confused with file formats, bits, color mode

capgavin0

Hello all, im cap, an amateur photographer...

I need help 'coz im quite new with photoshop. upto this time i was just using basic enhancements with iphoto.

so a friend of mine who is also an amateur photographer said i should start shooting using canon RAW then convert my picture to dng which i did then work on photoshop to do my color correction adjustments by moving the sliders, so ok i did that.

Now after that, he said to save my enhanced image in either Png format or Tiff and chose 16bit or 32bit?? which sound giberish to me but i did it anyway.

the tiff is quite a big file, i was always use to shoot jpeg but my friend said jpeg is crap... jpeg compresses all the time you open and its just 8bit??

This bits quality thing really bites!! i don't understand their advantages. I never printed a single image in a photo lab as well since i bought my 40D. i never really archive anything as well, just shoot, color adjust, sharpen, change to B&W, sepia, the basic stuffs. my friend said since my photography is starting to improve i should be more carefull and be more responsible. I'd like too but i don't how.

can someone tell me the right workflow? right saving options, file format? really getting confused... and what are color mode?? i always understood it should be in RGB. why is there a CMYK or color lab? any advantages?

any leads to clarify the general workflow is most appreciate.. good day to all

thehermit · Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 6:33 am Post subject:

Welcome to the forum.

Always work with RAW files, the scope for changing exposure and other details is far broader. JPEG is compressed by the camera when saving and again further when saving in PS so don't shoot JPEG unless the need for space is a premium.

Again 16bit is far superior to an 8bit image, the amount of information available vs. 8bit is trillions of colours against 16.8 million. As a rule, it may not always show, but in certain cases like gradients and histograms they won't fall apart under intense manipulation as much.

TIFF is a lossless file format and as such is an industry standard. It will be safe to assume that along with PSD's they should be pretty much all that you save in. CMYK is for a print designated file, but in most cases unless sending to a pro print shop you should tag all your images with RGB or some description. I use ProPhoto RGB as it has the widest gamut of the RGB profiles.

capgavin0 · Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 10:50 am Post subject:

thanks for your reply thehermit

I hope I understand this right, step 1 i should shoot in canon RAW then afterwards I have to convert my RAW images to DNG. I have now 2 big files, One for safeguarding (the RAW which i don't touch right) and One DNG which i work with right? 'Coz my PS doesn't allow me to work with CR2 file directly. don't know why...

step 2. I select an image I want to work with, open with PS, do my color corrections, and before saving it I must put my image mode to 16bit/channel rather than 8bit for more colors and details. I get that.

So the DNG image that i just converted to 16bit... what do i do after? don't i need to convert it to another smaller file format? or should I keep it as is: a
DNG? and use that file each time i want to work on it in PS.

Im sorry if I have such stupid newbie questions 'coz i never work with RAW format before or DNG. I only use jpeg and I am also really new with photoshop. I use PS CS4 btw. does versions matter?

So OK, you mean to say that all photographers, use PSD file format to save an image right after they tune the colors, sharpening, levels, etc of their picture. So PSD is the standard working file format?? Before, I only knew how to shoot in jpeg, tune up the jpeg image, and save the jpeg to maximum quality. Now i'm recommended to shoot RAW, the workflow process works differently but willing to learn, i want to improve.

step 3. How do i go about color mode??, you mentioned ProPhoto RGB, where do I get that??

In PS, i go IMAGE/MODE, but there's no ProPhoto RGB, it only has: RGB color, CMYK color, Lab Color. where do you get ProPhoto RGB??

and last, say I want to print my image at the nearest kodak / fuji express store near me. what file type should i put in the thumb drive? a PSD? isn't that such a big file? isn't there no image resizing needed before i go to the photo lab?

what if i want my photos to be printed in 5R (5x7in) or 8R (8x10in or 8x12in) as many told me i should do. what are those paper sizes equivalent in europe? it's metric here. sorry i just arrive here in France, clueless and with no French. also what is the current resolution for printing? 300ppi? 350ppi? 400ppi? 500ppi? i'm lost...

Im sorry I am asking alot of questions now because I might not know how to say this to a French guy at the photo lab.

MadMike80 · Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 9:08 am Post subject:

Hi there,

First of all I would like to say, take it step by step... learn things one at a time, you are going awfully fast now into the deep technical stuff for a beginner. (not that this is a bad thing, but it can get overwhelming. yeah, i know too...) And i really advise you to seek your own answers, internet is so wise, and there are many sites wich reveal the secrets to all your questions, you just have to search... But let me give you a head start:

As TheHermit says, ALWAYS SHOOT RAW!!! Your CR2 file is Canons own RAW version, DNG is the standard RAW file almost all software reads. PS should be fine with CR2 as long as you stick to the camera raw plugin (easy downloadable). saving to DNG only ensures compatibility with other programs. both CR2 and DNG are RAW files, so all available details captured by your sensor are there (unlike the JPG). I always delete the original RAW files, and keep the DNG. even if you have pulled all the sliders in the DNG, you can always click default, and the image is back to normal. even if saved. thats the wonderful thing. for every process of an image you make, PS will save a small text file with all your settings. the original is always there, no matter what.

When you post-process you can get much more over- and underexposed parts to look fine, witch is impossible with JPG because of the compression. more bits = more color information. The 16 bit mode only makes sense when processing or saving for future processing. Generally, the average printer can only handle 256 colors (8 bit), so JPG will do for printing. PSD is requested so the color specialist can tweak a bit of color without quality loss of the jpg.

You won't find your ProPhotoRGB in image-mode, because ProPhoto RGB is a color space (like a calibraion profile for your camera), and not an image mode, like CYMK and so on. (the way to display te image)

For all i know these are the European standard sizes for printing, DPI is generally 300. these are the (normal) sizes my print-shop can handle, all sizes are in cm: 9*13, 10*15, 13*18, 15*21, 13*13, 15*15, 18*18, 20*20, 18*24, 20*30, 24*30, 30*30, 30*45.

Good luck with your quest for knowledge!

EDIT: btw... you write: "step 2. I select an image I want to work with, open with PS, do my color corrections, and before saving it I must put my image mode to 16bit/channel rather than 8bit for more colors and details. I get that. " Wrong... you open the image, and before anything else, you save as 16 bit. now u use the 16 bits while editing. not when you save afterwards.

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