Understanding Your Camera's Raw Settings

Shooting in RAW is a simple change in your camera's menu that opens up a much wider range of post-processing possibilities. RAW files are essentially digital negatives that contain more data than traditional JPEGs. They offer greater flexibility in editing, allowing you to correct exposure errors, adjust white balance, and enhance sharpness and noise reduction. However, RAW files also have their drawbacks, including larger file sizes and slower camera performance. To determine if your camera is shooting in RAW, access the file settings in your camera's menu and look for the option to select RAW or RAW+JPEG.

RAW files are uncompressed, so they offer more image data and editing flexibility

RAW files are uncompressed and unprocessed image data captured by a digital camera or scanner's sensors. They are essentially digital negatives, capturing a high level of image detail with large file sizes and lossless quality.

The benefit of RAW files being uncompressed is that they offer more image data and editing flexibility. With no compression or conversion, which can lower image quality and affect other file types, the image data is preserved with minimal quality loss. This means you have the freedom to manipulate aspects of the photo like brightness, colour, sharpness, and noise reduction.

For example, a photographer can adjust the highlights, lights, shadows, and dark areas of an image separately, adding more contrast to a RAW photograph. Correcting the white balance on a RAW file doesn't harm the integrity of the shot, and exposure errors can be corrected with more accuracy than with a JPEG file.

The uncompressed nature of RAW files also means they have a wider range of possibilities inside photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom. With more colour data, you have more flexibility over colour edits in post-processing. RAW files can contain millions more colours than a JPEG image, plus increased RGB tonal values.

However, the trade-off for this increased image data and flexibility is that RAW files are much larger than JPEG images. They take up more space on your memory card and hard drive, and recording all that data takes more time than shooting a JPEG.

They provide brighter images, shooting in 12 or 14 bits, with up to 18,000 levels of brightness

RAW images are essentially digital negatives. They contain more data than traditional JPEGs, which means they have a wider range of possibilities for editing. RAW files are unprocessed and therefore haven't been sharpened by the camera. They also contain all the colour data, even if you shoot in black and white mode.

The number of colours and shades of colour that can be stored in an image is determined by its bit depth. This is noted in binary digits (bits) and relates to how many different brightness levels are available in each of the three red, green, and blue colour channels.

A 12-bit RAW file can store 68 billion different colours, while a 14-bit file can contain over 4 trillion shades. The human eye can only distinguish between 2.5 and 16.8 billion colours, so the difference between 12- and 14-bit files is less noticeable than that between 8- and 16-bit files.

Most DSLRs shoot between 12 and 18 bits, and this can usually be adjusted in the camera's settings. However, some cameras will automatically import RAW files as 8-bit, so it's important to check this when you import your images.

Shooting in RAW provides brighter images because of the increased bit depth. This means there are more levels of brightness available in each of the three primary colour channels. With more colour data, you have more flexibility over colour edits in post-production.

You can correct white balance and exposure issues in post-processing

Shooting in RAW gives you much more flexibility when it comes to post-processing your images. This is because RAW images are unprocessed and contain more data than traditional JPEGs.

When it comes to white balance, if you shoot in RAW, you can adjust the white balance in post-processing without losing image quality. This is because the white balance you set in-camera is only advisory information for the post-processing software. The software will apply a different multiplier to the red, green, and blue channels during RAW conversion, depending on the setting. However, if you are shooting in JPEG, the application of the white balance multipliers is destructive and challenging to compensate for if you change your mind.

It is worth noting that you can lose colours if you set your white balance incorrectly, so it is important to get the white balance as close as possible to the correct setting. Additionally, the white balance can affect the exposure of your image, especially in high dynamic range scenes. This is because the white balance can influence the camera's metering decisions, which in turn affects the exposure settings (aperture, shutter speed, and ISO). Therefore, it is generally recommended to use Auto White Balance (AWB) when shooting in RAW to ensure correct exposure.

When it comes to exposure, shooting in RAW gives you more accuracy in correcting exposure errors compared to using a JPEG file. This is because RAW files contain more data, allowing for more precise adjustments. It is important to note that while you can correct exposure issues in post-processing, it is still best to get your exposure as close as possible in-camera to ensure optimal image quality.

You can sharpen images and reduce noise

Shooting in RAW gives you more flexibility and forgiveness for errors than shooting in JPEG. However, RAW images are much larger than JPEG images, which means they take up more space on your memory card and hard drive.

If you want to sharpen your images and reduce noise, you can do so in post-processing. Here are some tips for doing so:

• Use photo-editing software such as Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop, which offer noise reduction and sharpening tools.
• When reducing noise, be careful not to remove too much, as this can cause blurriness and a loss of detail. The goal is to make the image look cleaner and clearer, not completely noise-free.
• When sharpening, be careful not to over-sharpen, as this can make the image look unnatural and exaggerated.
• Both noise reduction and sharpening can be applied to duplicate layers in Photoshop, so you don't accidentally alter the original image.
• When shooting in RAW, you can also adjust the file's bit depth in your camera's menu, which affects the number of colours in the image.
• If you're shooting in JPEG, you can still sharpen and reduce noise, but the options are more limited as the camera has already applied its own adjustments.

You can make additional edits later without losing image quality

Shooting in RAW gives you much more flexibility when editing your photos. RAW files contain a lot more data than JPEGs, which means you can make extensive edits without losing image quality.

For example, you can adjust the white balance, exposure, and contrast of a RAW image without harming the integrity of the shot. You can also add more contrast by adjusting the highlights, lights, shadows, and dark areas of the image separately.

When you edit a JPEG, you're working with a compressed file that has already lost information. This means that further editing can result in a loss of quality. However, when you edit a RAW file, the changes are typically saved in a separate file or database, and the original RAW file remains untouched.

That being said, there are some drawbacks to shooting in RAW. RAW files are much larger than JPEGs, so they take up more space on your memory card and hard drive. Additionally, because RAW files contain more data, they take longer to record, and you can't shoot as many in a row as you can with JPEGs.

When it comes to editing RAW files, not every photo editor can handle them. Programs like Lightroom and Photoshop are popular options that support RAW editing. When editing, it's important to pay attention to the bit depth of your RAW files to ensure you're not losing color data.

In summary, shooting in RAW gives you the advantage of being able to make extensive edits without losing image quality. You can adjust various aspects of your photos, from white balance to contrast, all while maintaining the original RAW data. Just keep in mind the larger file sizes and potential compatibility issues when choosing this format.

Frequently asked questions