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Keep an untouched copy of the best source file you have, preserve any sidecars or catalogs that hold its edit settings, and create working files and exports separately. Then keep at least two backup copies on different storage media in separate physical locations. That approach protects both the image and the information needed to reprocess it later.
What counts as the original image?
The original is the captured or received file before your own editing—not necessarily a RAW file. A camera RAW file retains sensor data before the camera’s rendered JPEG processing, while a JPEG or TIFF source is already processed. If the image arrived as a JPEG or TIFF, preserve that exact file before editing; your later adjustments work on its existing pixels. Adobe explains that RAW data needs software interpretation to produce a color image, but that editing can preserve the original RAW data: Adobe’s Introduction to Camera Raw. HHS gives related original-preservation guidance for research images: HHS Office of Research Integrity’s Guideline #2.
For a camera RAW workflow, retain the camera’s original RAW file even if you also convert a copy to DNG. Adobe describes DNG as publicly documented and non-proprietary, but conversion is a choice—not a reason to discard the captured file. The Library of Congress lists DNG and proprietary camera RAW among acceptable still-image formats, alongside TIFF, JPEG 2000, PNG, and JPEG/JFIF: Library of Congress Recommended Formats Statement – Still Image Works, 2025–2026.
How to organize originals, edits, and exports
Keep the relationship between source, editable work, and delivery files clear. Adobe’s Camera Raw workflow allows processed copies to be saved in formats such as JPEG, TIFF, PSD, or DNG while leaving the original camera RAW file unaltered. FADGI describes the general distinction between master images and derivatives in its master-image, derivative-image, and metadata guidance.
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- Copy and identify the source. Transfer the files from the camera, scanner, or sender into an organized image library before editing. Keep the original extension and embedded metadata. Adobe recommends transferring, organizing, and naming camera RAW files before working on them.
- Protect the source copy. Keep an untouched copy of the captured or received file. You may mark it read-only as a practical safeguard, but an operating-system read-only setting is not archival protection by itself.
- Keep edit instructions with the image. Back up any XMP sidecars, application catalog, or database that stores adjustments. Adobe identifies these as possible places for edit settings; without the dependent file or catalog, the image may no longer appear with the intended edits.
- Make working files and derivatives separately. Keep an editable working state when needed, then export purpose-specific files such as web JPEGs, delivery PNGs, or print files. Descriptive names or separate folders can make the source-to-export relationship easy to recognize; no particular naming scheme is required.
- Back up and verify. Keep at least two copies on different storage media in separate physical locations. Periodically check that files and their accompanying metadata still open. The cited guidance does not prescribe a check interval or a specific checksum method.
Which format should you keep?
Choose according to what you received, what you may need to change later, and how the file will be used. The Library of Congress’s 2025–2026 statement is preservation guidance for its collection-development context, not a universal requirement to convert personal photographs to a particular format.
| File or format | What it preserves | Practical use |
|---|---|---|
| Camera RAW | Original sensor data before the camera’s rendered JPEG processing; software interprets that data to create a color image. | Retain the captured file when future reprocessing matters. Some camera RAW formats may depend on compatible software. |
| DNG | A RAW-oriented format Adobe describes as publicly documented and non-proprietary; the Library of Congress lists DNG as acceptable. | Useful as an additional copy or chosen conversion, but do not replace the camera original unless that is an intentional retention policy. |
| JPEG or TIFF source | The already-rendered or processed pixels in the file you received. | Preserve the exact source before editing; later changes cannot restore RAW data that was never present. |
| TIFF, JPEG 2000, PNG, and JPEG/JFIF | Formats preferred by the Library of Congress for digital photographs in its 2025–2026 statement. | Consider for suitable preservation or delivery needs; format choice still depends on the source and intended use. |
For digital photographs, the Library of Congress names highest available resolution, highest available bit depth (16 bits per channel if available), and a color profile or specified color space among preferred characteristics. It also favors uncompressed or lower-compression characteristics where appropriate. These are criteria for evaluating files, not a direction to convert every camera original to TIFF. Avoid needlessly downsampling the best source or repeatedly saving a lossy derivative as your new master.
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What else must be preserved?
An image file alone may not contain everything needed to identify, interpret, or reproduce its intended treatment. Keep the related descriptive and technical information, along with files that store edit instructions.
- Edit state: XMP sidecars, embedded DNG metadata, and application catalogs or databases, as applicable.
- Descriptive details: title, creator, creation date, contact details, identifiers, and subject descriptors where relevant.
- Technical and production details: resolution, bit depth, color profile or specified color space, and other production information useful to interpret the image.
- Structural context: standardized descriptive, administrative, and structural metadata that helps connect a master to its derivatives and supports recovery, as emphasized by FADGI.
How many backups do you need?
The Library of Congress advises keeping at least two storage media and separate physical locations: Library of Congress Reformatting FAQ: preserving digital files. One external drive can be one copy, but it does not by itself provide both different media and separate locations. Choose storage arrangements that meet those two conditions, and check periodically that the copies can be opened.
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When ordinary image-preservation advice is not enough
If the image is part of a research, clinical, forensic, or regulated record, follow the retention and integrity requirements of the relevant institution or governing rules. HHS’s guidance addresses research-image integrity; it is not a substitute for requirements that apply to other regulated or forensic contexts. The Library of Congress’s format recommendations likewise serve its own preservation and collection-development context, rather than prescribing a single workflow for every individual or organization.
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