Shooting RAW, thoughts?

[KmH]

Raw vs JPEG is about bit-depth. (Raw isn't an acronym like JPEG is - Joint Photographic Experts Group.)
The reason to shoot Raw is to retain as much bit-depth as possible. Bit-depth is how many distinct colors there are in each color channel - red, green, and blue.

DSLR cameras make Raw files as 12-bit or 14-bit files. 12-bits can define 4096 colors, or gradations in tone per color channel. 14-bits can define 16,384 colors, or gradations in tone per color channel.

JPEG is an 8-bit files type. 8-bits can define 256 colors, or gradations in tone per color channel.

So to make a JPEG, in the camera or post process, about 80% of the color information the camera recorded has to be irretrievably discarded, tossed, thrown away. that's a large part of why JPEG is called a lossy file type. JPEG retains all of the lumunosity information the camera recorded, but JPEG also makes other irreversable changes to the file. JPEG converts the image pixels to 8x8, 8x16, or 16x16 pixel squares/rectangles called Minimum Coded Units (MCU's)

The limited bit-depth a JPEG has seriously restrains the editing headroom the files has, if the JPEG has any headroom at all.

The next consideration is that JPEGs made in the camera are edited based on programming in the camera. Contrast, saturation, sharpening are all applied globally to each photo.

So you buy gear and work hard to blurr the background, and then in the process of making a JPEG the camera sharpens everything, including the the blurred background diminishing it to some extent.

Photographers take avantage of the larger bit-depth files to make local image finishing edits without introducing the kinds of editing artifacts often seen in edited JPEGs.

JPEG is a one-size-fits-all file type.

Tutorials – The RAW File Format

Image Types: JPEG & TIFF File Formats

 

[cgipson1]

RAW > JPG.

Always.


JPG simply means your camera will shoot a RAW and process it for you.
Automatic processing is done by general settings which the manufacturer thought most people would like in most cases.
RAW means you have full control over the processing, enabling you to go about it your own way and not in the way some programmer did it.

Thank you, I get conflicting advice on here at times. I am told you should "get it right the first time," that "PP is a way to enhance an image, not to fix issues." Just as some people enjoy curling up reading a book on a rainy day, I enjoy PP and find it therapeuatic....that's just me.

what Judobreaker (and the rest) said is entirely correct! RAW is better! You SHOULD always get the shot as perfect as possible when you shoot it.. less PP and less problems to correct that way. Anyone that tells you PP is not necessary doesn't have a clue! Typically only amateurs shoot Jpeg SOOC because they don't know any better!

 

[cgipson1]

Every good image is post processed in some way. ^^
I believe people telling you to get it completely correct in camera have too little experience with post processing.
Sharpening, slight contrast changes, noise reduction... All part of post processing. Shooting in JPG just lets the camera do those for you, the image will still be post processed.

I know a lot of GREAT photographers but really stink at PP.....just sayn....

Then you need to learn.. especially if your goal is to be a "photographer"!

 

[Ysarex]

Joe

 

[luvmyfamily]

RAW
You can choose to grill, pan-fry, oven roast, cube for skewers, whatever you like. All options are available.

JPEG
You're already cooked. Maybe add some seasoning or sauce, but precious little else can be done.

​

I love this......

 

[luvmyfamily]

Every good image is post processed in some way. ^^
I believe people telling you to get it completely correct in camera have too little experience with post processing.
Sharpening, slight contrast changes, noise reduction... All part of post processing. Shooting in JPG just lets the camera do those for you, the image will still be post processed.

I know a lot of GREAT photographers but really stink at PP.....just sayn....

Then you need to learn.. especially if your goal is to be a "photographer"!

Maybe one day I may impress you with one of my photos, in my dreams. I'm going RAW, I did a few a while back. p.s. I don't charge, nor do I have business cards, however I am going to buy one of those tee shirts (in hot pink) that says "I shoot RAW." Jared Polin....love him....

 

[yipDog]

I shoot raw and jpg simultaneously. Generally I give the clients the smaller jpgs so they can choose the shots they want. Then I PP the raw. Yes, you have to get it right in camera. But to maintain highest quality, raw is a must! I had a client take one of my pics to a printer for a 10'x7' poster for a trade show. I would have been screwed without the raw file.

Sent from my iPhone using PhotoForum

 

[luvmyfamily]

Raw vs JPEG is about bit-depth. (Raw isn't an acronym like JPEG is - Joint Photographic Experts Group.)
The reason to shoot Raw is to retain as much bit-depth as possible. Bit-depth is how many distinct colors there are in each color channel - red, green, and blue.

DSLR cameras make Raw files as 12-bit or 14-bit files. 12-bits can define 4096 colors, or gradations in tone per color channel. 14-bits can define 16,384 colors, or gradations in tone per color channel.

JPEG is an 8-bit files type. 8-bits can define 256 colors, or gradations in tone per color channel.

So to make a JPEG, in the camera or post process, about 80% of the color information the camera recorded has to be irretrievably discarded, tossed, thrown away. that's a large part of why JPEG is called a lossy file type. JPEG retains all of the lumunosity information the camera recorded, but JPEG also makes other irreversable changes to the file. JPEG converts the image pixels to 8x8, 8x16, or 16x16 pixel squares/rectangles called Minimum Coded Units (MCU's)

The limited bit-depth a JPEG has seriously restrains the editing headroom the files has, if the JPEG has any headroom at all.

The next consideration is that JPEGs made in the camera are edited based on programming in the camera. Contrast, saturation, sharpening are all applied globally to each photo.

So you buy gear and work hard to blurr the background, and then in the process of making a JPEG the camera sharpens everything, including the the blurred background diminishing it to some extent.

Photographers take avantage of the larger bit-depth files to make local image finishing edits without introducing the kinds of editing artifacts often seen in edited JPEGs.

JPEG is a one-size-fits-all file type.

Tutorials – The RAW File Format

Image Types: JPEG & TIFF File Formats

Great info, however, I still have one unanswered question. If you were doing a photo session with a teen for example, taking unlimited photos, because RAW files are so large, what type of memory would you need to have to hold 200 photos for example?

 

[analog.universe]

Raw vs JPEG is about bit-depth. (Raw isn't an acronym like JPEG is - Joint Photographic Experts Group.)
The reason to shoot Raw is to retain as much bit-depth as possible. Bit-depth is how many distinct colors there are in each color channel - red, green, and blue.

DSLR cameras make Raw files as 12-bit or 14-bit files. 12-bits can define 4096 colors, or gradations in tone per color channel. 14-bits can define 16,384 colors, or gradations in tone per color channel.

JPEG is an 8-bit files type. 8-bits can define 256 colors, or gradations in tone per color channel.

So to make a JPEG, in the camera or post process, about 80% of the color information the camera recorded has to be irretrievably discarded, tossed, thrown away. that's a large part of why JPEG is called a lossy file type. JPEG retains all of the lumunosity information the camera recorded, but JPEG also makes other irreversable changes to the file. JPEG converts the image pixels to 8x8, 8x16, or 16x16 pixel squares/rectangles called Minimum Coded Units (MCU's)

The limited bit-depth a JPEG has seriously restrains the editing headroom the files has, if the JPEG has any headroom at all.

The next consideration is that JPEGs made in the camera are edited based on programming in the camera. Contrast, saturation, sharpening are all applied globally to each photo.

So you buy gear and work hard to blurr the background, and then in the process of making a JPEG the camera sharpens everything, including the the blurred background diminishing it to some extent.

Photographers take avantage of the larger bit-depth files to make local image finishing edits without introducing the kinds of editing artifacts often seen in edited JPEGs.

JPEG is a one-size-fits-all file type.

Tutorials – The RAW File Format

Image Types: JPEG & TIFF File Formats

Great info, however, I still have one unanswered question. If you were doing a photo session with a teen for example, taking unlimited photos, because RAW files are so large, what type of memory would you need to have to hold 200 photos for example?

I can fit 1200-1400 (depending on content) RAW files on a 32GB card @ 18 megapixel. You should be able to fit 200 on an 8GB card with no problem at all...

 

[luvmyfamily]

Raw vs JPEG is about bit-depth. (Raw isn't an acronym like JPEG is - Joint Photographic Experts Group.)
The reason to shoot Raw is to retain as much bit-depth as possible. Bit-depth is how many distinct colors there are in each color channel - red, green, and blue.

DSLR cameras make Raw files as 12-bit or 14-bit files. 12-bits can define 4096 colors, or gradations in tone per color channel. 14-bits can define 16,384 colors, or gradations in tone per color channel.

JPEG is an 8-bit files type. 8-bits can define 256 colors, or gradations in tone per color channel.

So to make a JPEG, in the camera or post process, about 80% of the color information the camera recorded has to be irretrievably discarded, tossed, thrown away. that's a large part of why JPEG is called a lossy file type. JPEG retains all of the lumunosity information the camera recorded, but JPEG also makes other irreversable changes to the file. JPEG converts the image pixels to 8x8, 8x16, or 16x16 pixel squares/rectangles called Minimum Coded Units (MCU's)

The limited bit-depth a JPEG has seriously restrains the editing headroom the files has, if the JPEG has any headroom at all.

The next consideration is that JPEGs made in the camera are edited based on programming in the camera. Contrast, saturation, sharpening are all applied globally to each photo.

So you buy gear and work hard to blurr the background, and then in the process of making a JPEG the camera sharpens everything, including the the blurred background diminishing it to some extent.

Photographers take avantage of the larger bit-depth files to make local image finishing edits without introducing the kinds of editing artifacts often seen in edited JPEGs.

JPEG is a one-size-fits-all file type.

Tutorials – The RAW File Format

Image Types: JPEG & TIFF File Formats

Great info, however, I still have one unanswered question. If you were doing a photo session with a teen for example, taking unlimited photos, because RAW files are so large, what type of memory would you need to have to hold 200 photos for example?

I can fit 1200-1400 (depending on content) RAW files on a 32GB card @ 18 megapixel. You should be able to fit 200 on an 8GB card with no problem at all...

Thank you, that answered my question.

 

[Dom6663]

Just get another memory card. They are pretty cheap now a days, and its not like they are a burden to carry around

 

[tirediron]

...I still have one unanswered question. If you were doing a photo session with a teen for example, taking unlimited photos, because RAW files are so large, what type of memory would you need to have to hold 200 photos for example?

I always shoot RAW + JPG (Large/fine) and with my D700 I get about 25 images/Gb.

 

[cgipson1]

Great info, however, I still have one unanswered question. If you were doing a photo session with a teen for example, taking unlimited photos, because RAW files are so large, what type of memory would you need to have to hold 200 photos for example?

Do you really want to PP "Unlimited files"? That is ridiculous! Set a reasonable limit and stick too it (200?). And don't give them all of them... make them pick 20 to 40 shots. Better to give 20 to 40 top end shots, than 200 semi crappy ones! If you can't get 20 to 40 top end shots out of 200, then you definitely need more practice!

 

[analog.universe]

Great info, however, I still have one unanswered question. If you were doing a photo session with a teen for example, taking unlimited photos, because RAW files are so large, what type of memory would you need to have to hold 200 photos for example?

Do you really want to PP "Unlimited files"? That is ridiculous! Set a reasonable limit and stick too it (200?). And don't give them all of them... make them pick 20 to 40 shots. Better to give 20 to 40 top end shots, than 200 semi crappy ones! If you can't get 20 to 40 top end shots out of 200, then you definitely need more practice!

Concerns about hit percentage aside... I don't like setting limits. I would never say "I'm only going to take 200 shots today, or I'm only going to take 1000 shots today". If I see something, I shoot it, and I don't think about how many shots I've taken unless my memory card is full. Shoot everything, pick the ones you like... I certainly don't PP every shot, or even half of them. Deciding that there's a "correct" amount of shots in a particular situation is such an arbitrary limit. Maybe it made sense when every click was expensive, and had to be developed whether you liked it or not. But digital has removed those limits for us, no sense putting them back for the sake of it.

(if taking more shots means you're thinking less about each one... i.e. spray and pray, that's a different story obviously)

 

[HughGuessWho]

RAW > JPG.

Always.


JPG simply means your camera will shoot a RAW and process it for you.
Automatic processing is done by general settings which the manufacturer thought most people would like in most cases.
RAW means you have full control over the processing, enabling you to go about it your own way and not in the way some programmer did it.

Thank you, I get conflicting advice on here at times. I am told you should "get it right the first time," that "PP is a way to enhance an image, not to fix issues." Just as some people enjoy curling up reading a book on a rainy day, I enjoy PP and find it therapeuatic....that's just me.

Get it right this first time..... In RAW... then tweak it in PP to make it perfect!!