Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Raw Converter's settings. You can almost always get a much better final image by shooting
in raw and then tweaking the Converter's settings, but if you're just grabbing a quick snap of,
say, a house that's for sale, it may not be worth the extra minute or two to create a master-
piece.
You may want to try a few shots of the same subject in both raw and JPEG to see whether you no-
tice a difference in the results. Generally speaking, raw offers the most leeway if you want to
make significant edits, but you need to understand what you're doing. JPEG is easier if you're a
beginner.
The bottom line: It's your call. Some excellent photographers wouldn't think of shooting in any-
thing
but
raw, while others think it's too time consuming.
First, check the White Balance setting at the top of the Basic tab. Adjusting white balance is
often the most important step in making photos look their best. This setting adjusts all the
colors in a photo by creating a neutral white tone. If that sounds a little strange, stop and
think about it for a minute: The color you think of as
white
actually changes depending on
lighting conditions. At noon there's no warmth (no orange/yellow) to the light because the
sun is high in the sky. Later in the day when the sun's rays are lower, whites are warmer. In-
doors, tungsten lighting is much warmer than fluorescent lighting, which makes whites rather
bluish or greenish. Your eyes and brain easily compensate for these changes, but sometimes
your camera may not, or may overcompensate, giving your photos a color cast. The Raw
Converter's White Balance setting lets you create more accurate color by neutralizing the im-
age's white tones.
Most digital cameras have their own collections of white-balance settings. Typical choices
include Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, and Custom. When you shoot
JPEGs, picking the correct setting really matters, because it's tough to readjust white bal-
ance, even in a program like Elements (unless you tweak the JPEG with the Raw Converter
as explained in the box on
Non-Raw Files in the Raw Converter
, and even then the results
may not be what you want).
With raw photos, you can afford to be a little sloppier about setting your camera's white bal-
ance, because you can easily fix things in the Raw Converter. Getting the white balance right
can make a huge difference in how your photo looks, as you can see in
Figure 8-3
.
