Are you having trouble opening up a specific photo when using certain software?
Have you always wondered when you should use PNG versus JPG, and what the difference even is?
Chances are, unless you’re a graphic designer, you don’t automatically know what these different photo formats mean. Yet, understanding their differences can make your life much easier, as working with images can become complicated.
Don’t get overwhelmed; just read our guide below to learn the various common photo formats.
JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group
JPEG, also known as JPG, is one of the most popular image formats that you’ll find.
JPEGs are known for having “lossy compression,” which means the quality of the photo will decrease as the file size also reduces.
JPEGs can be used in Microsoft documents, on the internet, and for high-resolution printing projects. Just always be aware of the resolution of the image as you change the file size.
GIF: Graphics Interchange Format
You’ve probably seen a GIF today in its animated form, most likely used as a pop culture reference under a Twitter post. However, they are not always animated.
GIFs in their basic form are created from a collection of 256 colors that are in the RGB colorspace. Because they have this limited number of colors, the file size is much smaller.
These image file formats are especially popular for images that need to load quickly without a high resolution, as the small file size allows it much easier.
PNG: Portable Network Graphics
PNGs are not suitable for print but are perfect for web projects. When saving a photo, you can use a variety of colors on a transparent background, which allows a much sharper image to be created.
While the PNG format is a lower resolution than other formats, you can edit them, making them larger or smaller without losing quality.
To learn more about how to convert png to jpg, click here.
TIFF: Tagged Image File Format
TIFFs are large files that have “lossless compression,” meaning that no matter how much you copy, save, or re-compress the file, it will never lose quality.
Yet, websites that use TIFF image file extensions will take much longer to load due to the large file size. Instead, use TIFFs to save images that will be printed instead of using them on the internet.
Use This Guide to Master the Common Photo Formats
Learning about the common photo formats may seem a bit daunting at first, but it can help you be more efficient with your time as you work with various images. Never again will you be unable to open your picture because it’s in the wrong format. Use your WordPress site to advertise your photography services or products and sell photos online.
Review the formats above, and be an expert the next time you run into an image issue.
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