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jimh75242261
jimh75242261
Participant
July 9, 2018
Question

Issues with Image Size when Saving Camera RAW to JPEG

  • July 9, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 3089 views

Hello,

I am editing wedding photos that I shot in Camera RAW on a Canon 5D Mark 4. My Photoshop CC is running on the latest update. When I open a Camera Raw file to edit it, it has all the data I expect and is the appropriate file size. However, after editing the image and saving it to a 300dpi JPEG format file, the final file size seems far too small. In the past, my JPEG photos have measured 4-7MB post-processing. (These are generally 5x7 or 8x10 inch images, all at 300dpi.) However, the photos that I am working on now are only saving at 700KB, with the PSD files for the un-cropped images being the expected 60-75MB. I have saved the files at the highest Image Options Quality (12) and Format Options as 'Baseline ("Standard")' in the JPEG window. When I print the photos, they are grainy and pixelated, even though they are 300dpi files.

I've processed hundreds of photos with this same workflow over the past several years and have never had this much pixel data lost before. I'm looking for advice on what might have changed in Photoshop or what I might need to change in my editing and saving process?

Thanks for your help!

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2 replies

Bojan Živković11378569
Community Expert
Bojan Živković11378569Community Expert
Community Expert
July 9, 2018

Check sections Format. Under Quality you have option Limit File Size to: which may be turned on. Another section to check is Image Sizing where Resize to Fit may be turned on.

    P
    pictureperf
    Participant
    October 23, 2020

    I found out if you select pixels as a dimension instead of inches the file size is the correct size; 4-7mb.  The resolution is still 300 dpi.  i dont know why the selection makes a difference.  If you save that same file in Photoshop instead of Camera Raw, using the same resolution, and set the file size in inches, the size is the correct size.

    D Fosse
    Community Expert
    D FosseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 9, 2018

    Jpeg uses lossy and irreversible data compression to reduce file size on disk.

    Image size is measured in pixels. That's all you get from the camera sensor - so many pixels wide by so many high. A digital image file has no dimensions and it has no ppi. Both of those are secondary units assigned later.

    With a jpeg, file size in kB or MB is no indication of image size. The data compression can reduce file size to a few % of what it is in decompressed state.

    A jpeg degrades in quality every time it's resaved, so jpeg should never be used as a working format.

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