What to do with RAWs

[Rob Necciai]

Originally Posted by LeeR

I have nothing against RAW. I use it all the time and have little interest in going back to JPEG. I even wrote a tutorial on the subject some time ago to help people who were getting started. So, clearly, I have no axe to grind where RAW is concerned. I just don't want people to work under the delusion that learning RAW will improve their photography. We see the same thing with lenses. People seem to think that if they just had this or that lens their photography would leap to new heights. I can see how they come to that conclusion. Jim Bryant is a great photographer who uses a host of lenses and has mastered RAW and a lot of other techniques, therefore if I want to shoot like Jim I need to do the same. Unfortunately, that simply isn't the case. Give Jim a point and shoot that only does JPEG and he will still kick you a$$. Why? Because he has 30+ years experience and he knows what he is doing, that's why.
"Yeah, yeah," you say, "Experience trumps tools and techniques, I get it," but it goes much deeper than that. What if I could show you a twelve year old boy who was well on his way to being a world class photographer. He shoots with a point and shoot and has no interest in RAW, nevertheless, he's already outshooting 90% of the people on this forum. Why? Because he has an insatiable curiosity about what he can do with his camera. He's up in trees, he's down on the floor, he's shooting in mirrors, he's shooting at night, because he want to try it all. He is also interested in music, dance and poetry and is curious about how those are related to photography. In the time it takes for the average newbie to master RAW, this young man will make giant leaps in his abilities. Yes, he's a prodigy, but there is still a lesson to be learned from his example and the lesson is this: great photography is about learning to see better, or as Proust says, learning to see with "new eyes."
If you want to learn RAW, go for it, it's a great set of tools, but you will still be the same photographer when you are done. If you want to be a better photographer there are much better ways to learn. Do like Elliott Erwitt and shoot from a dog's point of view. Or do like John Moran and carry a ladder wherever you go so you can shoot from that perspective. Or Professor Charles Benton who shoots from a camera mounted on a kite. You could even do like Ryan Gallagher and take pictures by tossing your camera into the air (for some rather impressive results.) Don't drink the Adobe Kool Aid and think that learning some new program will make you a better photographer. Just get out there and try something new!

I couldn't agree more. I, too, shoot raw almost exclusively. However, some friends have recently become more serious about photography - trading up to DSLRs from point and shoots and shooting more than just snapshots. Invariably they, like many others, want to "follow the pros" and, through the convenience of the Internet, are lead through countless articles that preach shooting raw and go into detail about fairly advanced post-processing techniques.

One friend jumped right into HDR without having any experience with basic shooting. He followed the advice/instructions on some web sites. It didn't seem to matter that he had no clue about the basics (like shutter speed and aperture). Needless to say, he became frustrated very quickly.

When I am asked about raw by someone just getting started, I ask them why they feel they need to shoot raw as opposed to jpeg. 100% of the time, they don't know why they want to shoot raw other than "well I was reading a web site and ...".

The bottom line is that shooting raw gives more responsibility to the photographer for the final outcome. In most cases, more responsibility equates to more work. In time, a beginning photographer will probably "naturally" begin shooting in raw when he/she is at a level where shooting in raw would be beneficial.

On a final note, I too am astonished and amazed by some of the photography that is accomplished with simple point and shoot cameras - especially by talented photographers. I sometimes quietly think and wonder...even with all of the latest equipment, bells, and whistles, why can't I get shots like that? It's really sobering. It's definitely all about learning the craft.

[GreatMoloko]

Wow I did not expect such spirited responses.

I understand where LeeR is coming from. I started with a point and shoot camera taking snap shots of my friends getting drunk, and slowly over about 2 years I started playing with it more and looking at the world differently. I eventually got the CHDK hack to open up my little Cannon A550 more to shoot RAW and HDR and really control aperture and shutter speed. After a couple months of saving I bought a D60 with the 18-55 and 55-200 kit lenses.

That was almost 2 years ago.

I now feel like I've gotten to know my camera very very well. I currently feel like I've reached a plateau. Where I have maybe reached 80 - 90% potential with the tools I have (D60, 2 lenses, tripod, Picasa). So I'm looking on how to reach the next level and continue growing as a photographer. A new camera is way out of the budget, and I feel unnecessary, so I got Lightroom and Photomatrix and have a trial of Adobe CS5 (i'll never buy the whole thing but I clicked the wrong link looking for a photoshop trial lol). The reason I did this is because I've seen the CRAZY stuff that can be done with photoshop, and I'm hoping Lightroom. And like other folks here have said, when ever you read any article about pro-photography it's raw raw raw raw raw raw raw.. and throw in a couple more for good measure. So that's where I feel like I am at, and that's the venue I'm currently looking at to increase my knowledge on.

I really appreciate the links people dropped to the Raw Workflow and Begging Raw Processing. And I thank whoever said "To increase your artistic vision"... I think that trips me up sometime and I have this concept that I have to move x slider to y value because... that's what you do! Those two links are what I think I need right now, a what does what where guide to Camera Raw and Lightroom.

After reading some of those links I think I am gonna stick to editing Raws in lightroom for a little bit as training wheels... or driving an automatic and leave Camera Raw for days when I have more time and more know how about what I'm doing.

If anyone has more links/tips about raw processing or work flows I am very eager to read them and learn them.

Thanks everyone for your input!