ABSTRACT
Introduction Digital imaging is now revolutionizing not only the process of photography but also the way we view photography as a visual communications medium. This new photographic medium affords the individual greater scope for creative expression, image enhancement and manipulation. Before we rush into making changes to our digital fi les in order to create great art, or turn a warty old frog into a handsome prince, it makes sense to slow down and take time out to understand the structure of the digital image fi le. In this way the technical terms used to identify, quantify and specify the digital fi le as a whole, or the component parts of the digital fi le, serve to clarify rather than bamboozle our overloaded gray matter.
