Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION: TO SHOOT IN THE RAW OR NOT
Should I shoot all my pictures in raw format?
It depends. Using raw format has pros and cons. You may be surprised to learn that some profes-
sional photographers
don't
use raw. For example, many journalists don't, and it's not common
with sports photographers, either.
To help you decide whether to get involved with raw, here's a quick look at the advantages and
disadvantages. On the plus side, you get:
▪
More control
. With raw, you have a lot of extra chances to tweak your photos, and you get to
call the shots, instead of your camera making the processing decisions.
▪
More fixes
. If you're not a perfect photographer, raw is more forgiving than other formats, so
you can fix a lot of mistakes (though even raw can't make a bad photo great).
▪
No need to constantly fuss with white balance while shooting
. That said, you'll have better
quality data to work with if your camera's white-balance settings are correct.
▪
Nondestructive editing
. The edits you make in the Raw Converter don't change your origin-
al image one jot. It's always there if you need to make a fresh start.
But raw also has some significant drawbacks. For one thing, you can't just open a raw file and
start editing it the way you do with JPEGs. You always have to convert it first, whether you use
the Raw Converter or one supplied by the company that made your camera. Other disadvantages
include:
▪
Larger file size
. Raw files are smaller than TIFFs, but they're usually much bigger than the
highest-quality JPEGs. Consequently, you need bigger (or more) memory cards if you regu-
larly shoot raw.
▪
Slower speed
. It generally takes cameras longer to save raw files than JPEGs—something to
keep in mind when you're taking action shots. Most modern cameras have a buffer that holds
several shots and lets you keep shooting while the camera is saving, but you may hit the limit
pretty quickly if you're using burst (rapid-advance) mode, especially on a pocket-sized point-
and-shoot camera that uses raw. In that case, you just have to wait. (Most digital single-lens
reflex cameras are pretty fast with raw these days, but they're generally even faster with
JPEGs.)
▪
More time consuming
. The JPEG-processing abilities of many cameras have improved sig-
nificantly in the past few years, and they generally create decent JPEG images. So for a lot of
people for casual shooting it's just not worth the extra step of fiddling around with all the
