Processing Raw Files

If you missed my post last week on Shooting in Raw vs. JPEG, be sure a read it through. It will help you understand this post a little better. SO now that you understand the difference between shooting in Raw vs. shooting in JPEG, what do you do with all those Raw files?? Here's a few pointers to get you going in the right direction for converting Raw files.

If you shoot with a Canon camera, your camera should have come with the DPP (Digital Photo Professional) software disk. You can install this software to your computer, find the folder of your RAW photos, and export them as JPEGS. To save them in a different format go to File - Convert and Save. You can also batch process them (convert the whole folder all at once) by going to File - Batch Process. That window will let you choose where to save them, what to name them and select your quality. Play around with this software if you don't want to spend more for another post-processing program. 

If you shoot with a Nikon camera, you can process your NEF files using the software that came with your camera; this is most likely View-NX or View-NX 2. Here's a tutorial on how to convert Raw files with this software. 

If you are using a Mac, you can edit Raw files in Photos (the new version of iPhoto). When you import Raw files into iPhoto, it will automatically show your photo as a JPEG version. To access your Raw file you have to click 'Edit' to edit the image. After that, under the image menu, you have to select 'use Raw as original'. Once your edits are saved, it will show as a Raw file.

Google had a program called Picasa which was FREE and can also process Raw files. They have since discontinued Picasa, but if you have it downloaded already, you can still use it. For detailed instructions on how to convert Raw files to JPEG files using Picasa, check out this tutorial. 

If you own Photoshop, you can process your Raw files with Camera Raw. This window will open up your Raw files, and here you can make your edits without losing any information with your file. Simply edit the photo how you want it, and click open image. Once it opens in photoshop, you can then save it in any other file format. 

Lightroom is my favorite software for post-processing my images. Don't get me started on that though; we will talk about Lightroom soon! To convert Raw files in Lightroom, go to File - Import. Import the photos you want, and make your edits in the Develop window. Once you are done, click on your files and go to File - Export. Here you will choose the location, file name, etc. Make sure you choose JPEG if that's the format you want your new files to be. 

I like to convert my Raw files to DNG files, using Adobe's Digital Negative Converter. DNG files are more universal, they are smaller than Raw files but are still lossless (contain the full image data and aren't compressed). You can select your folder of images, choose where to save them and what to rename the files. When ready, click convert and they will batch process! Here's what that window looks like:

Hopefully your Raw to JPEG process makes a little more sense now. Visit my contact page and shoot me an email if you have any further questions!! 

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Shooting in Raw vs. JPEG

Now that you have your DSLR and you've been learning different settings like aperture and shutter speed, it's time to think about files and formats! Have you ever heard of shooting in RAW and wondered what it really means? Are you crazy frustrated at how BIG these files are and that they take up so much room on your computer? Let's figure out what the heck RAW means, when to use this file size and how it's different from a regular good ol' JPEG file. 

JPEG FILES

A JPEG file is a standard format that is processed right inside your camera. Every camera processes these files differently. In a nutshell, your camera automatically adds a few edits such as brightness, sharpening, blacks and contrast to a photo. It will then compress the information, making it a smaller file size. These compressed JPEG files can be viewed and printed right away by any photo program on the market. It's important to note that JPEG files discard some of the image information and detail, which cannot be brought back.

This leads us to a term called DYNAMIC RANGE. This term describes the range of the shadows and the highlights in an image, or the darkest and brightest areas.  JPEG files don't have the full range of detail in those areas like RAW files do.

RAW FILES

A RAW file is is a file format that is complete or lossless, containing all of the data that comes from the camera's sensor. It is NOT processed, so the files usually look a little darker and flat. RAW files have to be processed and viewed using the software that came with your camera, or another popular program such as Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Aperture, etc. before having a photo ready to be displayed or printed. Raw files have a higher dynamic range (more detail in the highlights and shadows). A RAW file will save as .NEF on a Nikon camera and with a Canon camera, the file will be .CRW or .CR2. 

Here's a quick example of an image with a RAW file (left) and the JPEG file (right). You'll notice the JPEG photo on the right has more contrast, blacks and brightness added to it. These are untouched so you can see the difference between a RAW and a JPEG file, straight out of the camera. 

When should we shoot in RAW and when should we shoot in JPEG? 

Both file formats have their uses; I don't think it's smart to shoot either one ALL of the time. Oftentimes you will hear that it is better to shoot in RAW. That is true most of the time because a RAW file will always have more information, giving you more to work with in post-processing. Here are my suggestions about shooting in RAW vs. JPEG: 

• I would recommend shooting in RAW when you are in a situation where factors are constantly changing, requiring you to shoot quickly. For example, if you are taking photos outside and the sun is in and out of the clouds, constantly changing the lighting in your scene, it's easy to make a mistake with your settings and getting a poor exposure (a photo that is too bright or too dark). If you are shooting journalistic photos, weddings, or events, shooting in RAW will give room for error just incase your photo isn't the perfect exposure. This is very helpful for any event that might be significant (for instance, anything involving a BRIDE or your babies first cake smash; things you can't go back and redo). If you under pressure, trying to capture the perfect moment, shoot in RAW! If a JPEG photo is too bright, you can't darken those areas to see more detail. It will be BLOWN OUT and the information is gone. 

• I always shoot in RAW when I am shooting landscapes because an entire landscape scene has a high dynamic range of highlights and shadows. I might want to brighten up the shadowed areas or decrease the brightness of my highlights to get a great print. 

• If you need to view photos immediately after shooting, shoot in JPEG or RAW + JPEG. It's pretty obvious, but RAW + JPEG will give you both the RAW and the JPEG files; this way you have the RAW file for editing, and the JPEG for viewing right away. 

• It is important to remember that RAW files are MUCH larger in size than JPEGS. This means they will fill up space; so plan accordingly and be sure you have space on your hard drive or get an external one in order to store your files. If I am shooting a landscape to edit, print and frame at a large scale, RAW is a no-brainer for me. If I'm shooting a weekend BBQ with family and friends, I'll shoot JPEG.

Think about your situation and shoot in the format that makes sense so you're not stuck with large files that need processing! Also make sure you figure out if the photos are important enough to you to shoot in RAW just in case you mess up the exposure. With RAW files you can bring back some of that information and save the photo. We'll cover more details about software for processing RAW files soon!

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