Exposed! :: Your Photo Warehouse© Copyright 2006. All Rights Reserved. Contents With the popularity of digital cameras, personal computers and internet technology more and more people are making and/or storing pictures without film. Precious photos are being kept in bits and bytes rather than filing cabinets (or shoeboxes!). The new technologies are changing our world of photography and creating new challenges for storing our cherished memories. In the last issue of EXPOSED! (Digital Decisions) I promised to write about archiving your work. In this issue we explore Your Photo Warehouse! JPEG vs TIFFMany people have heard of the term JPEG. It is a type of file appearing with the extension .jpg. It is probably the most common type of photo file sent over the internet. JPEG is an acronym for JOINT PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPERTS GROUP. A JPEG image is one that is compressed when it is saved. If opened, changed (even just the file name!) and saved, it will lose some of its information. Over many times you can start to see a difference! Less well known is a TIFF file. A TIFF file (TAGGED INFORMATION FILE FORMAT) is more stable and will not lose information - a very important trait! Why would you use a JPEG or a TIFF? As a simple rule - manipulate and store files as TIFFs. Use JPEGs to send photo files over the internet, only! For more information visit these links: Backing it upNow that you have the knowledge to save files appropriately how do you ensure you will not lose your pictures? There are a number of important things to remember:
TechnologyAn important aspect of keeping your photos accessible into the future is your computer equipment. Do NOT discard your older computer equipment! Remember those old, big floppy discs from the late 1980's? Do you still have equipment that can read those floppies? Now project 20 years ahead - who will be able to access information on those "old CDs and DVDs from 2006". People storing their imagery on equipment that will be completely redundant in 20 years could lose all their imagery to redundancy! Many people have told me they will just create new files on the latest, new media and equipment. Realistically, though, will you be diligent enough to update all your imagery from CDs to DVDs to whatever the next technological trend is? Will technology change that quickly? Technology has been racing and will likely continue! Look at audio. I used to buy records. Later, I bought tapes. Now I buy CDs. Many people are now downloading their music from the internet. Types of technology? 4 Look at video and computer advancement. How many technological changes have there been in the last 2 decades? It will continue! One medium that has been available for over a century and will likely continue to be accessible for many, many years is film. It has strong archival staying power!!! Pro PerspectiveI am a stock photographer. It is very important to me to make my products (stock photos) easily available to clients. I often get calls from clients saying they need the photo by last week! I have to find appropriate imagery from my files, create a submission and deliver the final digital file swiftly and seamlessly. Having a strong archival storage system is a valuable asset and something that I spend significant effort maintaining! HomeworkThis issue we will be exploring the stability of a TIFF & JPEG file. Take one of your photo files and save as 2 new, additional files - one as a JPEG and one as a TIFF. You should keep the original file, also.
Your original file and the TIFF should remain the same. How has the JPEG changed? Final FrameYou work hard to capture your photos, whether they are family photos or commercial work. Make sure you are spending the appropriate time ensuring you and your grandchildren are able to view your photos for years to come! Take photos, have fun! |
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