You will then be editing on the best quality image possible. (Lightroom converts RAW images, as does Photoshop and many other image editing products.) Once you have made the corrections and subtle adjustments in the RAW converter, then you can open the converted image in Lightroom or Photoshop. The first step is converting it in a RAW converter. QualityĮditing your RAW image is a two-step process. The result of the above image after being edited in Adobe RAW converter. Once you adjust the image in Photoshop, you will have a well-exposed image across the dynamic range. Your images will be cleaner and have very little noise in them. This is really a good technique to use in landscape photography and architectural photography. The reason is because RAW can handle highlights in a scene really well and if your shadows are a little brighter there won’t be as much noise in the shadows. ETTR means that when you look at your photograph’s histogram, try and push it over to the right a little – in other words, overexpose it a little. ![]() The new generation of cameras have a really good dynamic range and are able to render details in the shadows and the highlights in one shot. In recent years, most photographers shooting in RAW have been exposing to the right (ETTR). In the past, most photographers would underexpose a little to make sure they didn’t blow out the highlights. The exposure in your scene should always be as good as you can get it in camera. Much more color can be rendered from a RAW file. In Photoshop, the vibrance function will saturate the colors in your scene which are undersaturated and this can give your RAW file that subtle boost to make the image pop. If you are shooting a landscape scene, you want to get as much color information as you can. For example, the gradation in the sky will look better than it would on JPEG, even if you think that JPEG will be fine from a color perspective. The important part of that is the subtle color. By shooting in RAW, you will have all the color information possible. The color in your scene can make the difference between a good image and a great image. This is really important in landscape photography, portrait photography, food photography and even street photography. Shooting in RAW means that you are saving as much color information as possible from the scene. If you don’t, you should, even if you are going to convert to black and white – but that’s for another post. Recovered details in a street scene, overall much more detail can be seen. What it does mean is that in tricky lighting conditions, you will be able to get a shot that’s usable. This doesn’t mean you should be sloppy and not pay attention to your exposure. You can get so much detail out of a RAW image, such as pulling back blown-out highlights and bringing back detail in the shadows that would be impossible to recover in JPEG format. That information is critical in post-production. The reason is that there is much more information in a RAW file. The same image shot on the same camera in 14-bit lossless RAW format will be 25 – 30mb, five times bigger. On average, a normal JPEG file will be between four and six megs per image. The reality is that your camera can capture a significant amount of data if you shoot in RAW, which in turn gives you much more flexibility in Photoshop later. That is great for saving space on your memory card, but not so good if you intend to edit your images in Photoshop. ![]() When you shoot on JPEG, the algorithm for JPEG determines which information is discarded and which is kept without changing the way the image looks. RAW files are big because they don’t discard any image information that is captured in the scene. Here are five reasons why you should shoot your landscape images in RAW. Yes, my image files are MUCH bigger yes, I need more space to store my images yes, it does impact my image editing workflow. Yes, RAW files are bigger, especially on a high-resolution camera, but is it true that we don’t need all that “information”? Over the past few years, I have done a fair amount of research into the RAW vs JPEG debate and I now shoot completely in RAW. I was told it was better to shoot on JPEG as it saves space. When I first started photography, I was told that shooting in RAW was a waste of time and that I won’t need all that “information”. The conversation will become pretty interesting. Try it out – next time you are with a group of photographers, ask them who shoots in RAW. Better still, ask them why they don’t shoot in RAW. There is often a debate among photographers about shooting in RAW. Detail recovered from a RAW file, before and after.
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