RAW

 

Finally! I've been itching to start learning how to edit photos in RAW. I think I've mentioned it a few times here but so far just haven't had the time to sit down and learn. We had a couple of evenings of pouring rain a while ago though so I took the opportunity to really get into the DVD course I bought through Moderskeppet (Swedish only I'm afraid) almost a year ago. I sat down at my computer with a note pad, concentrated and jotted down notes like a proper student!

The reason for wanting to edit in RAW if you're not familiar with it is that the image quality is superior to JPEG which is sort of the standard file format for images. As far as the blog's concerned I'm sure the JPEGs are quite adequate but I would like to start printing (or have printed) some of my images and do some more editing and may even, lo and behold, frame a few. I usually have a hard time to come to terms with my own "art" but there are some images that I took in New York back in April and a few others that I'm quite fond of and would like to edit further.

 

 

The images in this post, which you might recognize from the New York posts (here, here, here and here) are examples of stuff I'm keen to work on. These have just been edited slightly for the blog in Photoscape (to adjust brightness etc) but I'm dying to see them in a larger scale and "new" and improved when I'm done with them. The other day, via an e-mail, I came across the Saatchi Online gallery and was super inspired by some of the black and white architectural photography there and with some of what I've seen there in mind I think I'll attempt some black and white editing first.

Do you edit in RAW? I've heard it's much easier to learn than Photoshop and from what I can tell so far I prefer the layout of the editor much more than the one in Photoshop which always feels so busy and cluttered to me and which is why I don't use it much and haven’t really taken it onboard.

Comments

[Ava]

I use jpeg for snapshots. For more "important" pictures I set the camera to shot jpeg fine and raw at the same time. Thats mainly because my photoshop version doesn't automatically open the raw-files from my nikon camera (they are named *.nef). It requires an addition (that I cant remember the name of). So I can quickly check the jpeg for composition issues etc before deciding on importing the raw-file. Newer versions of Photoshops automatically converts the files, so that makes things easier.

And raw-files are at least twice the size of jpegs, so that should be taken into consideration as well.

[Carlos]

Ava - I also shoot RAW and JPEG and save everything on an external hard drive so as not clutter up my hard drive with double images. The RAW ones are enormous compared to the JPEGs so one can really understand how they contain so much more of the image than the JPEGs.

[~Michelle]

I only know PhotoShop (the full version). I hate that my camera only takes JPGs since they are a compressed file. When I scan my prints, I make them TIFFs!

[Shari]

Have you investigated Lightroom as of yet? It is similar to RAW but it is also a catalogue tool. Very easy to use and none of the changes you make are destructive.

[Carlos]

Shari - I haven't but it's mentioned in the course that it is similar so I'll be able to use some Lightroom tips and tricks!

[Nini Tjäder]

I shoot RAW and jpg all the time and edit either in CR (Camera Raw), either in CR directly or in the plugin in Photoshop CC. Using the latest version of it as it has improved a lot lately with lots of new editing possibilities. Love for instance the shake reduction and the straigthening of images in CR. What is good with RAW is the possibility to edit non-destructively and save out in the format you need for production be it web or print or placing in InDesign (then it is .psd). What you can do depends on which version of CR you have installed.

[Carlos]

Nini - I can't wait to try everything once I have all the basics down!

[Linda27]

Hej Benita, I have been taking all my photographs in RAW format for a couple of years now. I have been using Lightroom and it's an amazing programme, not only for editing but especially for keeping track of all photos and being able to find them at a later date!
I have just finished a book that's called "The digital negative", which explains a lot about what a RAW photo actually is and also shows the amazing things you can do to edit them in Lightroom and Photoshop.
Lightroom used to be pretty expensive but it has come down a lot in price and I can really recommend it if you're serious about working more in RAW format.
I use Canon camera's and a Mac just like you.

[Carlos]

Linda - I'll look that up, thanks!