As most of you know, I started experimenting with photography in 2008 when I received my first digital camera. It was a Sony DSC-W80 and I took it on my first trip to NYC. That small point and shoot only created JPEG images, so when I joined the Edison Photo Society in 2009, I had no idea the difference shooting in RAW makes.
I do now! I've been on three shoots now with my new Canon EOS 50D and for the last two I've been shooting RAW + JPEG. I'm still learning the camera and trying to learn how to adjust settings, set white balance, etc. I was shooting in downtown Columbus on a cloudy day. When I was reviewing the photos on the computer, I felt like the colors were a bit washed out. If I had the knowledge to properly set the white balance and adjust the aperature and shutter speed, my colors on the image would have been truer to what I saw.
When I loaded them into my Canon photo utility and started experimenting with the camera RAW tool, I was blown away. The colors instantly came to life just by changing the lighting setting. With a few small tweaks to shadows, saturation and contrast, the colors looked like they did when I was taking the shot. I am fully converted and I will never go back to shooting only JPEG. Now, I just need to work on my in-camera settings so I can spend even less time editing.
RAW is great, but very helpful when you forget to change a setting.I think it cuts down on editing once you grasp the concepts. Keep on shooting and experimenting.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see your urban decay shots and where you plan to go with this work.
Jane