Picture Files — When to Use What Format

For the average end user, whatever format a device or application/program creates as default is what you should use. Picture files will typically be much larger than any other format other than video/audio files. While there is some usage/feature overlap between file types, here are some of the basic picture formats or file types that can contain image content.

• AI — Adobe Illustrator
• BMP — Windows bitmap
• EMF — Windows Enhanced Metafile
• EMZ — Compressed Windows Enhanced Metafile
• EPS — Encapsulated PostScrip
• FPix, FPX — FlashPix
• GIF — Graphics Interchange Format
• FEIF — High-Efficiency Image File
• JPG, JPEG, JFIF, JPEG-2000 — Joint Photographic Expert Group
• RAW — Digital Camera Image File
• PDF — Portable Document Format
• PICT, PCT — Macintosh Picture
• PNG — Portable Network Graphics
• PNTG — Macintosh Paint
• PSD — Photoshop Document
• QTIF — QuickTime Image Format
• SGI — Silicon Graphics Incorporated
• SVG — Scalable Vector Graphics
• TGA, TPIC — Targa
• TIFF, TIF — Tagged Image File Format
• WebP — Web Picture
• WMF — Windows Metafile
• WMZ — Compressed Windows Metafile
• XML — Extensible Markup Language

I recommend the following usage guidelines:

• Web or Digital Resources — JPG, PNG, or GIF
• Printed Material — EPS or PDF
• Clips from or to be inserted into Videos — JPG or PNG
• Vector file formats should be used for print materials
  • If you don’t know which file formats are “vectored” then you need to contact a geek for help.
• Raster file formats should be used for digitally used content
  • If you don’t know which file formats are “rastered” then you need to contact a geek for help.

Basic image editing software (i.e., red eye reduction, color corrections, make something transparent, etc…) is included in many devices or applications, but true custom image editing is a skill and art form that requires expensive applications, experience, and knowledge. Entire careers are involved in nothing but image editing. Today, almost all photographers include some image editing as part of their professional services.

For most users .JPG, .JPEG, BMP, PDF, PNG, TIF, and TIFF will be the formats they use.