Processing RAW

[AlphaBjerke]

I have software for processing my RAW images that came with my Sony Alpha 200. I am new (one week) to the technical side of digital photography and I have learned that you need to have detail in the highlights and the shadows.

When I work on a RAW image, my software has commands for showing where the highlights have lost detail and where the shadows have lost detail. All of the 6 or so photos that I have messed with have had virtually NO areas highlighted as needing attention. Is there any reason in this case to make any adjustments? I am not talking about saturation or other adjustments, just the ones concerning details in the shadows and highlights.

Thanks!

[RoyL]

Originally Posted by AlphaBjerke

When I work on a RAW image, my software has commands for showing where the highlights have lost detail and where the shadows have lost detail. All of the 6 or so photos that I have messed with have had virtually NO areas highlighted as needing attention.

What software do you use? Each has it's own sliders and methods of extracting detail. The rest can be explained once we know.

[kirbinster]

Well if it ain't broke don't fix it. Congrats on the new setup, and it sounds like you are doing a good job with exposure. If there are not bad areas there is no reason to adjust the exposure unless it in some way is not pleasing to you.

[Naois]

If the picture looks good to you, then you are done. If there are actual blacks in the picture, you can try to make them become black on your screen, the same with whites, but make then white not black =). You might be able to increase your contrast or use curves to make the picture stand out a bit more. In the end its about what you like. You can also post a picture in the critique section of this forum and ask a specific question about it like "is my exposure correct" or even just explain what you did in this post and ask for comments.

[AlphaBjerke]

I use Sony RAW Image Data Converter 2.0.