There are two major formats for saving images. One is the gif and the other is the jpeg. Deciding which to use depends on a few factors. The jpeg uses what is called lossy compression which means it loses quality during compression. The gif uses lossless compression, meaning the opposite. The image doesn’t lose its quality when you compress it. However, the gif format only uses 256 colors while a jpeg supports 16 million colors. So as you can see, they are quite different and sometimes hard to decipher.
When saving an image as a gif it may not be the true color that it originated as. The image editor will dither the image to the closest color in the palette of 256 colors available. A jpeg saves true color. Another difference is that the jpg requires less file size than the gif due to the gif trying to assimilate the color.
So it seems that the best format for saving images is by using the jpeg option. This format preserves the integrity of the photo, provides speedy downloading from your camera as it compresses the image into a small file, increases frame rate for action photography, provides instant printing capabilities by allowing the user to download directly from camera and is a space saver because of the smaller file size. The only downfall to jpeg is that if you alter or edit the photo once its downloaded and then resave as a jpg, it will lose quality.
Once you have determined that using the jpeg format is the best way to go, you need to decide how you will store your images. After you download them to you computer you need to have a back up incase of a hard drive crash. You will also most likely want to share your photos. Even though jpegs are smaller in size than gifs, they are still sometimes too large to quickly send through email, especially if you are sending more than 5. A good solution is to consider an image hosting website where you can upload an entire shoot of photos at one time and get one link to share photos with anyone you want. A hosting site will store the photos for you in albums and keep them safe from a hard drive crash. Use of the links provided by the site will enable you to share the link via email, embed on websites and use it on social networking sites.
