Export Settings for Photography: The Complete Guide to File Formats, JPEG Quality, Colour Space Selection, Resolution, Metadata, and Delivering Perfect Files for Every Destination

Export settings determine the final technical characteristics of the photographs you deliver — the file format, compression level, colour space, pixel dimensions, resolution, embedded metadata, file naming, and output sharpening. Getting these settings right ensures that your photographs look their absolute best on every platform and in every context: web galleries, social media, client delivery, print labs, publication submissions, and archive storage. Getting them wrong produces images that look dull on social media (wrong colour space), blocky on websites (over-compressed JPEG), soft in prints (wrong resolution), or stripped of copyright data (metadata not embedded). This guide covers the optimal export settings for every common photographic delivery scenario.

The export process is the final quality control step in the photographic workflow. Before exporting, every image should be fully edited, colour-corrected, retouched, and reviewed at 100% zoom for technical quality. Export presets in Lightroom, Capture One, and Photoshop save your settings for each delivery scenario, ensuring consistency across every export and eliminating the risk of accidentally using the wrong settings. Building a comprehensive set of export presets — one for each common delivery destination — is one of the most impactful workflow efficiency improvements a photographer can make.

File Formats: JPEG, TIFF, PNG, PSD, DNG

JPEG is the universal delivery format for photography — it produces small files that can be opened on every device and platform, supports embedded ICC profiles for colour management, and provides adjustable compression that balances quality against file size. JPEG uses lossy compression, meaning some image data is permanently discarded during compression — but at quality settings of 80% and above, the compression artifacts are virtually invisible to the human eye and do not affect print quality. JPEG is the correct choice for: client deliveries, social media, web galleries, email attachments, and any delivery where the recipient is not expected to do further editing.

TIFF is an uncompressed or losslessly compressed format that preserves every pixel of image data without any quality loss. It supports 8-bit and 16-bit colour depth, ICC profiles, layers (in Photoshop-compatible applications), and multiple colour spaces. TIFF is the correct choice for: print lab submissions (when the lab requests TIFF), magazine and publication submissions, master archive files, and any deliverable that will undergo further editing (retouching by a specialist, compositing, design layout). The file sizes are significantly larger than JPEG (a 45-megapixel image produces a ~125 MB TIFF versus a ~15 MB JPEG at quality 85%), so TIFF delivery requires appropriate transfer methods (cloud links, USB drives) rather than email.

PNG is a losslessly compressed format that supports transparency (alpha channel) — useful for logos, overlays, and graphics, but rarely appropriate for photographic delivery because the files are large and the format does not support CMYK or embedded ICC profiles as reliably as TIFF. PSD (Photoshop Document) is an editing format that preserves layers, masks, and adjustment layers — appropriate only when delivering layered working files to a designer or retoucher. DNG (Digital Negative) is Adobe's open-standard RAW format — useful for archiving RAW files in a universal format, but not a delivery format for finished photographs.

JPEG Quality Settings

JPEG quality in Lightroom ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 being the highest quality (least compression, largest file size) and 0 being the lowest (maximum compression, smallest file, worst quality). Professional photography delivery should never use quality below 75. The recommended settings are: Quality 85–92 for general client delivery and web portfolios (excellent quality with reasonable file size, compression artifacts invisible at normal viewing distances), Quality 75–82 for social media (slightly more compression is acceptable because social media platforms re-compress uploaded images anyway, so starting quality above 92 provides no visible benefit after platform recompression), Quality 95–100 for print lab submission as JPEG (when the lab accepts JPEG, use maximum quality to minimise compression artifacts that could become visible in large prints).

A practical note on JPEG quality above 92: the file size increases significantly for each quality point above 92 (a quality-100 JPEG can be 3–5 times larger than a quality-85 JPEG), but the visible quality improvement is negligible to the human eye. Quality 85 is the widely recognised sweet spot for photography — it produces images that are visually indistinguishable from uncompressed at normal viewing conditions, while keeping file sizes manageable for web delivery, cloud uploads, and archive storage. Unless you have a specific reason to use higher quality (print lab requirement, further editing expected), Quality 85 is the professional standard.

Colour Space Selection for Different Destinations

Colour space selection determines which range of colours the exported file can contain, and the wrong choice can make your photographs look dramatically different on the recipient's device. sRGB is the standard colour space for all web and screen delivery — web browsers, social media platforms, smartphones, tablets, and the vast majority of monitors display in sRGB. If you export in Adobe RGB for web display, browsers that don't colour-manage (including some mobile browsers) will interpret the Adobe RGB values as sRGB, producing desaturated, dull-looking images. Always export sRGB for any screen destination.

Adobe RGB has a wider gamut than sRGB, particularly in greens and cyans, and is the standard colour space for professional printing. If your print lab requests Adobe RGB files (many do, for maximum colour range in prints), export in Adobe RGB with the profile embedded. If your lab requests sRGB, export sRGB — do not convert to Adobe RGB on the assumption that wider gamut equals better; the lab's workflow is optimised for the colour space they specify. ProPhoto RGB has the widest gamut and is used as an editing space, not a delivery space — never export finished deliverables in ProPhoto RGB because virtually no display device can show its full gamut, and colour management errors are more likely. The safe rule is: sRGB for screens, Adobe RGB for print if the lab requests it, sRGB for print if the lab requests it.

Resolution and Pixel Dimensions

Resolution (PPI — pixels per inch) specifies the intended print size at which the image should be reproduced. For screen delivery, PPI is irrelevant — monitors display images based on pixel dimensions, not PPI metadata. A 2400×1600 image at 72 PPI and the same image at 300 PPI are displayed identically on screen — they have the same pixel dimensions and the PPI tag is ignored by browsers and screen display engines. When exporting for web, set the long edge to your desired pixel dimension (1600–2400 pixels for web portfolios, 1080 pixels for Instagram, 2048 pixels for Facebook) and don't worry about the PPI value.

For print, PPI determines how large each pixel is when printed — higher PPI means smaller pixels, finer detail, and smaller physical print size for a given pixel dimension. The standard print resolution is 300 PPI, which produces photographic quality at normal viewing distances. A 6000×4000 pixel image at 300 PPI produces a 20×13.3 inch print. At 240 PPI (acceptable for most inkjet printers), the same file produces a 25×16.7 inch print with negligibly lower detail. For large prints viewed from a distance (wall art, exhibition prints over 30 inches), 150–200 PPI is acceptable because the viewing distance compensates for the lower pixel density. When exporting for print, export at full resolution (do not resize) and set PPI to 300 unless the lab specifies otherwise — the lab will resize if needed.

Metadata and Copyright Embedding

Every exported photograph should contain embedded metadata that identifies you as the creator and protects your copyright. In Lightroom's Export dialog, under Metadata, select "Copyright & Contact Info Only" to include your name, copyright notice, website, and contact details while stripping potentially sensitive information (GPS coordinates, camera serial number, detailed EXIF data) from client deliveries. For your own archive copies, include all metadata to preserve the complete technical record (camera model, lens, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, date, GPS if enabled).

Set up a copyright metadata preset in Lightroom (Edit > Preferences > Presets > Edit Default Metadata Presets) that automatically embeds your copyright notice, contact information, and usage rights into every imported image. This ensures that copyright information is present in every file from the moment it enters your catalog, regardless of export settings. The IPTC fields to complete are: Creator (your name), Copyright Notice (e.g., "© 2024 Yana SK Photography. All rights reserved."), Creator Website, Creator Email, and Rights Usage Terms (e.g., "Personal use only. Commercial use requires written permission."). This embedded metadata travels with the file wherever it goes — social media platforms may strip it during re-compression, but any recipient who examines the original delivered file will find your copyright and contact information embedded in the metadata.