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Saving files

Rachel Foster

New member
I know a question this basic must have been answered somewhere but I'm obviously putting in the wrong search terms. When you've tinkered with a RAW image, is it best to save it as a TIF file?
 
Depends on what you've been using to tinker with it with. If you're using a tool like Lightroom that makes non-destructive edits, you don't need to save anything at all. LR does it for you as a "sidecar" file. And you just Export to TIFF when you need a tiff file for printing, etc.

If you're using Photoshop to tinker with a file, after you have converted from RAW, you need to save it as something to preserve your tinkering, and uncompressed TIFF is one of the better ways to do that. If you're in PS, you can (perhaps should) save as PSD (Photoshop native format) instead of TIFF.
 

Ken Tanaka

pro member
If you want to avoid compression (via JPG) and need to save the original image+tinkers as a single fine, yes. But the specific answer depends on how the file will be used.
 

Rod Witten

pro member
If I have flattened the layers, then I save the image as an 8 bit TIF, otherwise I save as an 8 bit PSD ( Adobe's format). Reducing the image to 8 bit reduces memory space without image degradation.
 

Rachel Foster

New member
I'm using cs4. I'm not sure how to answer how the file will be used. I'm saving it in best form (I hope) til I decide to print. Then I need to convert to jpg I assume.
 

Ken Tanaka

pro member
You've loaded a camera-RAW image file into CS4 and edited it. Why not save it as a Photoshop PSD file? Unless you have to send the file to an outside print service, there's no reason to save it as a JPG. Print from CS4. The Adobe PSD file format is actually based on TIFF, plus it enables you to maintain your editing layers.

Rod's reply regarding saving to an 8-bit color gamut might take this thread onto a side-track regarding image preservation. I'll leave my response as-is for now until Rachel indicates more specific intentions and needs. I must, however, add that moving from a camera-RAW 16 bit color gamut into an 8-bit gamut is something that may be necessary for publication or other external applications. But it most certainly can have a significant impact on an image's appearance. My suggestion: always make sure you can recover the original image information. Bu that's a bigger subject.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Rachel,

1000GB is now about $85-120 depending on the drive series. Save in PSD with all your layers and in 16BIT since tomorrow you will be more skilled, software will be better and what you can't quite do today, you might ace next year.

The key to saving is to mark all the pictures that are no good. Keep only such pictures where they provide something to sample or add to a picture you like. Otherwise be brutal. Once you decide you want to keep a picture, then carry it through to saving in a form that can allow you to return.

If you waste 1000GB of space in the next year, so what? If there's one file you worked on and can't get back to do a better job, then the $85 in storage has paid for itself!

If you are sufficiently brutal in trashing the trash, saving the saved at 16BIT is no big deal.

Asher

OFF TOPIC: While you are at "saving things", see if you can learn to use Smart Objects. These have the original starting image in a box allowing it to be updated at any time. So you can swap out that starting image with a .PSD file made using a better RAW conversion down the line. So everything you did to the image can then be devoted to and fine-tuned for the new vinterpretation of the original RAW file.
 

Rachel Foster

New member
Good advice!

I'm currently deleting everything that is obviously garbage (oof, etc.) but I'm also finding some things that are far better than I thought they were originally.
 

Bill Miller

New member
Depending on your goals. If you shoot RAW then save the RAW file unaltered. Any changes you make save with a variation of the filename (ie: 3A1W0040.TIF RAW Canon file - 3A1W0040A.TIF altered file.) By saving the original file, you can always return and "develop" process it at anytime in the future.

It is possible the better methods for processing RAW file will become available in the future.
 

Mike Shimwell

New member
I tend to save as 16 bit tiffs with layers and all. I also keep these images in a separate area from my raw files, which may be revisited several times. I always keep more than one copy of raw files on separate external HDDs, but worry a bit less over the print files as they are reproducible from the raw - but see this discussion here about whether you would want to reproduce them exactly anyway

Mike
 

JohanElzenga

New member
You've loaded a camera-RAW image file into CS4 and edited it. Why not save it as a Photoshop PSD file? Unless you have to send the file to an outside print service, there's no reason to save it as a JPG. Print from CS4. The Adobe PSD file format is actually based on TIFF, plus it enables you to maintain your editing layers.

So does TIFF, that also enables you to maintain the editing layers. There is really very little practical difference (if any at all) between PSD and TIFF. I prefer TIFF, because it's more compatible with other applications (although many applications will only show the composite layer, and will not let you manipulate any editing layers).
 

JohanElzenga

New member
Tiff is the best, JPEG is OK if you aren't going to be opening the image up multiple times.

You can open up a JPEG as much as you like. It's only going to be a problem if you save it again. Another limitation is that JPEG only supports 8 bits, is compressed lossy, and does not support layers. As an archive format JPEG is not OK in my opinion.
 
If you are looking for the format which can support photoshop layers then both TIFF and PSD file extensions are useful.Both can save them. And if you are specifically looking for Adobe products then the best one is PSD, Other than that you can prefer TIFF as it is compatible with almost all image editing applications
 
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