shooting RAW now what?

Wiggly

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Ok so I'm shooting in a RAW format, and have GIMP downloaded already. I got pretty much the basics of using a DSLR and I understand Aperature, ISO, Shutter Speed, etc etc. Although... beyond those exposure settings, glass, and lighting... what else can I learn? I know its prob a dumb question, but after understanding the BASIC exposure settings where should I step from there? (other than post processing, I mean what other in camera stuff can I learn?)


Also, can someone point me in the direction of some introductory post processing info? :D
 
Check THIS article out, and also some of the other articles in the 'Understanding Series' on that site.

You might want to spend some time studying composition & lighting.

The camera and the computer are just tools that we use to create images. You can learn all about the tools and how to use them, but it's the knowledge (especially of light) and creativity of the photographer that really matters.
A carpenter can know all there is to learn about a hammer, but that isn't enough to build a masterpiece.
 
You should learn about tone curves. I'm not 100% certain but I suspect that the Adobe web site will help you out in that respect.
 
After you understand camera settings, master them. THEN worry about raw
 
^so should I shoot in JPEG so I can do post processing for now? I thought it was a bad thing to process jpegs??
 
nah, it's not a bad thing to process jpegs, you just can't do as much with them.

I'm also not sure I agree with the suggestion that you shouldn't shoot raw till you master the camera settings. However, it is beneficial to learn to master the in camera settings whether or not you're shooting raw.
 
^so should I shoot in JPEG so I can do post processing for now? I thought it was a bad thing to process jpegs??

No. Get UFRaw. It integrates with GIMP and allows you to adjust your RAW files while they're still 16 bit.

Don't get me wrong, there's a time and place for jpgs, like if you're doing minimal or no PP (for example, I took a bunch of shots of a demo day one of our suppliers put on, and didn't want to have to do all that PP).

But RAW does give you more options in the end.
 

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