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Post by sekhmet on Feb 29, 2008 11:57:43 GMT -5
Dan asked me if I shoot RAW files to which I responded yes, because you always have the basic file that you can come back to and improve at any time in the future. The other reason is that the RAW data, when developed in a decent program, like Lightroom, is so forgiving. Underexposed two stops? NO Problem - boost it. Blues a little washed out. No Problem, slide them on up a bit. Too green? No Problemo ... you get the picture. Here is, by way of illustration, the Great Blue Heron from the park, taken in 2004 from the canoe. The original file was completely forgettable, and I did forget it. The developed file that I did today was another thing altogether. I just pulled a print that I like quite a lot. The RAW  The print candidate  |
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Post by gbacklin on Feb 29, 2008 12:03:42 GMT -5
I always shoot RAW also for the same reason, everything I record I keep backups of the raw session. As my techniques and tools improve, I always go back to the original and see where the journey may now take me.   |
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Post by sekhmet on Feb 29, 2008 12:11:02 GMT -5
Gene, what software are you using?
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Post by gbacklin on Feb 29, 2008 12:30:34 GMT -5
Gene, what software are you using? I normally use Photoshop, I have Version 7 (before all the CS stuff), but this picture I have downloaded the Lightroom trial. Not a bad package. Here is my Photoshop version  |
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Post by Dan McLaughlin on Feb 29, 2008 19:51:34 GMT -5
Kate, the difference is amazing. Thanks.
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Post by sekhmet on Mar 1, 2008 9:12:02 GMT -5
Your son Gene? Nice photo. It gives a glimpse of the adult, don't you think?
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Post by gbacklin on Mar 1, 2008 10:02:00 GMT -5
Your son Gene? Nice photo. It gives a glimpse of the adult, don't you think? Yes, that is my Ethan. He helped me at IJam. He is my baby, and yes he is growing up.....too fast I might add. This was taken at my oldest son's 21st birthday party in January. |
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Post by sekhmet on Mar 1, 2008 10:46:14 GMT -5
I met your son at IJ! I thought he was older - is this an aging photo?
I wanted to add something about RAW files.
The photo that you see in your viewer after you have shot the picture is not a RAW file. It is a jpg, and the camera is set up to show you a nicely adjusted version of the data that you just recorded. When you download the file to Lightroom you will see quite a different exposure. It is not meant to be a finished photo - it is more like a latent image - the image that used to be on the film before you developed it and produced a negative, then a positive in the darkroom. In the old days we had to do a lot of pre-visualizing and waiting to see how well we did at that. Now, we can get an idea of the composition and the exposure from the camera directly after taking the shot but we need to run the RAW through the software to get something useful.
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Post by Cornflake on Mar 1, 2008 14:12:34 GMT -5
I haven't tried RAW, although my camera and software both handle it. Is there much to learn?
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Post by sekhmet on Mar 1, 2008 15:02:27 GMT -5
Not much to learn that you don't know already .. just a whole lot more control.
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Post by gbacklin on Mar 1, 2008 22:23:47 GMT -5
I met your son at IJ! I thought he was older - is this an aging photo ? Nope, he will be 11 in April, he is just a bit tall for his age especially in our family. We expect that he will be over 6 foot, then being the tallest of us all. |
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