Always shoot using maximum pixels and least amount of compression so you won't limit how the images can be used. Edit your photos at full resolution as they were captured in camera. Save and archive both the original camera files and the full size edited files as close to uncompressed as possible. The edited files can be saved as PSD (Photoshop) or TIF. Those full size edited files are your new "negatives" which will then be resized based on what you want to do with the images. At this point you haven't changed resolution.

For the web or e-mail, I always resize to 72 PPI (pixels per inch) and 500 pixels long dimension, and add a copyright to the image as a text layer in my editing program. I also add 500 to the file name so I can tell which images have been prepared for the web without having to open each image.

Thanks for the reply.

So you are saying that I should take all pics at a large format?

What do you mean by a copyright?

Hi,
He means that you should always take your pictures at the highest quality and size setting.

A copy right is something that you add to the image so that it, in theory, will discourage people from copying your image.
i.e.

By taking the pic at the highest quality you mean taking a
pic at large fine setting?

For some reason I have a tough time grasping resolution and pixels etc...

So there is a feature in say Photoshop 8 CS that will apply a copyright on a pic that gets published on the web?

Is that the same as adding a signature at the bottom of the pic? Kinda like an artist signing a painting?

Yep, he means taking your shots at the Large, Fine setting. You may also discover that taking them in RAW format is useful too, though the large amount of extra control it gives you might or might not be worth the large amount of extra space it takes up on your chip.

Resolution (75dpi, 300dpi, etc) only comes into play when you print the image. When it's displayed on the screen the only stat that really matters is the pixel count. As a rule of thumb, a 1 megapixel image is 1024x768 in size. That's the largest size that most folks set their monitors to - so a file that size will fill the screen. Most folks who do a lot of graphics work set their monitors at a higher resolution (like 1280x1024 or 1600x1200) but if you send an image to a member of the general public or post it on a website, I'd recommend sizing them at 640x480 or at 800x600 to keep the image (or at least most of it) from being hidden by the edge of the monitor of anyone who views it.

Digimarc is a feature which PS has (at least my PS7 has it) to make an invisible digital watermark on the image. But I believe he's referring to the visible signature printed across images you post on the web. To be honest, it's best to place those signatures fairly prominently rather than at the bottom of the pic.

Incidentally, Digimarc is a paid extra feature rather than something which you get when you purchace PS.

Ok, that makes sense taking pics at a lrg fine format. (quick thanks to all above with the explanations)

You mention raw - what do I gain or lose by taking the pics in a raw format?

Is a raw pic equivilant to a film negative?

BTW - I went into PS (ver 8 cs) and with the some help added a Digimarc to a photograph.

This digital stuff is awesome compared to film photography!!! No offense to film but digital is somewhat better for practicing and experimenting.