There are several photo formats on and off the internet. Each model is used for a specific purpose and has its advantages and disadvantages. As photographers, we need to understand these differences to make the best choices, since working with photos is what we do every day.

Therefore, see in this post the main photo formats and their differences. Understand once and for all the best format for your work and why you choose a certain extension when saving your images.

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If you’ve always wondered about it now is your chance to take all your questions. Read this content right now and eliminate the confusion with these acronyms and extensions for good. Check!

Bitmap photo formats

The oldest photo formats on this list and one of the most basic as well. It is widely used in operating systems such as Windows. Despite supporting millions of different colors, which helps to have a sharper image, the files usually get very large.

BITMAP has no compression type included, only photos with 256 colors or less can be compressed in this format. This means more space occupied on your computer or USB stick.

Gif

GIF allows the creation of animations, that is, a series of photos in sequence to give the impression of movement. That’s why this photo format has become so common, especially on social media.

GIF only works with 256 colors (8 bits), which greatly limits the use of this file format. After all, many details are lost in an image saved as GIF. But they can be used to create simple animations, such as those scraps to post in the family group on WhatsApp.

Jpeg

It is one of the most popular photo formats in the world. Most people know this type of file and virtually every platform on the internet accepts it. Images saved in JPG or JPEG generate very small files, thanks to the compression system built into this save.

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The downside, however, is that this compression with each rescue greatly compromises the quality of your photo. Whenever it is saved by someone a little of the quality is gone, making it not so recommended for professional work.

Png

The darling of any designer or photographer. Accepts transparent background, animations and millions of colors. The best part is that this file also goes through compression, but virtually without any loss of quality.

The PNG photo format is perfect for relying on high quality images on your site, for example, but without taking up too much space or leaving the page slow. In addition, the richness of details of this type file puts you at the top of the preferences of photographers and other visual professionals.

Psd

If you’re a lover of Adobe products, you sure already know this image format, don’t you? This is the editable file generated by Photoshop, the world’s most famous photo editing program.

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When you save this file you re-edit the image at any time, including changes: saturation, white balance, retouches to the image, among other adjustments. Most photographers often have a copy of their edits in this format for retouches or simply to keep a backup of their work.

Raw

This is a photo format generated by DSLR cameras. Some people call it the negative of digital cameras, because all the image information is saved in this format. It’s like a raw file, which is available for you to make as many edits and customizations as you want.

Due to the large number of details in this type of photo, the files are also larger in this format and take up a lot of space. But it is ideal for those who want to have more quality in the photos and make edits at will later.

You can also compress these files to reduce the size, but even so, there is no considerable loss of quality.

Svg

A more commonly used image format for vectors and illustrations. The file is created in the XML language and not in traditional pixels, like the other formats in this list. It is a file format that gives more freedom for editing, resizing, magnification and color change for designs, especially.

In the world of photography are not so common, since they do not match very well with traditional photos. But it’s always nice to know this format to have more knowledge when bumping into one of them around, isn’t it?

Tiff

A format for professional photos, prints, scans and more exquisite manipulations of your photo. It was very common in faxing, moreover, it was created exactly to transmit this type of data.

Today, however, it is also used in imaging diagnostics in medicine and high-precision scanners. The files are relatively large due to the amount of information they store, but can be compressed without loss of quality.

WebP

The latest photo format from this list. It was created by Google, the world’s largest search engine, in order to reduce the size of files as much as possible but without losing the quality of the photo.

It is estimated that this photo format is capable of generating files up to 40% smaller than the others in this list, especially the JPEG which is the most used format on the internet. A way to optimize sites primarily, making them faster and less heavier.

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Well, these are the most common photo formats for photographers and for those who want to work with images on the web as well. Now it’s easier to understand each other’s difference and make your choice, isn’t it?

Just understand the level of detail you want, the available disk space, and the amount of colors to work on. With this, you are already able to choose the best image format to use in your day to day as a photographer.

Did you like the post? Enjoy and comment below on your favorite photo format. Share which of these you like the most and why you chose it. Your opinion will greatly help other professionals.