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RAW file

Usually when you take a picture the camera will process the data captured by the sensor into an image file. More advanced cameras can save the image in its unprocessed state – a RAW file – so that you can do the processing yourself later on your computer. A RAW converter is software that processes RAW files from a camera and converts them into regular image files. Not all RAW converters are the same. The closest analogy is the different developers used to process film. Examples of RAW converters include Adobe Camera Raw, Capture One Pro and DxO PhotoLab. Some cameras now let you process saved RAW images and save them as new JPEG files on the memory card. That might sound a bit pointless when you could shoot JPEGs in the first place, but it does mean you can try out different white balance settings, picture styles and more.

I’m shooting RAW with my iPhone but I’m not sure I should

September 17, 2022 by Rod Lawton

Don’t get me wrong. I really value the processing headroom of RAW files, whether they’ve been shot on a phone or a full frame camera, but I’m starting to think the iPhone might be a special case.

Filed Under: Featured, General, MobileTagged With: 10-bit HEIF, HEIC, HEIF format, JPEG vs RAW, Linear DNG, Mobile photography, RAW file

Why calling RAW files ‘digital negatives’ is only half right

April 6, 2022 by Life after Photoshop

RAW files are not quite ‘digital negatives’. They are actually more like the latent images on undeveloped film and need a ‘digital developer’. Choosing the best digital developer (RAW processing software) can make a big difference to your images.

Filed Under: Featured, General, WorkflowTagged With: Bayer sensor, Demosaicing, RAW file, RAW processing

10 myths about RAW files – and why they’re wrong

March 31, 2022 by Life after Photoshop

Almost any photographic expert will tell you that you should shoot RAW files not JPEGs, and that RAW files are innately superior. The trouble with this kind of wisdom is that it’s repeated and passed on without question.

Filed Under: General, Listicles, WorkflowTagged With: 14-bit RAW, 16-bit image, 8-bit images, Artefact/artifact, Bayer sensor, Bits and bit depth, Compression, Dynamic range, JPEG, JPEG vs RAW, Lens corrections, Lossy/lossless compression, Noise reduction, RAW file, RAW processing, RAW+JPEG, TIFF, White balance

RAW files explained

February 24, 2022 by Life after Photoshop

Many photographers prefer to work with RAW files – but what are they, how do you work with them, and why are they so much better than regular in-camera JPEGs?

Filed Under: Editing A-Z, Featured, GeneralTagged With: 14-bit RAW, 16-bit image, 8-bit images, Adobe RGB, Bayer sensor, Bits and bit depth, Compression, Demosaicing, DNG, Lossy/lossless compression, Picture control/style, RAW file, RAW processing, TIFF, White balance

12 ways to control and use white balance more effectively

July 26, 2020 by Rod Lawton

White balance sounds a pretty simple image adjustment, but there’s a little more to it than meets the eye. Here are 12 white balance tips that might help you get the results you want and explain what’s gone wrong if you don’t.

Filed Under: Featured, General, ListiclesTagged With: RAW file, RAW processing, Temperature (white balance), Tint (white balance), White balance, White balance presets

Dynamic range and exposure

June 1, 2020 by Life after Photoshop

Dynamic range is the camera sensor’s ability to capture detail in very bright and very dark parts of a scene. Cameras (or sensors) with a low dynamic range record dark shadows as a solid black or bright highlights as a featureless white.

Filed Under: Editing A-Z, Featured, GeneralTagged With: Dynamic range, HDR, Histogram, JPEG vs RAW, RAW file

RAW vs JPEG: things you can do with RAW files that you can’t do with JPEGs

May 15, 2020 by Life after Photoshop

Most serious photographers prefer RAW files to JPEGs. They take more time and storage, but the payback is greater quality and flexibility. It’s not a one-sided argument – JPEGs have some advantages which are obvious, and some which are not – but here are six important reasons why RAW files are the way to go […]

Filed Under: FeaturedTagged With: 14-bit RAW, 16-bit image, 8-bit images, Bits and bit depth, Highlight recovery, JPEG vs RAW, LUTs, Noise reduction, Profiles, RAW file, RAW processing, RAW+JPEG, Shadow recovery, Sharpening, TIFF

How to manage Lightroom RAW+JPEG pairs

November 19, 2013 by Rod Lawton

Lightroom RAW+JPEG pairs

Yesterday I looked at how Aperture handled RAW+JPEG pairs and today it’s the turn of Lightroom (now Lightroom Classic). At first glance it looks as if Lightroom RAW+JPEG pairs work in much the same way, but there is in fact a significant difference: Aperture imports both and lets you choose which one to display; Lightroom […]

Filed Under: Lightroom, TutorialsTagged With: Organising, RAW file, RAW+JPEG

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