Utter and complete newbie PSE question

"Fearless" wrote in message

I’ve got two digital cameras – a Nikon Coolpix 885 and a Canon D10 (to go along with my EOS A-2). The Nikon will only store images as .jpg or, at

its

very highest quality, .tiff. The Canon will store images in jpg and raw

(of

various sizes). The Canon is bulky and heavy to carry around for the

quick

& dirty photos I often want/need to take. I use it for more serious photographic enterprises.

I have Photoshop Elements 2 and 3 (2 came with the Canon; 3 was an

upgrade).

I’ve never done much with any of my digital photos except the very basic red-eye removal and the occasional color correction. Thus, I’ve never had any real occasion or need to use raw format (50 photos on a 512 MB card doesn’t give me a lot of latitude). But now that I have much more time available (I’m retired), I want to pursue my digital photography a bit

more

seriously.

My complex question(s). After reading two different books on PSE, it is

not

clear to me what modifications can be made on a .jpg image vs. those on a .tiff vs camera raw. I do know that PSE3 can read Canon raw files. I do know that I have much more creative control with raw, but at the sacrifice of considerable memory and speed. So, what important flexibility do I

lose

by recording the photos at high resolution .jpg and then saving them in Photoshop as psd files?

If this seems like an ill-formed question, I apologize in advance. Unfortunately, none of the books or FAQ’s I’ve found address this

seemingly

simple, but important, question. In short, is PSE the equivalent of an elephant gun going after a mouse when editing jpgs?

Thanks.

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Fearless,

Elephant gun, yes & no! I would have used a different terminology, Photoshop or Photoshop Elements could ruin any photograph, or make subtle one or two pixel changes only a very exacting professional photographer might hope to notice.

Purpose is the reason for the graphic file choice.

Different file formats are used for different purposes. There are a number of factors involved. All the elements combine to determine the file type/types that your graphic will need to be created as, or exported to.

Color Mode (RGB, CMYK, HSB, Web Colors, etc.)
Resolution (Screen, 300dpi, 600dpi, etc.)
Purpose (Web, Print, Software, etc.)
Creation Method (Vector Graphic, Raster Graphic)

Color Mode is the mode that the file is encoded using. RGB is the standard mode for display on monitors, for use with web graphics etc. CMYK is the format that is preferred for four color process printing. Web Colors are merely a palette safe to view on a low color depth monitor, the web palette, often these files are gifs, since the color palette is predetermined.

Resolution is the dots or lines in an inch. The computer monitor default is 72 dots per inch. Printers will commonly request something in the range of 300 to 600 dots per inch to ensure a smooth, non-grainy image.

Purpose is the reason for the graphic. Are you going to use the graphic to place on your website? Does it need to be a transparent background image? Will you be printing the image on a billboard, a business card, etc.? These are questions that determine the method to create, and save a document.

Creation Method entails the two graphics types, raster and vector. Vector graphics are a product of arcs, curves, lines, fills, and strokes. Think of vector graphics as a large mathematical function that returns a consistently scaled image when you supply it a different input size. Once they are created, they can be resized to any size without losing quality. Logos are commonly created in this format so they can easily be printed at any size needed, and maintain their quality. Raster graphics are usually for a single purpose, a magazine ad, with photographs etc. could feasibly be designed and saved as a raster graphic, if you are sure the size of the image will meet the resolution requirements of the printer. All web graphics are ultimately raster graphics, but are often exported from a vector format original, such as logos on a website.

A psd file will not change, or degrade like a jpg file will. I have heard, and seen in print that the average person can see changes, or artifacting in the fifth generation of a jpg image. But you also have already discovered file size, and dimensions have a lot to do with being able to alter, or manipulate a 600 x 800 file size so much easier than a 1200 by 1600 or larger image.

There might be a lot said for keeping you original photos on a CD untouched. A 700 MB would hold your 10 large photos from your 512 camera card. or 20 stepping down your camera’s storage format. But you only have one chance at most photos, and 5 years from now when the software is superior, and computers are very fast, your skills are first rate. You decide to work on a surprise gift for your brother, and want to use a photo from 2005 taken when you visited Las Vegas together. Would be nice to have the original archive to start your manipulation with, a RAW or a very large jpg (or a psd file)

The key answer is if you decrease the file size, and do not keep the original, it is almost impossible to go up, and easy to continue decreasing the file size… CD are very reasonable and you will keep how many photos out of every 100 you take daily with your digital(s). How ever many photos it is still inexpensive to save them in original size on a CD, or DVD.

What you will do with the photo goes back to the original statement, "Purpose is the reason for the graphic file choice."

If you have original archives organized and safe, you now can choose a file size that works with your computer, it installed memory and the speed you want for photo manipulation.

Sorry I rambled, and plagiarized but please remember, after archiving every photo you might want sometime in the future, "Purpose is the reason for the graphic file choice."

JR the postman

"Fearless" wrote in message

I’ve got two digital cameras – a Nikon Coolpix 885 and a Canon D10 (to go along with my EOS A-2). The Nikon will only store images as .jpg or, at

its

very highest quality, .tiff. The Canon will store images in jpg and raw

(of

various sizes). The Canon is bulky and heavy to carry around for the

quick

& dirty photos I often want/need to take. I use it for more serious photographic enterprises.

I have Photoshop Elements 2 and 3 (2 came with the Canon; 3 was an

upgrade).

I’ve never done much with any of my digital photos except the very basic red-eye removal and the occasional color correction. Thus, I’ve never had any real occasion or need to use raw format (50 photos on a 512 MB card doesn’t give me a lot of latitude). But now that I have much more time available (I’m retired), I want to pursue my digital photography a bit

more

seriously.

My complex question(s). After reading two different books on PSE, it is

not

clear to me what modifications can be made on a .jpg image vs. those on a .tiff vs camera raw. I do know that PSE3 can read Canon raw files. I do know that I have much more creative control with raw, but at the sacrifice of considerable memory and speed. So, what important flexibility do I

lose

by recording the photos at high resolution .jpg and then saving them in Photoshop as psd files?

I suggest you take 10 raw photos of family, pets, etc. Open them in pse3. Look at the options (raw converter) when you open them. Fool with settings (WB, exposure, and others). See if that flexibility entices you. I suspect it will (for you’re most important photos – maybe not all). If you go back to shooting highest jpeg – you’re doing the right thing, you’ll be very happy, and have a great hobby. If you switch to raw (for your important photos -not all) you’ll be doing perhaps the righter thing, you’ll also have a great hobby, and you’ll need a lot of storage, which is fortunately coming down in price. Have fun!

If this seems like an ill-formed question, I apologize in advance. Unfortunately, none of the books or FAQ’s I’ve found address this

seemingly

simple, but important, question. In short, is PSE the equivalent of an elephant gun going after a mouse when editing jpgs?

Thanks.

—
Antispam measures in place.
If you want to email me, post here with a real email
address. I’ll get back to you.

Powered by Tyrannochoerus

On the Fri, 11 Feb 2005 11:32:54 -0800, whilst Caruthers was creaming the Maids Muffin, (much to her great delight), this jewell arived from "Fearless" not wishing to put Caruthers of his stroke I decided to deal with it:

If you want to email me, post here with a real email
address. I’ll get back to you.

So will tons of spam!!

Courtney