter much.... If I recall correctly, Elements is an 8-bit program... meaning that it can only save any of those file types as 8-bit. If that's the case, there won't be much difference, regardless of file type.

If you are given choice when saving the file, you may be able to "set the quality" of a JPEG (I know this is an option in Lightroom and Photoshop, not sure if it is in PSE 15).

The highest quality settings primarily minimize compression (which makes for a bit larger file).

TIFF can be compressed, too. I only save files as TIFF or PSD when 16 bit is wanted for some reason (it's not needed for most purposes... including most types of printing and certainly not for online display). I will save a file as TIFF or PSD if planning to re-open and do additional work on it later, wanting to preserve layers, etc. Those are things better done in 16 bit and/or not possible in 8 bit JPEG.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Ricinus wrote:

After processing a RAW image in PSE, what is the best format to save your work- PSD, JPEG, TIFF, etc? Is there any loss of data? I'm assuming yes if you save as JPEG. I'm new at this so just feeling my way..

Thanks, Mike

If you shoot raw, then consider that your negative that you never get rid of. If you edit using the pixel editing part of PSE, then you'd save it as either tif or psd, your choice. They are about the same file sizes, both can contain layers, both can be 16-bit. Keep in mind that PSE is mostly an 8-bit editing program. So your images will not be the best they can be using PSE. If you do layering, choose either tif or psd and save the image in the same folder as the raw image. If you need to change one of the layers you can simply open it back up and make changes and then save it again and you will not cause any loss in quality. Once you are happy with the way your image looks if you plan to share it or take it to a lab for printing, it's best to then save it as a jpg using sRGB colorspace. This is pretty universal for printing and for sharing (email or web). Always save all your work whether or not it's a jpg, tif, psd or the original raw.