Shooting RAW and using Lightroom

[CharmCityRob]

I got my D90 over Christmas and initially was shooting in RAW + JPEG Fine for comparison purposes. Last night, i purged all the JPEGs i shot from my system, keeping only the RAW files and changed the camera to only RAW.

My question is regards to changing the file format after its imported, If I make adjustments to the photo in LR or any edits in Photoshop, is there any advantage to changing the format to JPEG, TIFF, etc or can I keep it in RAW? I think PS will create a PSD but not 100% sure on that. If so, is it best to keep both the RAW and PSD? When would be the only time I would want to export as JPEG, when i want to email or send to web?

Finally, I havent seen an option in the LR import that will delete the files from the memory card similar to what PSE7 would do. Is that option available?

Thanks

[RichardTaylor]

Raw is straight out of the camera - not a format you can save pictures as.

After editing;
(1) jpgs only for web publishing/emails or high quality ones for distribution on CD's
(2) PSD if I will be revisiting the pics latter for possible more editing and printing..
Most of the time I delete the PSD after pics have been published/printed.

I archive my original RAWs and very ocassionaly a PSD.

A PSD is Photoshop format that will keep layers intact.

I don't import my pics from the camera/memory card. I copy the card contents to my hard drive, and make tempoary 2 backups immediatly on seperate hard drives before reformatting the card in my camera..

[Skyyton]

Lightroom is non-destructive to the RAW files. It's basically a set of adjustment instructions that get applied when you export the photo to another format. The RAW file is untouched. If you choose Edit with Photoshop from within Lightroom, you'll see it creates another image. I always keep the RAW file. If I adjust in Photoshop, I'll probably keep the PSD or TIFF. If I create a JPEG for web posting, printing, or email, I dispose of it after it served it's purpose. It's only a click or two to recreate the JPEGs if needed.

Don't use Lightroom or PSE to delete photos from your card. When you have them copied to your computer and backed up, format the card in your camera. It's the best way to keep your card clean and working well.

[kirbinster]

Another nice thing lightroom will do (if you want) is when it copies from the card it can automatically make a backup copy to another location or device -- it is critical to always backup your photos!!!!

There are lots of good (and Free) videos on the net that can teach you a lot about lightroom.