Photo formats can be confusing. If you want to save a photo in it's original condition without any loss of quality you should save it as a bitmap or tiff file. Bitmap uses the extension .bmp and makes a very large file unsuitable for emailing.

Jpg (pronounced J peg) files are compressed graphic files which makes the file a whole lot smaller and is appropriate for emailing. These files have the extension .jpg or .jpeg.

Gifs are used for small graphics mostly and can be animated (jpg and bmp files are never animated). gifs use the extension .gif and are the most basic of graphics containing only a limited number of colours. They also have the ability to use transparent backgrounds.

Most graphic programmes allow you to save a file in whatever format you want. Irfanview is great for this. Open the file in a graphics programme and then go to the File menu and Save As... In the dialogue box for saving there may be a choice as to what type you want to save as. You will have to go searching in your own programme to find out what is available.