One of the most important decisions you make when capturing images is which image file format to use. JPEG is the default format used by almost every digital camera and also let you use a higher-quality RAW format.

At the moment you capture an image in this format a processing chip in your camera manipulates it based on the camera settings you used, and then compresses it to reduce its size and the final, altered image that is saved in the image file.

In digital photography, the image file is your start and your photo-editing program is where you finish. For the highest possible quality, you want to start with the best possible quality, mostly a RAW image file.

RAW files contain all of the image data captured by the camera's image sensor without it being processed or adjusted in any way. When you want total control over exposure, white balance, and other settings, this is the format to use because only four camera settings permanently affect a RAW image— the aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and focus.