First off, what is RAW? RAW is a file format that captures all image data recorded by the sensor when you take a photo. When shooting in a format like JPEG, some of the image information is compressed and lost. Because no information is compressed with RAW you’re able to produce higher quality images, as well as correct problem images that would be unrecoverable if shot in the JPEG format. And happily many cameras these days shoot RAW, including point and shoots, and some smartphones. So even if you’re using a little camera, you might still be able to take advantage of the RAW file format (just check your camera manual). So let’s list some of the benefits of the RAW file format. Get the highest level of image quality This is one of the biggest benefits. When you shoot in RAW you record all of the data from the sensor. This gives you the highest quality files. Look at it this way: all cameras technically shoot RAW. The only difference is when you shoot in the JPEG format the camera does it’s own processing to convert the RAW information into a JPEG file. However, your camera is nowhere near as smart as your brain, nor is it as powerful as your computer. When you shoot RAW, you’re able to do that processing yourself. You can make the decisions on how the image should look, and produce much better results. Record greater levels of brightness Levels of brightness are the number of steps from the darkest blacks to the brightest whites in an image. The more you have, the smoother the transitions of tones. Smoother is better. When you shoot a JPEG image, it is recorded with 256 levels of brightness, RAW on the other hand records between 4,096 to 16,384 levels! This is described with the term “bit depth”. JPEG captures in 8-bit, and RAW is either 12-bit or 14- bit. More bit depth = better. The effect this has on your images is huge. Those additional steps of brightness let you make more adjustments (exposure, blacks, fill light, recovery, contrast, brightness) to your image without a significant reduction of quality, because there’s more levels to work with! Easily Correct Dramatically Over/Under Exposed Images Obviously you want to get the best exposure in camera, but sometimes things move fast (especially with weddings!) and you might wind up with a dramatically over or under exposed image. With a RAW file you have all that additional exposure information in the file, so it’s much easier to correct the image without a drastic reduction in quality. You can also recover more blown highlights and clipped shadows. Trying to recover blown highlights (overexposed areas) in a JPEG file is almost impossible. Easily Adjust White Balance When you shoot JPEG the white balance is applied to the image. You can’t just easily RAW FILE FORMAT Highest Quality |Pro Format | Non-Destructive Editing Ramona High School Photo ll choose another option. With RAW the white balance is still recorded, but because you have way more data, it’s easy to adjust. Great white balance and color are essential to an awesome image, and shooting RAW lets you make the adjustments easier and faster, with better results. Get Better Detail When you shoot RAW you have access to sharpening and noise algorithms in a program like Photoshop that are way more powerful than those found in your camera. Plus, these sharpening and noise algorithms are always improving, so in the future you’ll be able to re-visit your RAW files and take advantage of these improvements. Enjoy Non-Destructive Editing When you make adjustments to a RAW file, you’re not actually doing anything to the original data. What you’re doing is creating a set of instructions for how the JPEG or TIFF (another file format) version should be saved. What is great about this is that you never ever have to worry about ruining an image, accidentally saving over, or being unable to go back and make changes to your original image file. You can always reset your adjustments, and start over again. A JPEG file lose quality every time you open them, make adjustments, and save again. True story. It’s what is known as a “lossy” file format. So if you’re making edits to JPEGs you always have to be duplicating the image and saving out a new version if you don’t want to lose file quality. Get Better Prints Because of the finer gradation of tones and colors you’ll get better prints from RAW files. Even though more and more people are shooting digital, great prints are as important as ever (maybe even more so, due to their relative rarity!) You’ll also get less banding, which looks really bad on a print. Select Color S pace on Output Color space is a bit of a complex topic, but here’s a quick tip. With RAW you can choose from any color space when you are exporting it out, so you can make adjustments depending on the situation. Is the image going on to the web? Then output in the sRGB color space to ensure maximum compatibility among web browsers. Are the files heading to a client? Save it in the common Adobe RGB (1998) color space. Do you want the widest color space possible? Use ProPhoto RGB. Basically, there are different color spaces that work best for different situations, and when you shoot RAW you can export a single image in multiple spaces which is way cool. Have an Efficient Workflow. It’s easier to work through large batches of images when you’re using a workflow centric program like Lightroom. Its designed to easily process groups of RAW images. Photoshop is not meant for that kind of thing, it’s built to handle one image at a time. In order to take full advantage of all the benefits of Lightroom you should be shooting RAW. And yes, I know we don’t have Adobe Lightroom in the class right now, but we might in the future. It’s the Pro Option Professionals should be providing their clients with the highest quality possible. Issues like banding and blown out highlights are big deals when you’re offering your clients printed products. Achieving proper color balance, and choosing the right color space for the situation are critical as well. By shooting in the RAW file format you take control, and are able to manage these problems to create the best results possible. Now that some point and shoots are capable of shooting RAW, hobbyists and amateurs can also take advantage of this pro level option, and get better files and prints.