Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Photo Talk: Shooting In The Raw

RAW file format that is...Sheesh...what kind of guy to you think I am?

When I first really started getting into digital photography I shot in JPEG mode. My camera at the time - Canon 300D was scary enough let alone trying to understand whatever the heck RAW meant.

As I read more and more articles I started to feel intimidated. All these pros are shooting in RAW format and I thought maybe I was too much of a novice to shoot like the pros.

Then one day I thought...what a bunch of bunk!! I can shoot RAW just like anyone else. Well let me tell you this...I will never shoot in straight JPEG mode again.

Right now I shoot in both JPEG and RAW mode. Without downloading a special viewer, my Windows XP does not preview RAW so I use the JPEG as a polaroid so to speak.

With RAW you are basically have the ability to take the photo all over again. If you underexposed, you can adjust the exposure compensation. If you have a little wash out, you can recover some of the detail. If you need a little fill in lighting, that can be done too. Oh and the two adjustments I love the most - adjusting blacks and vibrance. It is amazing what can be done with a RAW image.

So whats next? Well after you work your RAW image you can bring it into your photo software. I use Photoshop Elements 6. Once you bring it into your software you can make any further adjustment and save the image as a JPEG or PNG, or any other file type your software allows.

You see, RAW is the image you photographed in its rawest form. JPEG files are compressed. A good way to think about it is - When you click the shutter the camera captures the raw image. If you are in JPEG mode your camera does the "photo processing" which results in the JPEG you see on your screen.

My understanding is that each camera company captures the raw image in a different fashion, with different data. The same goes for JPEG. Each camera "processes" the image in a different way.

Think back to those old film days. Did you ever get photos back from the developer that were a bit blue? Or too bright? Too dark? Did you ever wish you could process the film yourself?

Well yippee howdy do!!! That is what you can do with RAW. You start with the "digital negative", make your adjustments, bring it into your software, customize it as you see fit, save it as a JPEG and you just processed your own photo!

Lets put this all together with some sample photos at the different stages.

This is the RAW image taken at the time I snapped the shutter. It was a rather overcast day with little or no sun to speak of. I knew saturation would be a challenge. Rather than select some kind of custom shooting mode in my camrea, I decided to try an ensure acceptable exposure.


The next image is after I made some adjustment in the RAW Converter software. I use the one in Photoshop Elements 6.



As you can see the photo is starting to take some shape. The next and final image is my final adjustments after I brought the RAW image into Photoshop Elements 6.



It really is not scary at all. If you are not shooting in RAW format you should really give it a try. If you can put your camera in JPEG + RAW, that way if you find you dont like working the RAW image, you still have the JPEG and did not lose the shot.

If your camera cannot shoot in RAW format, that is unfortunate. I have heard there are some point and shoots beginning to support RAW. Then again you may just be happy as a lark with JPEG. In that case dont sweat it...keep on clickin!!

1 comment:

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