AboutScott Valentine Expertise Most anything about digital post processing (Photoshop, etc), effects, and image restoration, some technical information about digital imaging systems, light and electron microscopy, optical physics and image analysis. I can help with shooting basics, lighting setups, and getting the most out of your digital camera. I am also an 'expert' here for Photoshop (Computers/Technology > Software > Graphics Software > Photoshop).
Experience I've been an image analyst and advanced amateur photographer for over 6 years. I run an Adobe user group, focusing on digital media, and have lectured on digital image capture systems. Currently, I am an administrator for a rather large instructional Photoshop forum
Organizations Adobe User Groups, National Association of Photoshop Professionals, Advanced Imaging Specialists
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Physics, University of California, San Diego
Awards and Honors Winner: Best in Show and several category first place awards - Imaging Professionals of the Southwest Print Competition (multiple years)
Expert: Scott Valentine Date: 7/12/2008 Subject: RAW format, what can and can't be corrected
Question Hi, I am fairly new to digital photography and am trying to learn the art. I
am thinking that taking in RAW format is best as I can adjust some things
like colour and exposure. The question is: using RAW format, what do I
really need to worry about? I am guessing things like depth of field and
focusing, but would like a full explanation. Thanks in advance.
Answer Thanks for your question, Jeremy. While I can't give you a full explanation, I can give you a few high points.
First, you are right in that if you are willing to do a little extra work, shooting in raw will give you the most flexibility when it comes time to edit your images. The reason is that raw is the unchanged information which comes directly from your sensor. It is not compressed or converted in any way. This is in contrast to formats like JPG or TIFF, which actually change the image data for better viewing.
Using the raw format, you will have more latitude in adjusting exposure and color balance, as you mentioned, and you will have a lot of flexibility in choosing how you sharpen your images. Other elements, like depth of field and composition are still left up to you as a photographer. And you should be aware that even raw format does not let you get away with less skill or expertise; in many instances it demands more of the photographer.
There are limits to how much correction can be done on exposure in raw, typically no more than 2 full stops, though most images won't tolerate that kind of change. Color is quite a bit more forgiving, as the raw sensor data is collecting intensity values on colored pixels - you can convert that information to gray scale and recolor however you like.
If you are using Adobe products, I highly recommend converting to DNG format for long term storage, as this will allow you to save the original raw data and should work well into the future with Adobe products like Photoshop. There are several manufacturers that support conversion to DNG format as a standard, so it's worth considering.
Raw will not replace your skill as a photographer, as I said, so you should only consider it as a 'better' capture format, not as a solution to traditional photographic problems.
You should go check out the book "Real World Camera Raw" by Bruce Fraser and Jeff Schewe:
This book has pretty much everything you will ever need to know about raw, and processing with ACR from Adobe. Much of the information goes into the pro level, so be warned that as a beginning photographer you may have to pick and choose what you want to get in to at first. The more you understand about the format, though, the more power you will have in editing your images.
I hope this helps! If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
