Working with RAW using iPhoto

[hora]

I did a search for this but couldn't find any answers, and I'm hoping someone here can give me a few pointers.

I'm new to photography and have recently just learned that there's much I can do AFTER I took a shot using editing software. So far I've been taking pictures with my Nikon D80 in JPEG mode, but I'd like to move on to RAW. This is a little scary cause I don't really understand what I need to do to process a picture into a final image...

I've been using iPhoto so far for uploading and organizing my pictures (I run Mac OS 10.4), as well as quick edits (like crops, straightening or simple adjustments). I use Photoshop CS3 for more intense adjustments (even though I'm not good at this, but I'm trying to learn).

Now my question is, if I take my pictures using RAW and import them into iPhoto, what do I need to do to roll out 'final' images for printing, or publishing on the internet? Should I not import them into iPhoto? If I do, do I process them in Photoshop? Then what?

Hopefully someone here is familiar with Macs and can help me out. Thanks in advance! (I'm also open to non-OS specific advice when it comes to working with RAW images)

[jdepould]

iPhoto can't handle RAW files, at least it hasn't in my experience. CS3 should come with Adobe Bridge which is a decent place to start. Just do a spotlight search for "bridge" and you'll be able to open it up. Plug your camera in, upload, and experiment. There are other RAW workflows out there (I use Adobe Lightroom) but they generally cost money. If you already have CS3 give Bridge a shot.

[Nicole]

I'm not sure what you mean that iPhoto can't handle RAW files jdepould, I'm just curious what you mean by that one.

iPhoto does let you work with RAW files in my experience. Though if you already have CS3, I'd much rather work with that than iPhoto because you have much better control. Still, iPhoto does provide the basics that you'd need to work with RAW (and since you're using OSX 10.4, you can save your RAW files as .tiff as long as you set that in your preferences). With iPhoto you're able to change the saturation, the colour temperature (e.g. white balance) you're able to adjust contrast, and sharpen, and these are the main things that I do when working with RAW.

I know a lot of people really don't like iPhoto, but I like it well enough, I think that it works really well for organization and the price tag is much less significant than Lightroom (which I don't have enough RAM to run) or CS3 (which is out of my price range).

I see no reason why you wouldn't try using the adjustments in iPhoto first if that's what you're used to working with (and have you seen the improvements in iPhoto '08? Looks like a few nice new controls are added ).

[rediguana]

I'm with Nicole - iPhoto does understand and manipulates RAW files (I believe it uses the same OS X internal libraries as Aperture). In iPhoto preferences you can set up iPhoto to use external editors such as CS3, and you can also force it to edit RAWs in the external editor. So you can actually use both quite easily.

I imagine that iPhoto will be fine for basic post-processing on images, and more elaborate PP can be accomplished in CS3/Aperture/Lightroom.

Cheers Gav

[wulf]

As a newbie to the world of Macs (did I mention that I got a Mac Mini just over a week ago?) I have been very impressed with many aspects of iPhoto. It encouraged me to try my first RAW photo since getting my D40 at Christmas!

I was under the impression that, when you open a RAW photo, iPhoto does an automatic conversion - if you manipulate it, are you working directly on the RAW image or just the processed result?

My solution for more in-depth RAW work has been to install VMWare Fusion, allowing me to run a virtual Linux box with The Gimp and ufraw within OS X. However, if you've got Photoshop CS3 then it sounds like that would be your best bet for more control over manipulating RAW images.

Wulf

[Nicole]

I'm pretty sure that all edits that you do in iPhoto are on a processed copy of the original (which is why the iPhoto library can grow so fast). You should notice folders of originals and then also another folder with the edited versions. This lets you revert your edited photo to the original at any point (as long as you haven't deleted the original).

wulf, what benefits does it have running the virtual Linux box and using the Gimp compared to using the OS X version which uses X11? Is it just so that you can use ufraw? Just curious

[wulf]

It is that I want a full Linux system for various purposes and that therefore saves me having to install X11 on OS X.

In my experience (as noted, not that great on recent Macs but otherwise fairly extensive) the more programs you cram onto your operating system, the more likely it is to start experiencing problems or at least reach the point where different programs start to conflict and you can't upgrade X without Y falling over.

Eventually, I will probably have at least one "stable" virtual Linux box and another that I can use for experimenting with new software. Meanwhile, OS X can remain in an almost vanilla state with just subtle hints of flavouring and a few add on programs, making it relatively painless to backup and restore.

Wulf

[jdepould]

Well that's odd, of course I haven't tried to use iPhoto with RAW files since the first time, it definitely didn't work.

[wulf]

Originally Posted by jdepould

Well that's odd, of course I haven't tried to use iPhoto with RAW files since the first time, it definitely didn't work.

What version of OS X / iPhoto do you have? On my machine (OS X 10.4 and, erm, the version of iPhoto that came with that ) the RAW file loads in and is automatically flagged as RAW - it can then be exported to an external program allowing you to process the RAW file from scratch.

I don't know how long that facility to "just work" has been there though, and it may also depend on when the camera came out as to whether it can be understood (ie. a brand new camera might have to wait for a software update).

Wulf

[jdepould]

This was on my Pbook about a year ago on 10.4. It loaded the images, but the black border and pixellation never went away. It was sort of the way Lightroom loads and image, and then it snaps into focus, if that makes sense.