I'm a novice to the photography world. I've shot in RAW, with long exposure shots. It seems scary to me to do so, and I don't know why. Perhaps you might add some insight? Can you tell me why you like (or don't like) shooting in RAW. @shadowdancer just posted a lovely picture and she shot in RAW. Her photograph made me think...
What are your thoughts/experiences on this subject?
Never tried it but know I ought to! I'm thinking possibly after I complete this year's psych module so I can give it the time it deserves ;o) Only drawback I've heard of is the huge amount of space required to store images but I'm not sure there are any more.
I shoot in RAW, because it doesn't compress your image.....like JPG .
so there is all the detail in your picture, to play with.
and yes, you need more space because of the larger files, but I wouldn't change back to JPG.
Every shot that I do (with the exception of event shoots, which can be around 100 an hour) is done in RAW. There is just so much in each picture that you would be unaware of, had it been shot as a jpeg.
Most are just tweaked in PSE 10s ACR and then cropped and branded in PSE 10 proper.
I've been doing it since I got my new Canon - RAW and JPG together, and I love it. Mostly I go with the JPG, but when it isn't quite right, editing the RAW file is a pleasure. I use the software that came with my camera - it's a little bit slow and memory-intensive but the scope beats my elderly version of Photoshop. It's far more subtle and fine-tuning is a real possibility. The range and depth of colours shows up better in RAW - always seem to lose some of that when converting to JPG.
Yes, you need a huge amount of space to store images and your disk drive gets eaten pretty quickly. Much of the time I find the JPGs produced are sufficient and I don't need to keep the RAW file, but if the JPG isn't quite what you wanted, you have the option of the RAW file to edit. Memory sticks are a good way to go: when I complete a month it gets transferred to a USB stick.
I just started shooting in raw a few weeks ago, and as everyone else said there is nothing to it, it's just easier to edit afterward if you need to do so. My "high key surfing" shot I did a few days ago was processed in PSE 10 and I shot it in RAW. I don't think I would have been able to give it that over exposure in the background with out losing the clarity of the subject if I hadn't done so. I was afraid of it too and afraid to make the switch, but now that I have I am glad I did.
I've been shooting exclusively in RAW since 2004. While every Canon I've owned has the ability to save an embedded .JPG in the RAW image, I don't do it. Why waste the space on the card, and why waste the processing time to produce the .JPG in the camera?
By shooting RAW, I have total control over all aspects of the photo in post processing - something that is lost if you shoot .JPG. The RAW dialog in Photoshop Elements allows me to adjust:
* Exposure +- 3 stops
* White Balance
* Tone
Those three items cannot be adjusted after the fact if you let the camera do the .JPG conversion. You're stuck with what you shot.
Now, there is one tradeoff, in shooting RAW. You must sharpen the image yourself. Your camera does a good amount of sharpening in the JPG conversion, but the RAW data has not been sharpened. I do this in the RAW dialog by adjusting Clarity and then switching to the Sharpening tab. There are also a number of ways to sharpen an image in PSE (other than just applying a sharpening filter.)
(Note that GIMP has thus-far refused to include a RAW conversion dialog. If you use GIMP, then you must use the Canon converter first.)
Bottom line is that you have nothing to lose by shooting RAW. Canon cameras come with a very good RAW converter and PSE has an excellent RAW converter. Just remember that you must apply your own sharpening during the post processing.
I have been shooting RAW since starting 365. While I don't do much processing, it does give more ability to do so. I don't find it any scarier than jpg. My husband told me it was the better way to go. At some point I have to figure out how to transfer all my photos to an external drive, but I have had no issues with it.
I have a Mac and it takes the RAW right from my card (Canon T3i camera) into iPhoto.
@eyesofbetsie I shoot in RAW only at all times Betsie, main advantages are the non compression and in lack of camera processing, which includes eg camera sharpening and noise reduction.
As mentioned above you also have the white balance and EV values you can change in post and one very important benefit is you set the colour space sRGB or AdobeRGB for future printing.
Remember you can also set you camera to produce both formats at once if you think you don't need to do post work in some of your shots.
Write a Reply
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
so there is all the detail in your picture, to play with.
and yes, you need more space because of the larger files, but I wouldn't change back to JPG.
Most are just tweaked in PSE 10s ACR and then cropped and branded in PSE 10 proper.
Yes, you need a huge amount of space to store images and your disk drive gets eaten pretty quickly. Much of the time I find the JPGs produced are sufficient and I don't need to keep the RAW file, but if the JPG isn't quite what you wanted, you have the option of the RAW file to edit. Memory sticks are a good way to go: when I complete a month it gets transferred to a USB stick.
By shooting RAW, I have total control over all aspects of the photo in post processing - something that is lost if you shoot .JPG. The RAW dialog in Photoshop Elements allows me to adjust:
* Exposure +- 3 stops
* White Balance
* Tone
Those three items cannot be adjusted after the fact if you let the camera do the .JPG conversion. You're stuck with what you shot.
Now, there is one tradeoff, in shooting RAW. You must sharpen the image yourself. Your camera does a good amount of sharpening in the JPG conversion, but the RAW data has not been sharpened. I do this in the RAW dialog by adjusting Clarity and then switching to the Sharpening tab. There are also a number of ways to sharpen an image in PSE (other than just applying a sharpening filter.)
(Note that GIMP has thus-far refused to include a RAW conversion dialog. If you use GIMP, then you must use the Canon converter first.)
Bottom line is that you have nothing to lose by shooting RAW. Canon cameras come with a very good RAW converter and PSE has an excellent RAW converter. Just remember that you must apply your own sharpening during the post processing.
I have a Mac and it takes the RAW right from my card (Canon T3i camera) into iPhoto.
As mentioned above you also have the white balance and EV values you can change in post and one very important benefit is you set the colour space sRGB or AdobeRGB for future printing.
Remember you can also set you camera to produce both formats at once if you think you don't need to do post work in some of your shots.