My journey of taking all my photographs in JPG format is over. After experimenting with photo editing between the two formats I will always shoot my RAW photography format (RAW +jpeg setting) photos. I have much more creativity range once I get to the editing or photo processing phase.
One thing I love about Spring in Nebraska is the blooming of spring flowers. I sometimes get so excited about the sun and colors I forget to meter my camera to the new lighting caused by the bright sun. I’m either over exposing or under exposing.
So how do we fix what could be a wonderful picture. If you have a RAW option in your camera you can easily adjust the exposure without causing image degradation or artifacts. If not using Photoshop and adjusting the levels might be your only option. But be warned it doesn’t work on all photos as you can see below.
Did you know that every time you open a jpg file you lose a little bit of digital information in the image? After a few times you don’t notice a difference, but work and rework that file and pixel by pixel it loses detail. (I’m learning just a little bit more and more)
Think of a RAW file as an undeveloped photo, much like film. In a RAW photo editing program you can adjust the exposure, without destroying pixels or the detail.
Below is an example of how messy adjusting jpg files can become. In most pictures there is enough texture to “hide” the destruction, but in this night sky the gradient colors quickly become degraded. “Banding” occurs in the color gradients detracting from the night image. With RAW photography files the gradients are smooth.
Ideally I would get the right exposure the first time and not have to adjust, but I’m not quite there yet. Many will argue that every digital image needs some post production to perfect it. What do you think? Do you shoot RAW?
Since I took this shot I have started using Adobe Lightroom to process my RAW images. The program is extremely powerful, yet economical in cost and user friendly.
If you want to learn more about why people take pictures in RAW this photography forum thread is worth reading http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=684360
Learn About RAW Photography
Black and White Digital Photography Photo Workshop
Understanding RAW Photography (Expanded Guides – Techniques)Camera Raw with Photoshop For DummiesCamera RAW 101: Better Photos with Photoshop, Elements,The Digital Negative: Raw Image Processing in Lightroom,Lexar Professional 1100x 64GB XQD Card (LXQD64GCTBNA1100) Size:
