Formats
A poorly framed question
“Keep everything” and “keep only the RAW files” are two equally costly reflexes: the first blows up storage and buries the essentials; the second sometimes throws away irreplaceable files. The right question isn’t how much to keep, but what to keep, and why. Let’s review the file types, then propose a decision grid.
The file types, one by one
- RAW originals: the digital negative. Non-negotiable by principle, they carry the maximum information and always let you start over. Keep them.
- Camera JPEGs: sometimes the only “intended” rendering at the time, useful for RAW+JPEG pairing; cheap to keep.
- TIFF or PSD masters: the fruit of real retouching, often irreproducible without hours of work. Keep them alongside the RAW.
- Web / social exports: trivial derivatives, regenerable in seconds. Rarely worth archiving.
- Print files: profiles, layouts, and TIFFs calibrated for a specific print; keep them if the print has value (edition, exhibition).
- XMP sidecars: tiny but precious, they carry your metadata and settings. Keep them with the originals.
- Catalogs: your working organization; keeping an export or a backup of the catalog is worthwhile.
- Color profiles: essential to faithfully reinterpret a file later.
The criterion: reproducible or not?
One simple rule settles most cases: a derivative is worth keeping if it isn’t trivially reproducible. A web export regenerates → no need to archive it. A retouched TIFF represents unique work → archive it. The RAW is the source: always kept.
A matrix by practice
The right trade-off depends on the field:
- Author / artist: RAW + TIFF/PSD masters + sidecars + print files for exhibited works. Rendering reproducibility matters as much as the original.
- Commission / studio: RAW + delivered selection (high-res TIFF/JPEG) + sidecars; disposable web exports.
- Heritage / institution: RAW + masters + all sidecars + profiles + documentation; longevity and traceability come first.
- Wedding / event: RAW of the picks + deliverables; you can trim the rejects after a delay.
- Press: IPTC-captioned JPEGs + RAW of the strong images; speed and rights come first.
In practice
- Always keep RAW, retouch masters, and sidecars.
- Drop trivial derivatives (regenerable web exports) without regret.
- Keep profiles and print files if the rendering has value to reproduce.
- Decide by your practice, not by a single rule.
Obscura Flow keeps the link between an original and its derivatives/versions, and makes explicit what an archive contains at the moment you freeze it: you archive a coherent, documented set, rather than a heap of files that no one, ten years later, can tell were actually the important ones.