Once a shoot is merged and edited, the last decision is what actually leaves your machine. It sounds trivial and it is not: the wrong format means an agent who cannot open your files, a listing site that rejects them, or an archive you cannot re-edit next year.
Three formats cover essentially all real estate work. Here is what each is genuinely for.
The short version
| Format | Bit depth | Still raw-editable | Relative size | Send it to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNG | Raw | Yes | Large | Your archive |
| TIFF | 16-bit | No | Largest | A retoucher or print |
| JPEG | 8-bit | No | Small | The agent or listing site |
JPEG — what the client actually wants
Almost every agent, listing portal and MLS expects JPEG. It opens everywhere, it uploads quickly, and its compression is invisible at the sizes a listing displays. If a client has not specified a format, they want JPEG.
The tradeoff is that JPEG is 8-bit and lossy: the editing latitude is gone and each re-save degrades the file slightly. That is fine for a deliverable, which nobody should be re-editing, and wrong for an archive.
Check any dimension or file-size ceiling before you export — listing platforms often cap both, and a batch rejected at upload is a phone call you do not want.
TIFF — the handoff format
A 16-bit TIFF is uncompressed or losslessly compressed and holds far more tonal information than a JPEG, which means it survives heavy further editing without banding in skies or gradients on walls. That makes it the right thing to hand a retoucher, or to send for large-format print.
It is also enormous — routinely ten to twenty times a JPEG of the same image. Sending an agent a folder of TIFFs is not generosity, it is a support problem.
DNG — the one to keep
DNG is a raw format, and a merged HDR DNG is the most useful thing to keep from a shoot. Because it is still raw, exposure, white balance and highlight recovery remain live adjustments rather than baked-in decisions. If a client comes back in six months wanting the kitchen warmer, you reopen the DNG and change it — no quality lost, no re-merging.
It is not a delivery format. Most agents have no way to open one. Keep the DNGs, deliver the JPEGs.
A workflow that covers all three
The practical answer is not to choose. Merge once, then export what each destination needs: JPEG for the client, DNG to your archive, and TIFF only when someone has specifically asked for one.
Blendpoint organises a shoot into Jobs, and each Job carries its own output settings — so a single merge can produce the web-sized JPEGs you deliver and the raw-editable DNGs you keep, without processing anything twice.
Frequently asked questions
What file format do real estate agents want?
JPEG, in nearly every case. It opens on any device, uploads quickly to listing platforms, and its compression is invisible at the sizes a listing displays. Check whether the platform caps dimensions or file size before you export the batch.
Should I deliver TIFF files to clients?
Usually not. A 16-bit TIFF is ten to twenty times the size of the equivalent JPEG and most agents cannot do anything useful with one. Reserve TIFF for handing work to a retoucher or for large-format print.
Is it worth archiving DNG files?
Yes. A merged HDR DNG stays raw-editable, so exposure, white balance and highlight recovery remain adjustable rather than baked in. If a client asks for a change months later, you reopen the DNG instead of re-merging the original brackets.
Does exporting to JPEG lose quality?
Some, by design — JPEG is 8-bit and lossy. For a final deliverable that nobody will re-edit, the loss is invisible at listing sizes. The mistake is treating JPEG as your archive: keep a raw-editable master and export JPEGs from it.
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