Photoshop Junkies: What file format?

[highdesert]

Greetings folks -

OK, just got an HDMI cable to tie the new laptop to the widescreen, got that working, called our Wakatobi trip mates to come over and trade slide shows, and I find that images that I doctored in Photoshop and saved as PSD files aren't seen by MS Vista "Media Center" program, though the original JPG's are. Since I'm fairly new to digital manipulation, and have just learned that JPG's lose some info as they're opened/re-saved, what is a good format to use for images that I've manipulated in Photoshop and want to use for slide shows and the like?

Also, please clarify the business about JPG's ... do they lose data purely by virtue of being opened and closed, or must they be altered and re-saved before they lose data? So if I want to essentially "re-master" images of an entire trip, what would be the most stable, versatile format to do so?

Thanks!

 

[jester1226]

Windows can't give you a thumbnail for any PSD file. Open the image, flatten the layers, and then save to another folder as a JPEG. Save at the highest setting. This should make it easier for you. No other alternative.

Keith

 

[highdesert]

OK, given my neophyte status with Photoshop, I kinda sorta get your plan, so I'll give it a shot! Well, the "flatten the layers" operation is actually a little beyond me, but it'll make me read some more ...

 

[JahJahwarrior]

You could always switch to a Mac, Preview can open lots of things.... You can try .gif or .tif, but a high quality jpg is probably one of your better bets.

 

[cfelliot]

Take a loook at ThumbsPlus.

It can display Photoshop files as thumbnails or a slideshow. It also supports many RAW formats.

Cerious Software - The Home of ThumbsPlus!

 

[alcina]

I use jgegs for slideshows etc. They are easy, can make them any size file and virtually everything "sees" them.

Do all of your edits etc before batching to jpeg. Make an action to convert your psds (I use these too) to jpeg...for slideshows I usually save as 8 or 9 quality without problem.

If you don't know how to make an action, definitely do a little google search for directions coz it's a fabulous tool and being able to batch a whole folder while you go do something else is great.

I'd use Fit Image, in the File -> Automate menu, and put the max size you want in both boxes. This will make resizing both verticals and horizontals a snap - otherwise you need to do them seperately.

 

[spt29970]

I agree with Alcina that actions are a good thing to learn in Photoshop, but Adobe has already provided a nice tool within Bridge CS3 to do most common conversions. It is called the "Image Processor." From Bridge, select all of the images you want to convert and then select the menu item "Photoshop->Image Processor".

It will present a panel that allows you a variety of options including JPEG Conversion with resizing and conversion to sRGB color space. It also allows you to run actions (such as adding a frame) and to insert Copyright info. Check it out. There isn't anything here that you couldn't do with custom actions, but this tool is there "out of the box."

In general, I keep all of my edited images in PSD format and convert to JPEG for slideshows or sending to print houses.

 

[ItMustBeJames]

JPG is a lossy compression format. Viewing a JPG is a read-only process, so you do not lose data fidelity just by running through a slide show. You will, however, lose data if you continually open, edit, and re-save JPG files.

I shoot photos in RAW format. This is a lossless, uncompressed file format. It does not apply your camera's algorithms for applying and interpreting color; you do this when you open it with Photoshop (or something similar). Then you save the opened file as another file format. I prefer TIFF. TIFF files are also lossless by virtue of not being a compressed file format. RAW and TIFF are huge compared to JPG and, as noted, RAW requires manual post processing before you can show off your photos to friends and family.

My recommendation to you would be to take pictures in JPG format and save the good ones in TIFF format. Then you can edit/tweak/save the file as often as you want. And when you want to cut a slide show, just save you TIFF as a JPG.

Note, as you get serious, many magazines and books will appreciate (read: require) RAW, TIFF, or very high quality JPG file formats because they contain a ton of information.

Good luck and good shooting!

Edit: Oh yeah, and while PSD is almost universally accepted, keep in mind that it is a proprietary format. TIFF is not and can be viewed/edited by almost all image editing programs.

 

[highdesert]

Well, I can't shoot RAW, TIFF I can understand, and I will research everything in between. But it'll have to wait a bit, since I'm right in the middle of making my killer fajitas!

Thanks for the education, everybody!

 

[danclem]

Hi Highdesert:

Fajitas sound good. We had snow on our Seattle dive today.

Here is a bit more information to add. In CS3 inder the File command there is an Export to Web option. This is probably the easiest way to go. If you are shooting JPG, you might want to consider saving your originals, and working off of copies. As noted, JPEG's degarade after each edit.

If you are looking at pictures on a PC or Mac, you won't be able to tell the dfference between high quality shots and lower resolutions. The only time I can sort of see some differences is when we show photos on a 56 inch high definition TV.

Have fun. If you start to get deeper into underwater still photography do check out shooting in RAW, then converting to TIFF, then JPG.

Off to make some rellenos,

Dan