Image compression and how it works

If you have edited photograph on your computer using photo editing software, a disparity of the image size on computers' file manager and the size of the image once opened for the editing.

It is all about the image maths and the clever algorithm. Image compression is at work here and we start with the most known image format that is the JPEG.

JPEG is the ideal image standard and the perfect format for storing the pictures on the camera and internet ready to be posted and it reduces the information in the image that reduces the picture quality and therefore the pictures are called as the lossy storage. It is always good for everyday use and such loss is always imperceptible.

The best file format of the image raw captured is the TIFF image file extension which captures the information as it is.

If we take the sky in an average photo the details so captured are easily compressible but the same is not the case with the trees' leaves and the average image of every leaf will need to be captured because of the varying level of sunlight reflection the natural colour and the hue that comes out of the shadow and the area exposed to the sunlight differently. Tonal differnces and the squares and stripes are the result of the image compressions at work.

The photos that are generally printed at the largest possible size are because of a raw image file that is worked upon and that is the choice of the person willing to print them in the large size of the picture thus captured.