RAW. What is it? Maybe you’ve heard of it, but you don’t know exactly what it is or what it does. Maybe you’ve heard that it’s the best format to photograph with, but want to know why. Well, here we will give you a brief introduction into what RAW format is, 10 good reasons why you should be shooting it RAW and not JPEG, as well as some cons to shooting in RAW format. Feel free to comment and let us know what points we missed, what points you agree or disagree with, or anything else!

What is RAW?

I found the best definition for what RAW is, on Wikipedia. This is how they describe it:

“A camera raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, image scanner, or motion picture film scanner. Raw files are named so because they are not yet processed and therefore are not ready to be printed or edited with a bitmap graphics editor. Normally, the image is processed by a raw converter in a wide-gamut internal colorspace where precise adjustments can be made before conversion to a “positive” file format such as TIFF or JPEG for storage, printing, or further manipulation, which often encodes the image in a device-dependent colorspace. There are dozens if not hundreds of raw formats in use by different models of digital equipment (like cameras or film scanners).

Raw image files are sometimes called digital negatives, as they fulfill the same role as negatives in film photography: that is, the negative is not directly usable as an image, but has all of the information needed to create an image. Likewise, the process of converting a raw image file into a viewable format is sometimes called developing a raw image, by analogy with the film development process used to convert photographic film into viewable prints. The selection of the final choice of image rendering is part of the process of white balancing and color grading.

Like a photographic negative, a raw digital image may have a wider dynamic range or color gamut than the eventual final image format, and it preserves most of the information of the captured image. The purpose of raw image formats is to save, with minimum loss of information, data obtained from the sensor, and the conditions surrounding the capturing of the image (the metadata).” – Source: Wikipedia

 

So, now that you have a pretty good idea as to what RAW format is, let’s focus on why you should be shooting with it!

 

1. To get the most use from each photo

This is by far the #1 reason why photographers (including myself) should shoot in RAW, even if they don’t know how to process a RAW file. RAW files contain every bit of information that the camera sensor records from the scene. This is great in case you learn how to edit your photos more efficiently or if any new programs are released to edit your photos. The only way you can go back and re-edit your photos, is if you keep the RAW file, as explained more in detail below.

 

2. To have the ability to fix White Balance

I usually leave my White Balance on Auto, but this can cause some images to be too cool, or too warm, depending on how the camera treats the data it’s presented. However, this could be quite bad if you take your photos in JPEG format. The ability to fix your white balance in your RAW files, is something of a Godsend. It’s quite difficult to get a perfect white balance in the camera, but it’s amazingly simple to do in processing. To correct your white balance without destroying the data in your photos is another great reason to shoot in RAW.

 

3. The ability to modify your Dynamic Range

There are several tools, utilities, techniques, and methods to create an HDR image from a single RAW file. Why is this? Well, according to Photography Blogger, the explanation is very simple: “A RAW contains all the exposure information the camera sensor could capture and that’s more than what a single JPG can represent. So a good piece of software can use that exposure information in the RAW to create a photo with more dynamic range compared to the default JPG that the camera creates.”

 

4. Processing Options are far Better

The ability to process your RAW files is a big helper, to get that much closer to a perfect shot. How many times have you taken a photo and it’s been too dark, or too light, and you just wished you could fix it? Well, with RAW files, you don’t have to worry about small details like that! If you’re a step too dark in your exposure, go into your RAW processing program (I use Camera Raw with Photoshop) and adjust the exposure accordingly. And, since you know that RAW files don’t lose information with edits, you can make one photo, into a million different versions of the same shot, simply by editing the RAW file. This is a huge advantage to have, especially in professional photography.

 

5. Noise Reduction

I know that with higher ISO, comes more noise in your photo. And depending on your camera, it can be quite a bit of noise to contend with. Another great thing about shooting with RAW, is that you can adjust your noise with several different tools. Luminance is one way in the Camera Raw plugin for Photoshop, to reduce the noise you have to contend with in your photos. Another way is simply changing the exposure. There are many methods out there to get that clear, crisp photo, and this is a great feature to have.

 

6. Better Quality Prints

Whenever you shoot a photograph, you may need to do quite a bit of editing to get the perfect look. This could be any number of simple things such as, cropping, changing colors to match the printer profile, sharpening, etc… If you were to do this with a JPEG file, you would be editing a file that is pretty much already in it’s final step. JPEG’s should be the final step in your workflow, so if you were start with the finished product, you would lose even more details and quality in your photos. That’s why RAWs are so much better. You can edit the photos and not worry about losing any information, no matter how many alterations you make to your photographs.

 

7. Never worry about destroying an image during processing

With RAW files, you never have to worry about destroying your photo during processing, whereas with a JPEG, you do! Did you know that every time you save a JPEG, it loses data? That means every adjustment, and every single change, will degrade your photo even more than it was when first shot. (JPEGs compress the image when shot, so you’re already starting out with less data.) With RAW files, you don’t have to worry about that. Make a change, save the file, and you’re all set! However, if you’re worried that you made a change too many, and want to start all over again, you can do just that. Simply use your RAW file processing program (I use Camera Raw with Photoshop) to reset the changes you’ve made, and start all over again. Much more powerful than using a JPEG and losing data each time you make a change.

 

8. Make selective adjustments

Adobe Camera Raw is the industry standard software for raw conversion, and it is available in Photoshop and Elements (and is also mirrored in Lightroom’s Develop module). Adjustments made in Adobe Camera Raw were limited before the arrival of Photoshop CS4, in that you could only apply them to the entire image. But with the introduction of the Graduated Filter and Adjustment Brush, Adobe Camera Raw suddenly became a whole lot more useful. In Adobe Camera Raw version 7 (which comes as standard with CS6, and is definitely better than the previous versions I’ve encountered) the Adjustment Brush and Graduated Filter tools have been improved with extra options to adjust white balance. This makes it easy to selectively correct white balance in order to warm or cool an image.

 

9. It’s the professional way to shoot

Ever wonder what the professionals use to shoot? They use RAW format, pretty much exclusively. As you can see in this National Geographic article, their photographers there capture wonderful images. And they don’t use JPEGs to do so.

 

10. Why not?

With the ability to shoot with RAW + JPEG, there really is no reason to not shoot in RAW to some degree. Sure, JPEG’s take up less space than RAWs, but it’s kind of like the motto, “You get what you pay for.” If you want to save space and use only JPEGs, then be prepared to understand what it means in the long haul. Less information, less ability to work with the photo, and less ability to process without losing data. Take it from Photography Blogger if you want a second opinion: “Shooting JPG is like using a Polaroid camera, you lose your negatives and what you get is the final representation of your photo, it has little flexibility.”

 

 

Of course, there are some downsides to shooting in RAW, however, the pros more than outweigh the cons. Below are some cons to shooting in RAW, and pros for shooting in JPEG.

 

1. No Photoshop or RAW processor needed, theoretically

Just shoot your photograph, back it up, and then share. Any edits you do wish to do, will require a photo editing program, but because JPEGs are the finished product, you can just release them as soon as you download them from your camera.

 

2. Crazy Easy Backup

RAW files are often at least five times the size of a JPEG nowadays it seems, yet the quality of a RAW file is not five times that of a JPEG. This means, when you’re shooting in RAW format, you have to find a place to store all of your photos. The option to back up your RAW files online can become costly, due to their increased size and takes a long time to upload because they are five times the size of JPEGs. This is one con to shooting in RAW format.

 

3. Burst Shooting in Rapid Succession

If you are shooting live action shots, and especially if you are using burst sequences in rapid succession, your camera buffer will fill up quickly while shooting in RAW format. This means that your camera will have to stop what it’s doing (taking photographs) to process the buffered images. Shooting in JPEG will allow you to shoot many more photos prior to filling up the buffer.

 

In Closing:

Personally, I honestly think that shooting in RAW is the best way to go. However, there are advantages to shooting in Jpeg as well. Some cameras even have the ability to shoot both at the same time! Which suits you best? Share below!