Print, Save & Organize Your Digital Photos
By CNET.com February 15, 2008
Lesson 1: Settings and formats
 | In this lesson, you'll choose the right settings on your camera to give you the best results later.The goal of the course is to help you deal with your digital images after you've taken them – to help you get better printing results, save them safely, and keep them organized so you can always find what you need. First you'll make sure your camera settings are right, then you'll create a "workflow" that will make handling your images second nature from the moment you copy them to your hard drive. |
Tip: Consider getting an external hard drive you can use to backup your images, or a DVD writer.
Digital camera settings
Digital cameras have a wide range of settings depending on the model. A basic point-and-shoot camera won't offer the range of options available on a professional SLR-style camera. So depending on the camera you own, you might not be able to make all the suggested adjustments below. But don't worry, these are helpful but not required tweaks.
File format
All digital cameras save pictures in JPEG format, but many offer other options including TIFF and RAW. JPEG is the most popular format because the image data is compressed, and therefore file size is considerably smaller than uncompressed formats like TIFF and RAW.
However, the JPEG's reduced file size is achieved by discarding some of the image's data. Fortunately, the discarded data doesn't affect the quality of the image very much – JPEGs still look superb to the human eye.
Note: JPEG format is also the preferred format for Web sites, blogs,
and sending photos via e-mail.However, if you want the absolutely best possible image quality for print, switch your camera
to save images as TIFF or RAW. But note that these files are considerably larger – they'll fill your memory card twice
as fast. And they'll require more work on your part later in terms of editing and tweaking. There are entire books about how
to work with RAW files, so it's not for the faint of heart. And last but not least, you'll eventually have to convert them
to JPEG format anyway for printing, e-mailing, or posting on the Web.
For the majority of users, JPEG quality is perfectly acceptable, however we recommend that you set your camera to "high quality" JPEG compression. Lower-quality settings allow you to fit more images onto your memory card, but the image quality may be muddy or pixilated (see the example below). You're much better off shooting on the highest quality you can, whether it's called "Super Fine," "L," "High," etc., and resizing the image on your PC.
Compare low-quality vs. high-quality JPEG compression settings
Besides, the price of memory cards has dropped so much that buying a larger one (e.g. 1GB or more) is a good investment. And you can save your old card as a reserve for those days you're taking a lot of photos.
Some cameras also allow you to adjust their sensitivity. This is done by changing the "ISO" setting (a reference to film speed). Typically settings of 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 or higher are available. Higher ISOs mean being able to shoot in less light, and the "shutter speed" is faster which is helps you get clear pictures even when your subject is in motion. But those benefits come at a price: graininess.
So if you want the best possible images, choose a lower ISO setting – experiment until you find one that gives good results without too much motion blurring. If you're in a situation where you can use a tripod, that greatly helps to allow lower ISO settings.
Note:
If you simply choose "Automatic" on your camera, (spin the dial till it's on the "A"), your camera will sense the lighting
conditions and automatically pick an ISO setting that is more or less appropriate. This is a good choice if you don't have
time to experiment with manual settings.
Following all or some of these suggestions will help you get better pictures out of your camera, but – especially if you shoot a lot of pictures – what you do afterwards can make those pictures a joy to own ... or a mishmash of misplaced files and lost memories.
The next lessons will help you organize those images, save them the right way, and get them ready to share.
NEXT STEPS:
Once a class begins, you will get an e-mail with an assignment that relates to this lesson.
LESSON ASSIGNMENT:
Answer the following question(s):
- What kind of photography do you do?
- Describe your digital camera -- what do you like/dislike about it?
Enter classroom to read comments or post your own.
Copyright ©2008 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy policy | Terms of use
