Hi guys. I have just bought a nikonD7100 and I am going to start trying to use RAW and I was wondering what is the best program to use to learn processing RAW images. I already have photoshop elements 9 but wasnt sure if that would be advanced enough for processing RAW. I am also looking for some assistance as I want to try HDR software on my pictures and not sure if I have to get a stand alone program which one or an add on to lightroom or photoshop. Please can u guys help me out with tips and any sites I could get advice from. Really appreciate it.
Thanks Simmy
Start with the Nikon software that came free with your camera. then perhaps branch out to Lightroom. Try the 30 day free trial.
You'll have to go to something else to process HDR brackets. However, first try to recover the shadows, pull the shadows high, the dark areas, and cut down the highlights and whites in the basic tone panel of Lightroom/Camera Raw in Photoshop, on just a single image. The default process is 2012, and that's what you need. Camera Calibrations the top control. I think you will go "Oh my gosh!" if you try it. With your d7100, shoot for the highlights, spot meter on the brightest spots, the shadows will be driven very dark, but the D7100 is extremely good at recording the shadow detail. The idea is not to "blow" anything" and for digital cameras, it's the highlights that blow the easiest. If this is still a little dark to pull out all the detail you want without random noise, dial in +1EV on top of the Spot Metering. Always shooting RAW of course, and storing at full 14 bit NEF files with no compression. The Nikon software "equivalent" to Process 2012 tone adjustments is D-Lighting, but don't know if the basic RAW Nikon software comes with it.
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And for HDR shots, I've never edited them in Adobe software, I'm using Ulead PhotoImpact for most of my editing and for HDR
You'll have to go to something else to process HDR brackets. However, first try to recover the shadows, pull the shadows high, the dark areas, and cut down the highlights and whites in the basic tone panel of Lightroom/Camera Raw in Photoshop, on just a single image. The default process is 2012, and that's what you need. Camera Calibrations the top control. I think you will go "Oh my gosh!" if you try it. With your d7100, shoot for the highlights, spot meter on the brightest spots, the shadows will be driven very dark, but the D7100 is extremely good at recording the shadow detail. The idea is not to "blow" anything" and for digital cameras, it's the highlights that blow the easiest. If this is still a little dark to pull out all the detail you want without random noise, dial in +1EV on top of the Spot Metering. Always shooting RAW of course, and storing at full 14 bit NEF files with no compression. The Nikon software "equivalent" to Process 2012 tone adjustments is D-Lighting, but don't know if the basic RAW Nikon software comes with it.
Photoshop HDR Pro, Photomatix (and others) for classic HDR bracket processing.