Unless you’re a professional news or sports photographer who needs to send JPEGs to a picture desk in real time, there’s no reason for not capturing raw files at the point of shooting. Thanks to their compressed file size, JPEGs are great for sharing and storing, but if you want to take your photography to the next level, you’ll need to be able to exploit the mass of image information contained in a raw file.
Unlike JPEG, which actually stands for ‘Joint Photographic Experts Group’, ‘raw’ isn’t an acronym; it literally means the raw data straight from the camera. This extra data does come at the cost of larger files, and at up to four times the size it’s true that raw files will fill a memory card or hard drive faster. But this is a price worth paying for the additional editing possibilities they allow.
Many of us already use raw files in our workflows, but for those who don’t there’s a great way of getting started: set your camera to capture both JPEG+RAW formats, choosing the highest-quality raw format available, until you become comfortable with shooting solely in raw.
But it’s what you do with your raw files that matters most. So we’ve designed a workflow for Adobe Photoshop (other raw image editing software is available) that’s based around the 10 essential editing steps you’ll need to get the most from your valuable post-production time…
1 HOW TO CROP AND FIX LENS DEFECTS
Some simple tweaks to get you familiarised and started in ACR
This story is from the December 15, 2022 edition of Photography week.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 15, 2022 edition of Photography week.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
SONY WORLD PHOTO AWARDS ANNOUNCES 2024 WINNERS
Prestigious contest celebrates outstanding photography from around the globe
ROLLEI 35AF WILL GET A 35MM F/2.8 LENS AND AUTOFOCUS
Mint Camera confirms key specs for upcoming reboot of classic film model
SIGMA 500MM F/5.6 DG DN OS SPORTS
This relatively lightweight lens packs a load of upmarket features
GENERATE AI BACKDROPS
Meet the filter that creates entire backgrounds based on a few words – James Paterson shows you how
A PLACE IN THE SUNSET
James Paterson shows you how to shoot and combine images to create striking silhouette composites
CREATIVE COMPOSITIONS
Break the rules, and discover strategies for framing images that stand out
CANON RF 24-105MM F/2.8L IS USM Z
A standard lens is reborn
MASTER DODGING AND BURNING
James Paterson shows you how to use these essential tools for old-school darkroom-style image enhancements
TRACKSIDE TIPS AND TRICKS
Chris Nevard explains how you can capture photorealistic images of model railways on a budget
THESE FOOD PHOTOS WILL MAKE YOUR MOUTH WATER
Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year announces shortlist for 2024 contest