Basically, it’s like this. RAW is like a digital negative where all the information of the shot is retained in the file. That’s why the file size is so large. If you have a 12MP camera, then your files will be about 11 or 12MB in size. If you’re shooting in JPG, depending on the quality setting you have it on, file sizes will be much smaller. For my 12MP camera, JPG’s at the highest quality setting are about 3MB. This is because information is being thrown away when the camera compresses your RAW to JPG.

What does that mean then?

Well, since RAW files retain all the information (levels of brightness in a scene), you will have far greater flexibility when post processing. Since JPG files (processed in-camera) have lost information, you won’t be able to correct as much using software.

Let me show you.

Here’s a shot I took where I didn’t have time to change my settings before shooting as I wanted to capture the moment. My subject was running in and out of shade and I was shooting in manual mode so I didn’t get a chance to meter and reset my exposure. In this case, I should’ve used aperture priority mode so my camera would just set my shutter speed for me automatically. However, this was not the case so this was what I was stuck with:

Luckily I was shooting in RAW so I was able to recover most of the blown highlights:

I wanted to see what would happen if I tried to recover from a JPG, so I exported the SOOC image as a JPG and re-imported into Lightroom to see what I can do with a JPG instead of the RAW:

YIKES! That was the best I could do because all the information where the highlights were blown was thrown away when the RAW was compressed to a JPG. This happens in-camera if you are shooting in JPG.

Here’s another example, but this time I wanted to see if I could recover details in shadows. I purposely underexposed the image when I shot this so that I could get a silhouette while enhancing the sunset and sky. This is SOOC:

I used the “fill light” slider in Lightroom this time to see if I could increase the exposure in the shadows:

Not bad eh? Normally I wouldn’t do this since the SOOC was the exposure I was going for, but just for demonstration purposes I’m showing you an extreme example.

Now, here’s the best I could do with the JPG:

I was not able to get any detail in the shadows because all that information was thrown away in the compression.

So, are there any benefits to shooting in JPG? Of course there are! For me, if I’m shooting outdoors on an overcast day and my exposure and white balance are spot on, then I could shoot JPG. I wouldn’t even have to process them and the files are smaller so I’d have more space on my memory cards and on my computer hard drive and I wouldn’t need a fast computer to handle those files. So, yeah… JPG shooting has its benefits. Not to mention that my camera automatically adds levels, curves and sharpening adjustments as soon as I click the shutter release button so my SOOC’s would have more “pop” compared to RAW files on the get go.

But, if I am shooting in areas with mixed lighting or poor light and my exposure isn’t perfectly set, then I’d be more apt to shoot RAW. This gives me much more elbow room when I’m processing. I can easily change the white balance or temperature, saturation and I wouldn’t have to worry about JPG artifacts (splotchiness) or banding (streaks) in my images. Sure, they take up a lot more memory card/hard drive space and I need a fast computer with good RAW converting software to be able to process them, but keeping all the information will result in higher quality images.

Now, if you have the memory space to burn, you could always shoot in RAW + JPG and have two copies of every file but I don’t have the space for that. Besides, I only process a handful of the shots I take so I don’t need a RAW and a JPG for every image. I can easily export my best files as JPG’s anyway, which is what I do.

Some professional photographers (eg. sport shooters) shoot in JPG and some, I’d like to say most, pros shoot in RAW. What works for you?

Here are some great articles with more background information about RAW and JPG:
RAW vs JPEG: Is Shooting RAW Format For Me?
JPEG Vs. RAW: The Advantages and Disadvantages Explained

focal length: 200 mm
shutter speed: 1/200
aperture: f/5.3
ISO: 200
flash: none

I haven’t participated in Stacy’s Theme Thursday for a while so today I was determined to join in! Even though it’s not thanksgiving here in Canada today (or next week), I don’t need a special day to remind myself to be thankful everyday. I chose this bare branch as an image of thankfulness because although it’s leaves have fallen, you can still see the life that will bud anew when the time comes. Renewed life is what I’m thankful for. There is always hope for a fresh start.

I’ve been wanting to try this type of processing but never quite got it until now. I think I’m getting close! What do you think? I don’t remember exactly what I did in Lightroom but thankfully the history is saved so I can always open it up again and see all my changes. Awesome!

focal length: 105 mm
shutter speed: 1/40
aperture: f/4.5
ISO: 500
flash: none

I was running out of space on my memory card by the time I got around to these beautiful dahlia’s at the gardens in Montreal, so I had only one shot. This is one instance when the 100% magnification option I have on my camera came in handy. With one button press, I can view my image on my LCD screen at 100% to ensure that I have the focus spot on. LCD’s, as wonderful as they are, are not always the most accurate monitor with which to view your shots when the image is completely zoomed out like it usually is. It’s always good to check your focus, especially when you’ve filled up all your memory cards, so figure out if you can program a button to preview at 100%. Usually it will zoom right into the focal point.

Dahlia’s are my new favourite flower! How gorgeous is that?

*click image to download large size (1024×680)

focal length: 50 mm
shutter speed: 1/1250
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 200
flash: none

I thought you might like this one to play around with. I can’t wait to see how you all process it!

Remember to link to your version by leaving a comment below. You are welcome to add any specifics about what you did in your processing (software used, adjusted values, cropping etc) to help us learn. Click here to get the complete details for What’s Your Play. Remember, all readers are invited to submit their own photos for manipulation by emailing a high res photo (preferably SOOC) to play [at] dolcepics [dot] com.

You’re all so creative! Your plays from last week:

focal length: 24 mm
shutter speed: 1/60
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 320
flash: none

This morning I heard a knock on the door and opened it to see delicious cookies delivered to me! They were from my best friend, her hubby and puppy who live on the other side of the country. A gift for me on my birthday. I was so touched and needless to say, we had cookies for breakfast. Mmmm! Thanks so much!

focal length: 34 mm
shutter speed: 1/40
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 320
flash: none

Sophie was so excited but waited patiently for me to take some pictures first. What a good photographer-in-training!

focal length: 56 mm
shutter speed: 1/800
aperture: f/3.2
ISO: 200
flash: none

It’s my first SOOC Saturday over at Melody’s Slurping Life. I’ve always wanted to participate but it’s tough when you shoot in RAW since RAW files have no in-camera processing. If you’re shooting JPG, even though it’s straight-out-of-camera(SOOC) you really are applying some processing to the photo because your camera does it for you by adjusting the tone curve (contrast), white balance and adds some sharpening, while RAW is… well… RAW. This is a RAW file with no editing done except resizing, exporting as a JPG, and adding the watermark. As RAW as it gets. Even so, this particular photo has vibrant colours and a bit of vignetting. That vignetting is probably caused by having two filters on my lens at the same time. I had a UV filter and a circular polarizer (which explains the vibrant colours) on, so I believe that caused a bit of mechanical vignetting.

If you’re brave enough to share your SOOC’s, join us at Slurping Life!

focal length: 24 mm
shutter speed: 1/50
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 400
flash: fired

Today, she posed in front of the camera for the first time… or so it seemed. She was having fun trying to get as close to the lens as possible but as you may know, all lenses have a “closest focusing distance”, or what I like to call, their “comfort zone”. Once you pass that comfort zone, (0.38m for the 24-70mm lens I was using) they feel all awkward and everything and can’t focus.

Kinda like this…

She quite liked that.

Have a great weekend everyone!

focal length: 24 mm
shutter speed: 1/40
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 1000
flash: fired

Ok, so it’s not a real rainbow but the colours of the play parachute were so vibrant, it was almost like being under a rainbow. Remember playing in these things in elementary school with the whole class? Here, it was just Daddy and me trying to keep this thing billowed up enough to keep Sophie interested. I was trying to hold a heavy camera setup with one hand while my other hand helped with the parachute. It was tough! I should have used a higher ISO, which would have allowed me to use a faster shutter speed to freeze motion on her face. But it was a bit difficult to do with only one hand available. With children, who have such short attention spans, sometimes you just have to take the picture, or the moment is lost.

In the end, I think it still makes for a cool picture!

focal length: 32 mm
shutter speed: 1/30
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 200
flash: fired

I’ve been experimenting with flash these days so I’m keeping my external flash on my camera instead of in it’s case where it usually lives out its days. It sure comes in handy when I’m trying to take a few shots of my constantly moving child in a dark room! I believe I bounced the flash off the ceiling behind me, hence, the shadows on her face. In the image above, I used the adjustment brush in Lightroom 2.0 to subtly increase the exposure on the shadows and at the same time decrease the saturation so the pink reflection off her clothes wouldn’t be as noticeable. The difference is subtle but still significant.

Now, if only I could find someone to hold her down while I take a picture!