One of the most neglected parts of digital photography is a photographer's understanding of image types. Image types come in many different formats and allow for a wide range of quality, size and structure. Depending on the format you use, you can see a significant rise or fall in overall image quality. There are hundreds of image formats to use, while most digital cameras come with a few pre-loaded types for you to save your images as.

Image files can be compressed or uncompressed. Compressing a file makes them much small and creates either a lossy or lossless image. Lossless images preserves all image data so that if you decompress the file down the line, it will return to its original save state. Lossy images gets rid of portions of the image data so that when it is decompressed, it loses the original save state values and will be degraded from its original form. Compression artifacts is the term used to describe this degradation.

There are two primary forms of digital photography image types that the novice photographer should be aware of: The JPEG and the TIFF formats. The JPEG format, or the joint photographic expert group image, was created for the express purpose of saving images. It has become a standard on the Internet for displaying images, graphics, photos and other image-based items on the web. These files are smaller than TIFF files but employs lossy compression which downgrades the overall image.

During the compression process, JPEG files keep the image details that make up the core of the picture and discards those that do not. This allows for a better image quality than most lossy compressed images but the brightness as opposed to color schemes will be more adversely affected and noticeable. Depending on how you choose to compress the file, you can end up with an image that is not as degraded as other lossy formats.

The TIFF format, or the tagged image file format, is used primarily in printing and publishing, such as newspaper layout design. They are larger than JPEG files and can be compressed or uncompressed via lossless compression. TIFF images store up to 16-bits per channel of color unlike the 8-bits per channel a JPEG image stores. This means that TIFF images are capable of multiple layers and raster levels than enhance the overall image quality.

Since TIFF is generally the standard for layout and design, these images can be saved in lossless compression and then restored later to be re-edited. However, since these images are larger than their JPEG counterparts, many digital camera users prefer to save in the latter format to avoid using up their memory card space with just a few pictures. If you have the room on the memory card to use the TIFF format, and find yourself editing down the line, it may be the way to go.

A third image type, the RAW format, is also used by digital photographers but is a more advanced type of image save. It contains the basic processing of data from the image sensor of the camera. Since they are not processed completely, you cannot transfer the data to your computer and begin to tweak the image in a photo editing program. Most cameras do allow you to edit the RAW file on the unit itself before finishing the process and allowing you to transfer it to your computer. Each camera developer uses their own RAW formats depending on the strengths and weaknesses of their design.

Each RAW format will contain up to 14 bits of information per sensor read-out. Reds, greens and blues are alternated between rows in a rectangular pattern. When the image is brought up on the view screen, these rows are converted in the RGB color spectrum during the digital development.

RAW files contain more information than JPEG or TIFF files. Each pixel in a RAW file has a higher range of color and date, and when is reproduced, will give the photographer more to work with when they transfer it to their computer. The image itself can also be over or underexposed on the camera for you to find the best results. This gives the photographer a chance to fix the photo, manipulate it or otherwise change it before setting the image in stone and transferring it to your computer.

These different image types can help you obtain different results. If you have a small memory card, the JPEG image might be right for you. If you want to take pictures and edit them later, the TIFF one might be the best. However, if you want to be able to tinker with different aspects of the image right away, the RAW file format might be just the way to do that. Learning the advantages of each format is the easiest way to find the level of quality and ease you are looking for when taking photographs. Each camera, memory card and user has different preferences, and the sooner you learn just what you can do with your digital camera, the sooner you will be enjoying higher quality pictures in various image formats.