JPEG
JPEG stands for "Joint Photographic Experts Group." When you take a photo in JPEG format, some image details are lost, which means the photo has lower quality. However, the advantage of this is that the file size is much smaller compared to other formats. This means you can store thousands of JPEG photos on a memory card, and they are easier to transfer from your camera to your phone or computer.
HEIF
HEIF, which stands for High-Efficiency Image Format, makes image files smaller than JPEGs while keeping similar or even better quality. This means HEIF files take up less space but still look just as good. However, one downside is that HEIF isn't as widely compatible as JPEG.
TIFF
TIFF stands for "Tagged Image File Format." TIFF files are usually uncompressed, meaning they have very high quality and allow for lots of editing. You can make detailed adjustments to things like color and tone. However, because TIFF files don’t use compression, they are much larger and take up more space on your memory card and computer.
RAW
Today, most cameras, including mirrorless models, DSLRs, and smartphones, let you shoot in RAW. RAW is the best choice for creating the highest-quality images, which is why many professional photographers prefer it. If you don’t use RAW, your camera will automatically make adjustments to the photo when it’s taken, and these changes will permanently affect the file.
PNG
PNG files were created in the '90s to improve on the GIF format. They are fairly small, high-quality, and can be displayed in web browsers, making them great for online use. PNGs use lossless compression, meaning the image quality stays the same even after editing. They can also keep transparency, which is useful for things like logos and overlays. However, PNG files are larger than JPEGs.
GIF
Like PNGs, and GIFs are great for internet use. They use lossless compression, so the files are small without losing image quality, and they support transparency (though not partial transparency, so they aren't perfect for all types of graphics). GIFs can also be animated. The small file size makes them ideal for the web, but their limited colors make them a bad choice for photos.
PSD
PSD files are used by Adobe Photoshop to save images with all their editing data. The main advantage of a PSD file is that it lets you store edits on separate layers, rather than directly on the image. This makes it easier to manipulate different parts of the image. However, because of all the extra data from the layers, PSD files can become very large.