Guide to Convert Camera RAW Images to JPEG

The Right Way For Photographers

Photography enthusiasts and professionals alike shoot in RAW format to preserve the best image quality. However, RAW files are large and not always convenient for sharing, archiving, or displaying online. If you are looking for a simple way to convert ARW to JPEG or convert NEF to JPEG, this guide will walk you through different use case and if bulk image compressor like Mass Image Compressor can make your job easier – mainly our Mac version at present while Windows version is going through overhaul.

Why Convert RAW Format (such as ARW, NEF, CR2, CR3, ORF, RW2, RAF, DNG etc.) to JPEG?

RAW files contain unprocessed image data and require software to edit and view properly. In many cases, converting to JPEG is necessary:

1. Sharing with Clients: Clients expect ready-to-use JPEGs for quick previews or printing. Photographer may also charge customer based on print size making customer acquisition easier while still leaving the room for upselling.
2. Website & Portfolio Display: JPEGs are optimized for web use, ensuring fast loading times.
3. Storage Management: RAW files take up significant space. JPEG compression helps save storage without major quality loss.
4. Printing Compatibility: Most online printing services prefer JPEG over RAW.
5. Faster Processing: JPEGs load quickly on any device or editing software.
6. Save On Cloud Charges: Increase Speed, Reduce Spending on your cloud space.

Sharing with Clients

Sharing photos to client can sometimes be tricky as some photographer need client’s selection for printing (album) or client is supposed to take care of printing/storing. Clients often require images in a usable format, and converting RAW images to JPEG in bulk make a use case for photographer. Additionally, you may also want to watermark photos before sending them for client previews, protecting your work.

If your use case involves client just selecting the pics for printing, you may just need to send them unprocessed images and process only the once selected by the client. There are ample of software to get your RAW images to JPEG in this case but Mass Image Compressor let’s you control the dimension and quality of the output JPEG so you keep the bulk size to minimal required – making transfer easy.

For clients who need high-resolution images for printing, the best approach is to first edit in Lightroom or any RAW processing software, export as JPEG, and then use Mass Image Compressor to further compress and resize without noticeable quality loss. The Mac version even provides predefined print sizes, making it easier to match exact print requirements. Most photographers just send highest resolution to client to avoid complaints later, but Mass Image Compressor can make you job much easier – just ask your client the print size that they are going to print for and set the export size in Mass Image Compressor as shown in diagram below.

Sharing on Websites & Portfolios

When uploading images online, photographers must strip sensitive metadata, such as location details and camera settings, to protect privacy. Mass Image Compressor (Mac version) allows automatic removal of this metadata while resizing the image for web use.

A common issue with portfolio uploads is oversized images slowing down website performance. Using Mass Image Compressor, photographers can ensure optimal compression, balancing quality with file size. For high-quality online display, resizing images to 1920×1080 or 2048px width with 80% quality is a recommended approach.

Archiving – HEIC, JPEG, or TIFF?

When it comes to Archiving, JPEG is not the only option and selecting the right format is crucial for long-term storage. Your options are:

• TIFF (Best for Lossless Storage): TIFF preserves all details and, Mass Image Compressor applies LZW compression, can reduce TIFF file size by up to 30-50% compared to other TIFF converters.
• HEIC (Space-Efficient): HEIC offers better compression than JPEG while retaining high quality, making it ideal for mobile and cloud storage but editor support may be limited as the format is fairly new. It’s mainly supported by Apple so you are good as far as you are in Apple’s ecosystem or relying on Adobe softwares.
• JPEG (For General Archiving): If the images are not critical, 80% quality JPEGs can reduce size by over 90%, making them practical for everyday use.

Photographers should always keep a backup of their RAW files for future edits. However, RAW files should not be stored solely in cloud storage due to high space consumption and increased costs. Instead, use external hard drives, NAS (Network Attached Storage), or archival-grade Blu-ray discs for safer, long-term storage. If cloud storage is necessary, only back up essential RAW files to optimize costs while keeping high-priority images accessible.

Choosing the Right JPEG Settings

Keep your use-case in mind and selecting proper settings while converting RAW to JPEG ensures high quality while keeping file sizes manageable:

• Quality Level: Use 90-95% for prints, 70-80% for web (from Mass Image Compressor)
• Resolution: Keep max print-size you expect; reduce for web use. If your choice of software is not supporting reducing resolution for common print-size and it’s very confusing to your – keep the full resolution. JPEG (or HEIC) conversion will still save a lot of space for you.
• Metadata Handling: Strip unnecessary details for privacy and size reduction. You are in good hands if you are using Mass Image Compressor for macOS but Mass Image Compressor for Windows doesn’t yet support stripping sensitive metadata so keep all metadata. We are working on our Windows version to support all features that our macOS version supports. Also, there is no other software that provides easier method to strip sensitive data so I cannot give any reference here – keep all metadata is current option for Windows users.
• Color Profile Adjustments: JPEG conversion may slightly shift colors due to compression, so minor retouching might be required to maintain the intended look. Most people cannot find difference, this has everything to do with JPEG conversion – Mass Image Compressor does all it can to keep the highest quality.

Finally,

We have explored most use cases of conversion to JPEG/HEIC/TIFF, resizing to the required resolutions and recommended quality. We have also explored how having a reliable tool like Mass Image Compressor can save time and effort. Whether you need to convert ARW to JPEG, convert NEF to JPEG, or optimize your images for clients or the web, watermark images, Mass Image Compressor is there, or at least, you know what to look into a bulk image compressor for qualifying it for professional use 😊

Happy Clicking 📷❤️