Raw Photography

[tnwaltz]

This is my first attempt at shooting in Raw. I have no idea as to whether or not I did it right so wanted to ask: Other than setting the camera on Raw, should the camera be set on aperature or shutter priority or program? In other words, should I take the photo as I would otherwise take a photo with the exception that it is being shot in Raw? This group shot in Raw turned out to be very much underexposed and I had to work on them in the Raw settings. Is it normal for the photos to be underexposed?

[Codebreaker]

You use the camera in just the same way. The difference is you now have to process the image in the computer. Under or over exposure will result just the same as a JPEG but the rendering of the image on screen may look different to the JPEGs you're used to getting from the same camera. This is because of the way that Elements interprets the image - not necessarily the same way as your camera.

Big plus for RAW is that this is more latitude for over exposed images. In other words you can recover some of the highlight detail that might be lost in the JPEG.

Net result is you may need to make some processing adjustments to get what you like

Colin

[MRaiser]

I just used RAW for the first time a week ago at Zion National Park. I have saved as jpg files and only a few needed any adjustments. I'm not sure if they were any better than if I hadn't used RAW. Next time I may take a 2nd card and use one for RAW for part of the day and the other with the default jpeg file settings and see if it makes a difference with my camera. Or play around home with same lighting and time of day to see if I should bother with RAW process....

[dj_paige]

Originally Posted by tnwaltz

This group shot in Raw turned out to be very much underexposed and I had to work on them in the Raw settings. Is it normal for the photos to be underexposed?

Underexposed is the fault of the photographer and/or camera.

However, most raw photos require extra processing, because the colors appear to be somewhat washed out when you view a raw photo straight out of the camera, especially compared to a .jpg of the same scene. One way to compensate for this is to boost the contrast of the raw photos.

[dj_paige]

Originally Posted by MRaiser

I just used RAW for the first time a week ago at Zion National Park. I have saved as jpg files and only a few needed any adjustments. I'm not sure if they were any better than if I hadn't used RAW. Next time I may take a 2nd card and use one for RAW for part of the day and the other with the default jpeg file settings and see if it makes a difference with my camera. Or play around home with same lighting and time of day to see if I should bother with RAW process....

If your camera has this setting, try shooting RAW+JPG. You get two photos of the same scene, one raw, one jpg.

[tnwaltz]

Thanks to each of you for your comments. No doubt the underexposure is a result of the photographer so I'll keep trying. Since this was my first effort at Raw, I really did not know what to expect of the final result. Now that I know I am to shoot exactly like shooting in .jpg, hopefully I'll do better. My camera does have Raw+JPG capabilities, so I'll give that a try.

Thanks again!

[dj_paige]

Here is a thread I started regarding my efforts to learn about Raw. I began by shooting JPG+RAW, and then trying to learn how to make RAW appear photos nicer than the JPG (edited if necessary). I asked a lot of questions and got some very helpful answers.

http://www.elementsvillage.com/forum...ight=skeptical

[lruther1]

Cameras are set to render everything mid-tone. If you point it at something that is brighter than mid-tone(like fall leaves) the camera program will underexpose. Raw doesn't get around that. Red is commonly 1/2 stop brighter than mid-tone and yellow 1 stop. Check the histogram for proper exposure. Either need to shoot in manual or read the camera instructions for "shifting" the exposure in the program modes such as aperture, program, shutter.

[genevh]

Cameras are set to render everything mid-tone.

To be specific, its the meter in the camera that is doing that to you if you don't make any adjustments to your exposure when you have a scene of just all bright or dark colors. It is going to try and render everything to an 18% gray, which is how the meter is programmed. 18% gray is considered the center of the black and white scale, and even though you may be shooting in color, your meter sees the world in black and white.

[Codebreaker]

I think a point to note about any image is that its acceptance is very much subjective. If you go from RAW straight to JPEG in Elements without any processing adjustments by your self, all you are doing is trading how the Camera Designers wanted the JPEG to appear v. how Elements Designers wanted the JPEG to appear. Just because they are different doesn't mean either is incorrect.

However, in my opinion, to maximise results and achieve a higher percentage of 'better' images then use RAW and post process them yourself.

Colin