The Beginners Guide: Shooting In RAW

Seven years ago, when I started getting into photography, I started with 35mm film.

Five years ago, I made the switch to DSLR photography when I bought my very first Nikon. For about a year, I had the HARDEST time learning exposure. Every picture I took was either too dark or too bright. My photography improved once I learned the magic of shutter speed and aperture, but sometimes I still struggled with finding the "perfect" light. Sometimes, the light was just off and the colors of the picture came out completely wonky. I started scouring the internet searching for ways to correct my photography problems, and downloaded a few photography books. Over the things that I'd read, one thing stood out: shooting and editing in RAW.

Now, for some, shooting in RAW may be a completely new concept. Almost all of the images you shoot are in JPEG format, right? Wrong. Usually, within your camera's settings, you can choose between various qualities of JPEG, or, you can choose RAW. If, like me, you find yourself struggling with exposure and lighting, I suggest trying RAW.

Essentially, RAW is to digital photography what negatives are to film photography. The pixel information is "raw", straight from the camera's sensor. While a JPEG is kind of a finished, compressed image, a "finished" image, if you will, a RAW image can later become a JPEG through edits from the photographer. You can "develop" the image to fit your specifications.

So, what can you do with a RAW image?

1.) White Balance

You've taken the perfect picture. Everyone is smiling, the background is perfect. You load it on to the computer to edit it...and, it's too dark/too light. With a JPEG, there's only so much you can do to salvage the image (believe me, I know from experience). However, with a RAW image, it's not complete, and you can manually adjust color contrasts and balances. You can manually adjust the picture to get the "perfect" balance of light and dark.

2.) Exposure Compensation

So, say you're wanting to take a picture and the lighting is just too bad. Flash would make it look weird, but the scene is perfect. RAW can help with this, too. You can adjust your exposure compensation manually. Plus, the added bonus is that, editing on a computer, a lot of stuff that needs fixing will appear a lot clearer on your computer.

3.) Tones

Personally, depending on the situation, am very fond of cooler tones when shooting (as evidenced by my massive collection of B&W photography like the one above), so shooting in RAW allows me to adjust the tones to my specifications. Want the image warmer? You can do that. Want it cooler? You can do that, too. Basically, shooting in RAW is perfect for this.

4.) Compression

RAW files use what's called a "lossless" compression, meaning that it doesn't go through the same compression artifacts that JPEG does, because JPEG has a "lossy" compression. RAW files contain more information than say a compressed JPEG file, which means that you can work with the image better.

Having the ability to adjust color tones, saturation, brightness, exposure, and white balance is great, especially when you're an amateur photographer who is struggling with things like aperture. Having a "negative" image that you can "develop" via your computer is extremely helpful if you want to make your images sharper/clearer/brighter. My house isn't filled with natural light (thanks to close neighbors and living in the city), so I use RAW often when I want to draw all the light into the image that I can. I also use raw when I shoot night photography, because it allows me to adjust the image and make it easy to view.

The downsides of RAW are that, for one, they take up a lot of space on your memory card, so you need to be prepared for the fact that fewer images will take up more space. I bought a bigger memory card for my camera and I haven't really had many issues with it. Also, you should be aware that the time it takes to "develop" an image can be a pain to deal with; so if you're not a patient person, shooting in RAW may not be for you. To adjust an image, sometimes it takes a lot of attention to detail, and RAW may not be your best bet if you're looking for instant gratification. Also, most cameras RAW image values can differ slightly, so a RAW image for a Nikon may not have the same value as a RAW image for a Canon or Pentax. I shoot with Nikon so I've occasionally had to deal with compression issues, but those are few and far between.

Overall, if you're new to photography and looking to improve the quality of your work, I highly suggest trying your hand at RAW images. It's helped me hone my images, AND it's helped me learn about exposure and sharpness. I've definitely come a long way from the too-bright, out-of-focus pictures from 5-6 years ago.

Tomorrow, my Depression Through Film series continues with Part IV, Home, and on Saturday, I'll be discussing camera accessories and which ones you really need. Thanks for sticking around! If you want to see more pictures on the daily, follow me on Instagram @notspanishmoss . Subscribe to my mailing list so you don't miss any photography tips!

Happy Thursday!

-AM

#photography #rawphotography #nikon #camera #nikonphotography #photoediting #pictures #canon #pentax #sony #photographytips