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As photographers, we are all committed to taking the best photographs we can.  So we work hard at improving the look of our pictures, learning new skills and techniques to enable us to get better and better photographs.  Then why is it that we let the fantastic pictures we take lose their initial quality by not putting them into the correct file format?  It is something that is rarely addressed early but is so important for photographers to understand so they can safeguard those precious pictures.

File Format is the way an image is stored when closed and falls into one of two categories – LOSSY and LOSSLESS.

LOSSY compression methods can produce great reductions in file sizes but they are a destructive side to file formatting.  If a format uses Lossy compression, it means that it removes some of the original file’s image information and throws it away.  How much information is removed depends on how much compression you choose, but whatever original information is removed, that information is lost forever.  It cannot be restored and the quality of the image cannot be recovered.

LOSSLESS compression methods still reduce down the file size of an image, but they do not produce the extreme file size reduction we see in LOSSY formatting.  BUT….. Because the compression is LOSSLESS, this method of compression ALWAYS returns the file back to its original condition.  There is no loss of data, so no loss of quality.  The file is fully recovered back to the original, identical state before the compression was applied to store the file.

Different file formats have different ways of compressing the image down into a file that is stored either on a memory card (that you put into your camera) or on your computer’s hard drive.   Each format type comes with its own set of pros and cons.  We’re going to look at the three main types of File Formats most useful to a photographer: JPEG, TIFF and PNG.

 

JPEG	JOINT PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPERTS GROUP
TIFF	TAGGED IMAGE FILE FORMAT
PNG	PORTABLE NETWORK GRAPHICS

 

 

JPEG

Probably the most widely used file format, and certainly one almost every photographer will be familiar with.  Virtually every camera can take a JPEG image, (if you use a compact camera it is certainly the file format your camera used to write your pictures to the memory card), and is the most universally recognized file format for images on computers, viewers and photo printing kiosks, although other formats are now being recognized and used a lot more widely.

JPEGs use a LOSSY method of compression by modifying the information in each pixel.  The image is examined to determine what the least amount of information can be used to reproduce the image.  The resulting image file can be compressed down into an impressively small file size, but while this is very useful for saving space when storing images, it does come at a cost to the quality of the image over time, especially if they are edited several times.

Areas of tiny detail, such as minor colour changes, do not effectively compress down well, so they are disregarded – in effect they are overlooked and are deleted out of the image altogether.  Larger areas of smoother colour start to appear as if they have little areas made of blocks inside.  These are called JPEG ARTIFACTS and show that the image has had excess amounts of compression applied to it.

Each time you open and SAVE a JPEG image, the compression method will look at the image anew and apply the same level of compression to close the file down, but because it views the file as a completely new version, more of the quality is removed out of the image.  Over time this gives an unpleasant look to the image as detail and definition are replaced by blur and artifacts.  Because of this, JPEGs aren’t very good for reproducing text or graphics with a lot of straight lines in.  But they aren’t all bad.  They are great for web use, if you want a fast loading image on a website, or you want to send a picture via email or phone.

But probably the worst artifact of all is seen on the sharp edge that objects have which defines their shape.  This edge starts to have a dark almost shadow-like edge around, blurring and concealing edge detail.   Compression methods do not recognise shapes or edges.  All the program is interested in is applying the right amount of compression.  The greater the degree of compression you ask the program to apply, the greater the loss of integrity and detail from inside the image.

One little known element of viewing your JPEG images in some viewers (such as Windows Photo Viewer) is that if you have to rotate your image to look at it properly, it will resave the JPEG in the correct orientation, which re-subjects your image to compression and adds more artifacts.

JPEGs don’t support layers at all, so the images must be flattened before you can save the file in a JPEG format, which means all the editing you perform on a picture is irreversible once saved as a JPEG.

On the surface, JPEGs look to be the terrible mother of the photographic world.  But JPEGs aren’t really a monster.  Think where we would be without the ability to get more than 20 pictures on a memory card or having to wait another 5/10 seconds in between shots for a larger image to write to the memory card?  How much space would be taken up on our hard drives if we couldn’t compress down our image files?

Used intelligently, JPEGs do a first-rate job in letting us record and communicate our photographs quickly and easily.  The easiest way to prevent JPEGs from losing quality is to burn the files on to a CD or DVD.  Once on a disc, the file cannot be changed, so no matter how many times you open it from the disc and print it or email it, you’re not going to degrade the base file at all.

But what if we want to edit our image but not lose any of the quality over time?  If you have a special image, or something you want to change in the image, the first thing to do is save a copy of the JPEG into a LOSSLESS format, either a TIFF or PNG file format.

TIFF/TIF

Very few cameras record images directly to the memory card as TIFF files, but the TIFF file format is rapidly becoming more widely recognized and accepted in picture kiosks and online photo printing site (such as Photobox, Snapfish, etc), as well as being increasingly used by both professional and amateur photographers to store images.

While JPEG is the file format of choice for camera images, TIFF is the most widely used and supported format within publishing, scanning and image-manipulating programs as the TIFF format was originally created for desktop publishing programs.

TIFF files are the most popular way to archive an image collection because TIFF files have a LOSSLESS compression method to reduce the size of the image file to store it.  You can store TIFF files uncompressed, but this means that you will have a stored file that is the same size as the open file – anywhere from 25 to 50MB.  Multiply that by a set of holiday snaps and you’re talking anywhere up to 6GB of hard drive space!

This LOSSLESS compression method (usually the LZW option in the file saving pop up) is a total, cast iron ASSURANCE that when the file is opened, every single byte of information will be restored and the file will be EXACTLY as if it had never been compressed.  That means NO loss of quality, NO reduction in sharpness, NO artifacts being introduced and NO corruption of any file information no matter how many times you open, save and closed the file.

TIFF LZW compression looks in the picture information for identical strings of data that are repeated and then replaces the numerous repeated strings with just one string.  The encoded strings let future programs decode and restore the image file back to its original state without any data loss or corruption.  (The only thing you have to worry about is your own bad composition – heaven forbid!)

Because the image does not degrade over time with use, TIFF format is great for images that are precious to you, especially if you want to edit anything within the picture (such as colour, brightness, cropping, sharpness, etc) as well as images that have a lot of detail such as texture or colour, and for graphics such as logos, designs and other graphic images.

Tiff files also allow you to save files that have multiple adjustment layers and layer masks, so you don’t need to apply these and flatten images to save them.  You can save files and continue editing them at a later date.

The downside to TIFF files (but it’s not a huge stumbling block) is that even with LZW compression, you will not get the kind of reduction in file size that you get with JPEG compression.

So it is a personal call which format you want to save each file as, because only you know what future use you have for your images, but if you are looking to develop your photography and want to safeguard the image quality of certain images, get into the habit of saving a copy as a TIFF file.  Store them externally on a portable hard drive or disc if you want to keep space freed up on your own computer.

There is another LOSSLESS file format, the PNG.

PNG

PNG file format (pronounced ‘PING’) is not as widely known as JPEG or TIFF formats, and so people tend to shy away from it in confusion as much as fear.  But this file format is a useful and wonderfully friendly version of formatting.  It can do things the other two can’t and improves on the lossless LZW compression of the TIFF format.

PNG is the most recently developed between JPEG, TIFF and PNG file formats and was designed to both replace and improve on TIFF’s LZW compression, as well as to replace the use of GIF files in web use.

It is similar in quality and use to the TIFF file.  It can be used as the format in which to store and protect the quality of image files without any loss or corruption of data, but PNG’s superior LOSSLESS compression reduces the overall size of the closed file down even further than

However, unlike TIFF files, it does not allow you to store a file with adjustment or editing layers without flattening the file first.

It is great for storing graphics and designs with text without affecting the look or quality of the image file.  However, it is the poor cousin to TIFF when it comes to being recognised by photo kiosks and online photo print services, although this is changing as more and more sites begin to recognise the increase in PNG usage.

PNG formatting applies its compression in a complicated way, using what are known as pre-processing filters to filter the data before it is compressed and this allows PNGs to have a much more efficient LOSSLESS compression.  You don’t need to know any more than that, unless you’re a bit of a geek, in which case you can do a bit more digging yourself!  Suffice to say it works and it’s easy to save.

So why use PNG over TIFF?  Well, apart from the saving in storage space you get with PNG compression, PNGs can do some interesting things; most of which are quite advanced but one is particularly useful for web use and design projects.

Both PNG and TIFF files will save images on transparent backgrounds, but PNG images will open on the web without putting a background in, whereas TIFF images can open with a white background embedded.  This means if you take a PNG image that has been saved with a transparent background (such as a logo, web page header text, etc.) and put it onto a web page, the PNG will keep the transparent quality to its background, meaning you can layer them over other text or objects without any problems.  Great for Header Banner text.

The choice is yours as to which File Format you ultimately use, but used properly, all three formats have their place within your folders.

The choice is yours as to which File Format you ultimately use, but used properly, all three formats have their place within your folders.

Quick Check – Which File Format to Use

Image quality not overly critical – Use JPEG and save copy to disc.

Is the image special or precious?  Use TIFF with LZW or PNG.

Do you want to edit a JPEG?  Save a copy to TIFF with LZW or PNG before you begin and edit the TIFF/PNG file.

Do you want to store the file with layers still in?  Save to TIFF with LZW.

Does your image have text, writing or fine detail in?  Save to TIFF with LZW or PNG.

Does your image have text, writing, fine detail or a transparent background and is for web use?  Save to PNG.

COMPARISON OF FILE COMPRESSION SIZE

The image above was saved with different file formats to allow you to compare the reduction each compression method makes.

FILE FORMAT COMPRESSION	FILE SIZE WHEN CLOSED
OPEN IN EDITING PROGRAM	45.6 MB
TIFF UNCOMPRESSED	45.5 MB
TIFF WITH LZW COMPRESSION	17.2 MB
PNG	14.5 MB
JPEG HIGHEST IMAGE QUALITY (12)	5.77 MB
JPEG MEDIUM IMAGE QUALITY (7)	1.28 MB
JPEG LOW IMAGE QUALITY (4)	744 KB

No amount of editing can make a bad photo look good. However, great photo editing is crucial – it can make a good photo great by accentuating its best points and bringing out its full potential. Most world class photographers are also expert photo editors. How do you edit your picture in a way that creates a great photo? Read on.

The Basics

When you’re editing any image, you should do the following basics:

• Adjust the contrast levels. Make sure you have enough contrast. Higher contrast often results in sharper images that really stand out – too high a contrast looks tacky.
• Remove any color cast. If the whole image is “shaded red” for example, you’ll want to change that. White balance is often the easiest method, levels or curves if the image has complex colors schemes.
• Touch up any humans. Depending on what the image will be used for, you may want to remove any blemishes, pimples, discolorations, etc.

After you’ve done the basics, then …

Try Different Crops

Try at least 2-5 different ways to crop any image you’re editing. Does the focus look better in the center? On the left? On the right?

In the past, you had to take the picture perfectly if you wanted to get the focal point right. Today, you can crop your image in different ways after the photo is taken, provided you have a high enough resolution image.

Manual Editing

Often times, you’ll have to do a bit of manual editing to get the picture perfect. It might be something like creating a levels layer just for one part of the image you want higher contrast, but nothing else. It might be cloning out things that somehow managed to get in the picture.

For example, you have a gorgeous picture of a park, but there’s a plastic garbage bag in the corner. In that case, you’ll have to do something like clone the grass over the area to get rid of it.

Or, you have a 4 person picture but one person is too dark, while the other 3 are perfect. In that case, create an adjustment layer and mask out everyone but that one person to get the levels perfect for that one person.

The list of manual editing can go on and on. Use your own artistic eye to see what needs to be done.

Subtle Effects

Often times the use of subtle effects can really help bring out the picture.

Blurring out the background is a common way to add focus to the picture. If one person is standing there with the rest of the background slightly blurred, it adds a very nice feel.

Grayscale or sepia toned images are a great way to add style, depending on the image.

You may one to go for a slightly dreamy tone with something like waterfall pictures. With pictures of animals in the wild, you might want to create an effect that goes with the feel of the image. For example, you might want to motion blur the background of a cheetah so it looks like it’s going extremely fast.

Or, you might want to add a slight red tone to the rest of an image if you’ve got a photograph of a bat. In the end, it really depends on your artistic style.

When you’re beginning to edit an image, first start by doing your basic photo adjustments. Then experiment with different crops and ways to frame and package your image. Then make any manual adjustments and edits you need. Finally, add any subtle effects you want in the image.

In the old days just a few years ago, when faced with a high-contrast setting – one having a large number of stops between the lightest and darkest areas in a scene – you either had to meter for the highlights and loose shadow detail or shoot for the shadows and blow out the highlights.

Some photographers experimented (with mixed results I might add) to combine several images with different exposures using the layers feature found in some of the image-editing software programs. The process was cumbersome, time consuming and it didn’t produce very good results. Then High Dynamic Resolution (HDR) photography entered onto the post-processing scene.

What is HDR Photography?

It starts with the method of taking images and ends up with a compilation of those images using software. In its most basic form, you take three images at three different exposures and combine them into one properly exposed image. In a nutshell, you take the same exact scene or subject at the:

-   metered exposure

-   one stop under metered

-   one stop over metered.

Instead of going over and under one stop, you can use two stops. Or you could take both one and two stop exposures and combine five images instead of three. The process works great on most subjects, but it works extremely well on landscape subjects.

What are the benefits?

HDR photography has several benefits, such as:

• Shooting most of your images using existing ambient light;
• Great photos with detail in both the light and dark areas;
• Less time spent editing images;
• Well-exposed images.

What do I need?

You probably already have most of what you need, including a:

• computer;
• digital camera with at least manual exposure compensation, however Automatic Exposure Bracketing (AEB) is quicker to use;
• tripod;

While there are many different HDR software choices, I recommend and use Photomatix Pro. It is not real expensive to buy, easy to use and is the choice of many professional photographers.

Computer

Photomatix Pro works equally well on Macintosh and PC platforms. For the software to run properly, your computer should have at least:

• 1 GB of RAM – more is better;
• 500 MB of free hard drive space – again, more is better;
• a monitor resolution of 1,024×768;
• 16-bit color video card.

Digital Camera

When combining images using HDR software, it works best to shoot the images with your camera set to aperture priority and use the Automatic Exposure Bracketing (AEB) feature of your camera, if you have the AEB feature. With AEB set to one-stop, when you press the shutter button the first time, your camera will take one image at 0EV, a second one at -1stop and third one at +1 stop. The -1 and +1 will be at different shutter speeds. By holding all three images at the same aperture, it eliminates any issues with different depth-of-field among the three images. As I said earlier, you can also shoot at a -2 and +2 and then combine all 5 images, but it takes at least three images to make a good HDR image.

Tripod

A good tripod makes getting the exact same scene in all images easier. By doing so, problems of trying to get the same element in all images to line up correctly are greatly reduced when merging.

Photomatix Pro Software

I want to be clear, that I have no connection to this software; the only reason I’m using it is because it is the best HDR software for less than $100 in my estimation and the one many professional photographers use.

How do I use it?

First, it will run on a MAX OS X with 10.3.9 or higher, or on Windows 98 up through the new Windows 7, so you don’t have to worry about platform compatibility issues. Second, it is very user-friendly to both learn and use.

Once you start the program:

• click on the GENERATE HDR IMAGE button.
• Using the BROWSE button select the images you want to combine.
• Click the OK button
• Click all the boxes on the next screen and then click on the OK button
• The software combines the images – Don’t be alarmed at the image you see. At this point it will look really bad.
• Click on the TONE MAPPING button
• You have a choice of two editing tabs – DETAILS ENHANCER and TONE COMPRESSOR. Tone Compressor will give you realistic results in less time.
• Once you have set the sliders where you want them, click on the PROCESS button

  The DETAILS ENHANCER tab does essentially the same thing only it has more sliders, which gives you even more control over the final image. Once you have the image the way you want it, you can save it either as a TIFF or JPEG. 

My intent was not to bore you with all the details, but to show you how easy the software is to use – eight steps and you have created an image that you otherwise would not have been easily able to create.  And like anything else, the more you use it, the better you will get at it. With Photomatix Pro, you can work smarter, instead of harder.  

 

There’s often the misconception that you need to be a world class photographer before you can get paid any money. This simply isn’t true. There are many digital photographers out there making money – Often really good money. How can you be one of them? Here’s how.

Step One: Become a Good Photographer

Notice I didn’t say you need to be a world class photographer with 20 years of experience. You do need to be a good photographer.

One good place to start might be learning from your local college’s photographer classes. Another great place to learn would be from world class photographers who have written books.

There are a couple books that are great for any photographer wanting to become good enough to get paid.

Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography Boxed Set, Volumes 1, 2, and 3 is a great series. Kelby is the president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals and has years of experience in getting paid well for being a photographer.

The self published book New Digital Photographer’s Guide to Digital Photography is yet another great resource. This book goes into both the basics as well as advanced tips that only an experienced photographer could teach you.

Step Two: Getting Paid

There are many people who can teach you how to take good photographs. You’ll find photography classes in every art school around the country.

But someone who can teach you how to make money doing photography? That’s a completely different story.

See, most people who try to make money in photography do it in all the wrong ways. They’ll try to land jobs with magazines or newspapers, for example. Unfortunately, that’s so competitive that few new photographers who try out ever make it.

Instead, it’s best to get your foot in the door with something easier. The best guide on the market for making money through digital photography is called Sell Your Digital Photos by Michael Kryzer.

In this book, Kryzer gives you a wide range of options to choose from when it comes to making money from your photographs.

What’s great about this system is that it’s not theoretical. It’s based on real world experience from someone who’s already done it himself. In fact, much of the guide includes real pictures and screenshots to help visually guide you to making money with your photos.

Here are the 3 links for these 3 recommended products:

• Digital Photography Boxed Set, Volumes 1, 2, and 3 – Great for learning how to be a first rate photographer.
•  New Digital Photographer’s Guide to Digital Photography – Great for insider tips that you wouldn’t find anywhere else.
• Sell Your Digital Photos – The best step-by-step guide for getting paid for your photos.

If you made the investment in the above 3 books, your career will take off. You may have heard the phrase: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” This is so true with photography. If you don’t have a plan for learning the skills and getting paid, chances are you won’t make it. Arm yourself with the knowledge today – Then go out there and make money doing what you lov

Black and white digital photography can create breathtaking photos, especially landscapes, with an Ansel Adams feel to them. Some photographers shoot only in black and white, while others shoot in color first and then convert their images to black and white in post processing. Others still may use black and white as a technique to overcome certain lighting obstacles. Regardless of the reason, achieving the most stunning black and white photographs take a little skill when creating the image as well as some expertise in editing your results afterward.

Using Your Color or Black and White Settings

Some digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras may only have color settings, in which case all black and white effects must be added by converting to grayscale afterward with your photo editing software. If a black and white setting is available, you can decide between shooting in black and white to begin with or editing your color shots later.

Shooting everything in color to begin with can give you more detail to work with in the editing process and may give you higher quality black and white photos in the end. But using the black and white setting to begin with can take a lot of extra work out of the editing process, however, some visual effects may be lost. By experimenting with both methods, you can decide which results you prefer.

Learning to See

To get stunning black and white prints, you’ll need to train your eyes to see in terms of lighting, highlights and shadows. Especially if you’ll be taking your photos in color first and editing later, it’s important to be able to visualize what a scene will look like when it’s converted to black and white. The more practice you get with this, the easier it will be to do and eventaully, you will be able to see in black and white without even thinking about it. But for now, start off by just trying to pay attention to where certain light falls and where the shadows are being created.

Detail is sometimes lost when converting to black and white, so work with your settings as much as possible and compare your end result to the predicted outcome you visualized when you created the image. Taking notes on which settings worked best for specific scenarios can help to give you a better understanding of why some techniques worked better in certain cases than others. Like most aspects of digital photography, the best way to advance your skills is to just keep shooting everything you can and continually evalutating your results.By evaluating your results, you can see what works and what did not, therefore allowing you to make skilled corrections when faced with a similar situation next time.

Choosing the right digital photography editing software can be almost as important as choosing the right camera. While your digital camera plays the largest role in capturing those stunning shots, your software operates behind the scenes and cleans up any noise, corrects color when lighting conditions or white balance was less than perfect and a host of other edit functions.

Making Good Images Great

One of the “rules” of image editing is to spend your time working on good images and making them great. Don’t waste you time trying to make bad images look good, because in most cases you will never get the level of satisfaction you want.

So many of our images are almost perfect, with just one or two little flaws. Most image-editing software will allow you to remove color cast or red eye, while other programs can provide you with much more involved editing options to give you complete control over your final result.

If digital photography is just a casual hobby for you, then anything more than the basic features may just make the program less user-friendly and more complicated to use. Digital photography professionals prefer software with features that allow them to touch up even the most subtle flaws.

Image Editing Fun

You can do so much more that just correcting colors and flaws with most image-editing software programs. Many programs allow you to add or remove people and objects, insert borders, and combine images. Some programs come with features allowing you to create greeting cards, calendars, albums, or coffee table photo books. You can scan and touch up older photos as well by enhancing the color and luster that may have been lost with age or less-than-perfect storage conditions.

Sharing and Storing

With online image store and share sites, most often there isn’t a need to print our pictures to share and enjoy anymore. Many digital photography software programs have features which give you a variety of online sharing and virtual photo album options or will have user friendly settings that help you store your images on your own computer for easy access at any time.

Choosing the Right Software

Many cameras come with free image-editing software, so try these programs first to see if they have the features you will most likley use the most or to give you a better idea of the features you’re looking for in an image-editing program. If you find the included software just doesn’t fit your needs, more advanced software easily found and purchased online. One program that is very easy to use is Adobe Elements. It has many of the same features as Photoshop, but usually costs less than $100. If you are unsure which program you want, take advantage of the free trials offered by many software companies to see if that particular software is right for you before buying it.

It’s important to fully research the software you intend to buy because the features included and ease of product use can differ drastically with every program. For some, a basic and easy to use program will fit your needs. Others may require much more robust software with advance editing features and that might be a little more expensive. Starting with the software included with your camera and testing free trials can give you a much better idea of what you’re looking for should you decide to buy any new photo editing software.