Novice Photographer - Post Processing Help?

[Charlie Clarke]

So I have just started taking photos with my Olympus C2040z (It is old but pretty decent for $15) and I am wondering....

 

A) If I should do post processing on my photos?

 

B )  What program to use? (preferably free)

 

C) Is it worth it to save files in .TIFF instead of .PNG? (TIFF is closer to RAW isn't it?)

 

I have been messing around with GIMP a bit and asides from drawing a penis on stuff I haven't gone very far in terms of improving the image.....

 

Hope somebody can help!

[Electronics Wizardy]

Try using google's picasa, and if you need to edit the photo more you can use Gimp. Gimp lets you do some pretty powerful stuff but you need to learn it. Picasa is more of a photo manager and lets you easily change contrast, exposure, satutartion, and more, but you can't change as much as Gimp. 

 

For the files you JPEG's. Tiffs take up lots of space with out holding much more info at all. PNG is only usefull for graphics images, not photos as the files are big and it also supports alpha.

[skylane]

I would say if you're starting out then don't worry about file formats, post-editing or software. Although digital darkroom processing can be an important part of photography it's ultimately a distraction for beginners. Concentrate on basics of lighting, composition and expressing what it is that you see in your mind into the photo itself. You don't need fancy equipment, a DSLR or even a computer to do great photography. The most important thing I would say is develop patience to really hone what it is you want to express in your photograph, take your time, and don't take 100 thoughtless shots when 1 well thought out shutter press can do much better. When saving in camera just make sure you're saving on it's largest JPEG setting (least compressed). Try moving the shutter/aperture and ISO controls to manual if you can.  

[CaptRex635]

Looking back at when I first started, I'm glad that I chose to shoot JPEG. Just make sure you are shooting at native quality/non compressed/ full resolution. You should not be shooting in RAW if you don't have a purpose. I only shoot RAW for client based work or certain passion based projects. I tend to hoard all the photos I take... If a lot of them were RAW files, I would be drowning in useless large files!

[.spider.]

C) Is it worth it to save files in .TIFF instead of .PNG? (TIFF is closer to RAW isn't it?)

 

No you should keep the raw files that's the only way to work nondestructive. Tiff and PNG are not comparable to raw.

[ShadowCaptain]

No you should keep the raw files that's the only way to work nondestructive. Tiff and PNG are not comparable to raw.

 

Dont think that camera even saves RAW

[skylane]

Dont think that camera even saves RAW

No but it can save in lossless TIFF

 

TIFF's advantages can be seen with this camera. The camera came out 14 years ago and yet editing and using the output files isn't locked into a proprietary algorithm, as it is in the case for RAW files. TIFF is universally compatible and you're not reliant on updates by the manufacturer or algorithm guesses by 3rd party software programmers. There are finer points where RAW has advantages, like demoscaic processing, but for most end product comparisons they are virtually the same.  

[ShadowCaptain]

No but it can save in lossless TIFF

 

TIFF's advantages can be seen with this camera. The camera came out 14 years ago and yet editing and using the output files isn't locked into a proprietary algorithm, as it is in the case for RAW files. TIFF is universally compatible and you're not reliant on updates by the manufacturer or algorithm guesses by 3rd party software programmers. There are finer points where RAW has advantages, like demoscaic processing, but for most end product comparisons they are virtually the same.  

 

Ah I thought they were lossy