The Creative Design Blog

You have probably noticed that Adobe Photoshop files can be saved in different formats or types of files.

It is essential to have a working knowledge and understanding of all of these different formats. This will help you to make the most of your digital photo projects.

Although there are several types of image files within Photoshop, these three are used most often.

PSD is the most important file format for digital photo editing. PSD is an Adobe Photoshop file format. The two reasons for using PSD files are: 1) PSD files allow you to work in layers and channels, saving your work without compressing the layers. The drawback is that this does result in a large file. 2) No data is lost since there is no compression while saving the file. Using a PSD file until you are finished editing your image is best. Once finished editing, save it in the appropriate file for each project.

JPEG: JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. This is one of the most common and well-known file formats. Because JPEG files are compressed, the size of the file is smaller. However, with compression, JPEG images will lose data each time you change the file and then resave it. But JPEG files work will on the Web and have a variety of applications.

A popular file used for applications on the Web and Internet is the GIF file, or Graphic Interchange Format. GIF files are typically small in size so that they can load more quickly in Internet browsers. The number of colors in a GIF File is limited to 256.

Photoshop offers other file formats; however, they are not used very much because they are not Internet use friendly.

For your use, it will be best to save your projects in a PSD file until you are finished editing them. Then, save them in a JPEG or GIF file to save space.

New to Photoshop? Feeling frustrated and overwhelmed? Then look at these online video tutorials. Jeanene is a author of articles and e-books. She has been an Internet Marketer for many years and realizes the need to useexcellent training material. These videos are great for learning Photoshop.