Saving Your Wedding Photos

Hi All,

I started a thread a while back now about DPI and PPI.

Still as confused (although slightly educated...) with it all, can somebody just give me a run through of how and why they save at whatever settings to allow your clients to pick a picture in the future and be able to print it at a nice large size.

E.g.

What PPI and/or DPI you set it at and why?

What size you set all of your photos at and why?

Also, what file types do you save at when you shoot in RAW? I am under the impression that I should save them as a TIFF for printing and a JPEG for the client. Should the client then be given the TIFF files as well as JPEGs?

Sorry for the questions, I just don't want to get it wrong. I've done all of the research I can but answers for these final questions should clear things up!

3600 x 2400, 300ppi, sRgb jpeg, Q10/80%. The ppi setting is irrelevant, but setting it to 300 keeps people who don't know anything happy. TIFF is unnecessary.

DPI/PPI complicate things. They are only a setting where a printer will default to printing the photo at a certain size, but they don't affect the resolution of the digital image at all. Digital image resolution is always counted in pixels. The reason 300dpi/ppi is "preferred" is because many people have been taught that they should print at that resolution or higher...which is just about as right as assuming more expensive always = better.

Megapixels is a fixed number (e.g. 12.8 mp = 4368x2912 pixels on 5d) no matter what dpi/ppi it is set to. If it's set to 300PPI, then the default printing size will divide the pixels by 300 and print at that size. However, to print larger all you have to do is ignore/override the image's PPI/DPI setting...which is extremely easy. Just fit to page, etc...or order an enlargement from Costco/etc., or change the DPI/PPI setting.

The point is, PPI/DPI don't affect the image resolution AT ALL. They are just divisors for the megapixel dividend.

Guys, you are super stars.

Thank you!