This week is dedicated to RAW processing and for sure it is not an end all tutorial to RAW. It should if you are a JPEG shooter, give you some understanding as to the benefits to shooting in RAW. I don’t want to get into the RAW vs JPEG debate at this point, but suffice it to say, JPEG files by their nature give you as the photographer less to work with than a RAW file. If max data is not important (e.g. ebay photos) then JPEG’s are probably fine.
A brief overview on how a digital camera creates both a RAW and JPEG file, take a look at the image below.
Much happens before any “processing” occurs. First off the light we see is in a smooth wave form that are turned into electrical signals that must be stored while the image is being converted to digital or a numeric value consisting of ones and zeros. What happens next will determine if the stored image will be a JPEG or a RAW file.
If you are totally unfamiliar with what RAW is, here is the deal. It is data from the camera sensor with as little without any processing in the camera that would normally be applied to a JPEG file. While JPEG is a standard that is literally readable in any computer operating system, RAW is a proprietary format by camera manufacturer and camera model. The camera manufacturer (at least Canon and Nikon) write their own RAW conversion software. This is software that might just as well be trays of fluid filled with developer, stop bath,and water. It is left up to the individual to work with the digital tools to produce an image that can then be edited in photo-editing software such as Photoshop or Elements.
The rest of the week will cover the following:
Tuesday - RAW’ Let’s Get Dirty
- Digital Sensors
- Lossless vs Lossy
- Bit depth
Wednesday - RAW’ Topical Cream
- Histogram
- BASIC
Thursday - RAW’ Nuts & Bolts
- CURVE
- HSL
Friday - RAW’ Work-it Boys
- It’s not all that - Fundamental RAW workflow
Stay tuned and we will continue tomorrow... Doug
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