What to do with RAWs

[GreatMoloko]

So I know why I should shoot in RAW thanks to the many excellent DPS articles about RAW.

But my real question, and where I tend to get stumped, then confused, upset, and disappointed is what the heck do you do with them afterwards?

I'm a bit overwhelmed by Adobe CameraRAW and I feel like the RAW shots look good enough as is and almost as good as the jpegs that come out anyways.

Can anyone give me some advice or perhaps a starting area for working with RAW files?

Thanks

[Photologyst]

Post some of your RAWs that you think are great as is and I'll show you.

[LeeR]

Listen, I love Camera RAW and use it all the time, but I hate it when I see people venture into it when they aren't quite ready. Think of it as learning to drive a stick shift. It may be true that if you are going to race cars you will eventually have to learn stick, but you're not there yet. Better to master the art of driving what you have and add stick as an additional skill when you have the rest of driving mastered.
Consider this, everything you do in RAW can be done in JPEG. RAW may be easier, faster, and slicker, but all the same tools are there; you aren't missing some magical tool that will improve you images. How much better to master the tools you already have before venturing out on the course with a RAW shift.
One other consideration; most people would much rather learn a new technical skill than work on the one thing that will truly make you a better photographer: learning to see better. That means first learning to see in your mind what the final image is going to look like, and second, learning what you can do that will improve the scene in front of you. Take a lesson from Edward Steichen, grab a few household items, some lights (window lights, table lamps, even a flashlight) and start making pictures. I promise you, you will improve far more in your photography doing that than learning to speed shift in ACR.

[RichardTaylor]

Have a look at this tutorial - on this site.

RAW Workflow: A Pro’s Approach

[Photologyst]

With all due respect, driving a “stick shift” is a very bad analogy.

There was a time when everyone had to learn to drive a stick, because there was nothing else. There is nothing complicated about driving a stick and there is nothing complicated about adjusting photos in RAW. The work flow/processing sequence is the same.

RAW photos contain all the information that a photo can possibly have while other formats, like jpg do not.

Clearly one can do the most with more info than with less. The only thing that you have to know is what the photo should look like, based on YOUR, personal artistic vision. You can exercise that vision much more readily in RAW than if there is info missing. Since you are using the very same skills adjusting the photo there should be no problem at all.

Take a “test drive” of Lightroom and see how wonderful adjusting RAW can be.

[teaking]

I can understand both points of view above, and I agree if you are working with RAW you have more colour information, so it should allow more to be done.

But I can see where LeeR is coming from you only get out of a photo what you put into it. RAW does record so much data but it is limited to the dynamic range of the camera and the colours it can read. So if you are aiming for a certain shot shooting it to make sure you capture what you need in terms of dynamic range is going to make the editing easier.

I think if you put both points together you get close to a great RAW workflow.

[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!

[Vagebond]

Amen to that, LeeR.

[teaking]

Didnt see that coming.... however how can you disagree its so very very true

[BCampbell]

Too many words here about something that is pretty simple.

Like many things, the best idea is to go out and do it instead of going to a forum and talking about it.

Get a RAW converter (whatever came with your canera, Lightroom, UFRaw, RAWTherapee, whateber), set your camera to shoot RAW, take some photos and start doing. It gets even easier from there.