JUDE, GREAT 3/4 LENGTH POSE.
IMHO, THIS ARM ANGLE WORX,
SHARP ARM POSITIONING ACCENTUATES HER GREAT BODY LINES.
SORRY YOU HAVE TO LIVE IN FROZEN WINDY CITY!

Let me clarify.

Assume I own any digital camera. We will say Nikon and forgetting the sensors and mega pixels completely. Just a Nikon digital camera that produces digital files. Or Cannon or Leica or Fred's Wonder Camera, for that matter.

So here I am at my desk getting ready to deal with the images. I download the files to my PC and here I sit with several files, ready to decide what I need to do. What do I convert to or from? Do I create jpg/jpeg, tiff, RAW, or convert RAW to tiff, or perhaps do something else like send the printer a raw file or if that is even a good idea without some kind of processing.

What I need to learn is what specific file types give me the highest possible resolution and best quality print. Forget cost, printer costs, required software and all the rest. I have files and I want prints. What do I need to worry about or consider?

Also, forget printer brands and assume I can access any printer--either locally or mail-order. What do I look for as far as specs go? Do I look for a specific type of printer with the special capabilities? Feel free to mention ultra costly printers. I'll never purchase one, but I would like to know if one printer is a better choice than another. If the company printing the files uses a Wally World brand printer and a better printer would be a Linotype Mango 440, then I need to know what to look for.

I did my due diligence and opinions and ideas seem to vary. I am a confused film guy, but I think I want to learn more about digital. My goal is as much sharpness and fidelity as possible. Perhaps a few good books some of you could suggest or a web site that can help me struggle through the basics? Your opinions and thoughts are also welcome. Especially if I am overlooking something important or worrying about something that is more or less meaningless.

Some will say the camera matters and I agree. But, modern 6 mp cameras and a modern 8 mp cameras both create digital files and apparently, if I send a jpg to a printer I might not have as good of a result as if I sent a tiff file and a worse result if I sent some other format like a gif. Or something like that.

Obviously, if the camera created bitmaps and I wanted large prints; for example 30 x 40 inches, print quality would suffer compared to other formats. Just to pick a quick under educated example.

I know that a 78 PPI file will yield a terrible 30 x 40, and a 300-500-600-1200 PPI file at 30 x 40 would be much better. But what file type is best for ultra high quality, high resolution prints? Jpg, tiff, something else?

Thanks in advance for your help, if you choose to help.

Hey Guys ... I missed several replies while gone for the New Year Holiday.... I DO APPRECIATE ALL/EVERYONE'S HELP ! I LOVE this column and have been watching, reading every forum everyday since Sept 2010 ! I just got brave enough to join . I always had a camera in my hand & have had several people encourage me to do more ... so I am slowly but surely " jumping in " ! For my external flash I ended up with the Canon 580 EX II...so wish me luck ... I have 1 more Christmas gift to receive and I am going to get a Studio Light Kit. I don't know whether to get continuous/strobe etc ...and I am now really unsure what I need since I got the Canon 580.In case I want to use this in with what kit I would purchase . I have made some space in my basement for now, but I plan by Spring to clear out a spare bedroom but want to play in the base ment during cold weather . My budget is about blown but will be around the 300-350 at the most ! I will take all help and advice !!! LOL MAYBE, just Maybe 1 day I can " run with the BIG Dogs " as they say !!! BUt I need the advice ....THANKS Jazzy a new photo pup

Mr Fstop, YOU SAID:
"Why do you use this Logo when it belongs to someone else at www.maria@mariaphotography.com?

You also said:"Silly question I think if you've been shooting all the things you mentioned. Don't you have thousands of dollars invested in Nikon lens, off camera flashes, ect..???

You also said:" Heads up folks, the website with this logo belongs to someone that's been in business for 20 yrs. Don't think the same person that's asking these Questions.....


Mr. Fstop,
This is my logo and this is me.

I dont understand your comments. I am Maria of maria photography and my years of shooting was a hobby that has made me money, but it has not been my main focus as I do many other things besides creating images with a camera.

I have worked 'BEHIND' the camera for over 20 years as an actress.
I'm an artist, self taught professional make-up artist, self taught hair dresser, self taught painter, sew costumes without a pattern and create art with abstract objects.
I say this because I do have talent in experimenting and "going for it" and have approached photography the same way I do everything else.


I feel it important you understand the creative knowledge I had under my belt before I starting picking up the camera. I had been watching and working with photographers for years,... but was never interested in shooting until 10 years ago. ( I think my website shares my "collective" knowledge in the "industry" for over 20 years, not that I had been shooting for 20 years).

In photography I've had a lot more MISSES than HITS!!! And what you see on my site are my good images. I'm not a super star photographer, I know very little technically, but I have a "few recipes" that I know "work", get me the results I want and I use those methods over and over again.
I basically stick to with what I know- BUT NOW I FEEL LIMITED IN SO MANY WAYS.

I take great portraits, and shooting life-style stuff, because I KNOW A LOT ABOUT BEAUTY,... I have a great eye for framing and seeing images of beauty with color, lines, light, wardrobe, hair, make-up, locations and wind. I am very conscious of when creating images how important all these elements share in adding to a beauty of a shot.

I am aware of my limited "technical" knowledge, that is why I am on this site!

One of the best advise I think I ever got was: "You don't have to spend your money on 'the' top of the line body. Get a mid-size good 'professional' body, BUT YOU MUST BUY " the top of the line' lenses!
PUT YOUR MONEY THERE- Your Glass is everything, and get yourself a great lab!"

I short, I did just that.
I realize I'm about 10 years behind most! When I bought my first film body 10 years ago, real photographers where going digital ALREADY!

HAVING SAID THAT- I AM A BIT SLOW! O.K.. I got it!...
I'm here to focus on my photography now and DO MORE WITH MY WORK!

HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS!- The photographer I sat down with who I am eager to take classes from said, "If you 'can get' these results with your images, with the little "recipes" you have been using over and over again, you are going to be dangerous when you invest some time in really learning how to use your camera!"

I'm am not embarrassed about what I 'don't know'.
My focus here on this forum is to learn.

Thanks for that! One of the things that I appreciate about photography is the ability to make one thing into another. Or at least make others not aware of what it really is. In the guitar photo she's actually leaning against the bathroom at the park. Not at all sexy, but when framed to hide all the telling marks it's not so bad. :) It does make me laugh sometimes though.

Do you work on glamour as a professional or hobby?

Thanks again!

---Jude