DON'T LET YOUR CAMERA MAKE DECISIONS FOR YOU!
Welcome to the first Photography101 lesson posted directly on the @photography-101 page!
This is not a post about how to shoot in raw, but rather a post about why you should shoot in raw if you want to have complete artistic control over your work. Last week I wrote here about using the raw format on an iPhone, but this week, I am going to state in very simple terms (I hope) why shooting in raw format on any camera is the best way to ensure that you have control over your output.
All the time, I see people who know nothing about how digital photography actually works stating emphatically that they never post-process, because they want to show exactly what the camera saw! Well guess what? If you are shooting in jpeg format (or any format other than raw) , you are not showing what the camera saw! You are showing the camera's interpretation of what it saw!
Every camera records the data in raw, but then throws away lots of the information to produce what it believes to be a good interpretation of the image. The initial image photographed in raw and unprocessed by the camera or yourself looks pretty blah (image # 2) – and it is not what you show to the world when you show your jpeg image!
When you manipulate a raw image, you are making the decisions about details that are already in the camera. You are not cheating.
In this lesson I am showing you many different results achieved from the same blah unprocessed raw image. I'm sure you will agree that the possibilities are endless. Perhaps one of these results is close to what the camera would have chosen, I don't know; although if you shoot in raw plus jpeg, you will get two files – the raw one and the camera processed jpeg.
I have chosen my favorite rendition to be first, but you may not agree with my choice. Which image do you like the best? It's really a matter of taste, but I am sure you will agree that the raw unprocessed file is pretty boring and is not intended for showing off!
The image is of some old houses in Old Town Square, Prague. One of the most interesting houses in the square is the Storch House (the one with the elaborate facade 2nd from the left) which was designed in the late 1800's and owned by Alexander Storch in 1896.
Image ©Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.
Image ©Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. UNPROCESSED RAW IMAGE WITH ALL DETAILS PRESENT
Image ©Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.
Image ©Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.
Image ©Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.
Image ©Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Exposure: 1/160 sec; f/14; ISO 125
Thanks for taking the time to read this! I appreciate it.
Follow my personal blog at @dmcamera
Wouw.. raw format ia really important.. I better understand now ;) I will follow your work.
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If you have the capabilities of using it, then it is worth learning raw. You can take a jpeg image and use all kind of filters, but you will have destroyed valuable data in so doing
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I will try it soon :)
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@originalworks
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I've only recently begun to play with my raw photos, and you're right - the possibilities are endless! Great way to show how effective it is, and I agree with your choice for favorite!
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Thanks for stopping by! :-) In some ways, I like the last one too, but I like the softness of the sky in the first one better.
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Agreed - the definition of the sky in that last shot is so crisp that it's just this side of looking like the buildings are an overlay (mostly behind the white building). It's those little details that can sometimes make or break an edit, and just from this, I'd say your instincts are right on the money. 😊
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Oh, and almost forgot - you're very welcome!
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Thanks! I appreciate your insight!
Oops I posted as the real me! LOL!
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LOL! Oopsies!
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That is really interesting. I had no idea!
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