AuHunter

I shoot RAW + JPEG, then I PP the RAW in Photoshop CC and use a few plug-ins as I go. When I am done PP I finish by clicking Save As, and save as JPEG Large file (Quality 12).

By looking at the attached screen shot you can see that I wind up with my original CR2 RAW, my original from camera JPEG, my final cropped PP'ed image. Great, that is what I want. However I also now have a PS file, an Edit file which is a TIFF, and a Edit-Edit PSD file.

My question is since I have no plans of going back and reworking the image do i need to save the PS, TIFF, and PSD files?? Can I just delete them or am I overlooking something here??

(Download)

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

With my last laptop, I did not save psd or raw, and have occasionally wished I had those files. So it really just depends on how much storage space you have and whether you're positive you're done

One hint on the duplicate jpgs. When you edit and do a save-as, place a 1 at beginning of the name. If your filing system saves by name, this will place all your edited jpgs at top of your list. You can then sort by file type and delete the sooc jpg's with one swift motion.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I have the space, storage is cheap, I keep them all. I never know when I might want to go back and change something. I only delete what I know I don't want.

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

I dont know why you have so many files. I have my RAW and I save my PP files as a TIFF , if I need a JPG, I create it, I save all 3. The RAW just in case, the TIFF is the Lossless pp file and the JPG just because. anything else I delete. Then I save it to my backup drives. I used to save to one BU drive and the cloud. Well Amazon changed the cloud fees so I dumped them.

Steve Perry Loc: Sylvania, Ohio

I save my RAWs and final PSD files.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

Pick a file number that you do not care about.
Check that the Raw is available and look at the final Jpg. Then delete each of the other files in turn. Has the jpg changed ?
If so
The last file you deleted is the 'side car' file containing the changes.
If not
you have no need to keep the other similar files.

NB keep the Raw - you may need it in future.
Be methodical in what you delete.
Make sure everything is correct before emptying Bin.

PS if you have an organiser like LR or are using a calender view function you will need to reimport all your pictures to your programme (not the computer).
Have fun.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Great suggestion, Linda!

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

I do not understand your reasoning. You convert your raw to jpeg and keep it, so why do you shoot jpeg as well, if you just discard it anyway???

Bill_de Loc: US

If you never use the original jpg, don't shoot them. If you shoot them as a safety net, delete them once your raw files are transferred and backed up.

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Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Everyone's workflow choices are different. I've arrived at the following one - which works well for me.

1. Shoot raw only. Import to LR's catalog
2. Edit in LR/DX)/CaptureOne/ and now On1RAW - any one or more of these.
3. For image finishing, I will continue to edit the file in Photoshop and On1. I generate a psd file (LR right click, "Edit In") of the finished raw edit, and do the fussy pixel-level accurate finishing in those two packages. When I am done the updated psd, complete with layers etc is back in my catalog. Any future editing is done on this file or a copy of it.
4. For exporting I have a dozen or so export presets - one for each destination which is optimized for printing/viewing and I can toggle a watermark on or off. I don't save jpegs because I don't edit them. If I need different crops, I will use a preset in the crop tool in LR. So, typically I have two copies of an image - the raw file and the psd finished image. Keeps things tidy.

Oh and yes, the psd files are huge - sometimes 1 gb and bigger - but I don't have that many, and a 4 TB enterprise level hard drive is only $225 these days, so that the cost of storage is a non-issue.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

And THAT is the final answer.

Why destroy the work you have done? That makes absolutely no sense. JPG/PNG/TIFF are just export from the PSD so there is absolutely no need to keep 'THAT'.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

I save all raw files unless the shot is garbage. One's definition of garbage should change over time but hopefully fewer of those are being produced. Since I do a fair amount of focus stacking, I do not save the slices once I am finished. I save my finished works as TIFFs, rarely JPEGS. Occasionally I go through old files and delete stuff that is no longer my "best" work.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

But then you lose the reference that shows your progress.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

. Yeah but I don't always want to remember some of the old stuff that I thought was good....

freddusel Loc: Nashville

I save everything. Each time I alter an image I save it with a revision number. An image might be titled "Roots, Ossabaw Island, GS r3.tif" which indicates that it is the third revision of the gray scale rendition of the "Roots . . ." image. I use 128GB SDHD cards to save these files, including the slices that I use for focus stacking. Once an "Archival" card is full, I place it in a safety-deposit box. To me, this is very inexpensive insurance against theft, fire, malfunctions or changing my mind.