JPEG vs Raw, Editing Software & More.

So the first 2 parts were on camera functions, and aperture priority and shutter priority modes but now I'm going to go into:

Link to Part 1 of the series.
Link to Part 2 of the series.

• What software I use for editing?
• What format I shoot in (JPEG or RAW)?
• What I do for backup of my photography?

What software do I use for editing?
There are plenty of "free" software out there the will allow you to edit your photos, One of the free ones I used to use was Gimp.  I switched to Adobe Lightroom about a year ago now and to be honest if you go with the Creative Cloud Photography plan from Adobe you get Lightroom and Photoshop CC for a monthly fee, typically it is 9.99 a month but going to this link will get it for you for 7.99 which I think is a killer deal.  $95.00 a year for Lightroom and Photoshop really isn't bad considering if you bought them separately you would spend almost double.

What format do I shoot my photos in and why?

Well if you haven't discovered it yet chances are you are shooting your pictures in JPEG.  Several years ago I switched to shooting in a mode called RAW, why?  Shooting in RAW will capture all the data to where a jpeg will clip some of your image thus less detail.  Here is a great video with by Tony Northrup did explaining them.  Pro to RAW more detail in images, Con - STORAGE! lol.

Tony Northrup's book he talks about 

Tony Northrup's DSLR Book: How to Create Stunning Digital Photography

Now how do you switch your camera from JPEG to RAW?  (first check your manual)

Canon cameras

Nikon cameras

What I do for backup of my photography

I always backup my photography to at least (2) external hard drives and now if you are a Amazon prime member you get unlimited photo backup so I opted to start doing that as well.  The only downside to their service is the app that you have to use doesn't offer a auto sync feature.  Right now I have signed up for the Amazon Unlimited Everything plan and started trying out a program called SyncBackPro which backs up to the Amazon cloud services.  The unlimited everything means everything vs just photos and 10gb of videos.  Something for you to look at.

Typically Amazon unlimited plan is 59.99 a year but I have found a link that will get it for 10.00 (link may die any day so be warned)