Shooting in RAW

[Snowcrash]

RAW or JPEG, Canon or Nikon, PC or Mac if that's not enough, there's Dual Core or Core 2 Duo ... faint!

Shoot what works for you, don't go shoot RAW just because a magazine or a friend challenges you to. I write from personal experience as a professional photographer I shoot JPEG exclusively. From time to time, I have switched to RAW + Large JPEG thinking I might need the famed "extra exposure latitude" or "adjustable White Balance" benefit but as it always turned out, I post processed the JPEG and still get what I wanted. I always make a second copy of the JPEG files to work on ... and they still have a smaller footprint than I would with RAW.

Stop kidding yourself. Cheap storage isn't an incentive to shoot RAW. Cost of hard drives and large CF cards were not my deterrent, time is. I am a PC power user and have a Dell P4 3.0GHz Dual Core, 2GB 667MHz RAM, 3xSATA-II drives and 3xIDE drives in USB Enclosure and despite the "modern" hardware availability, I've found RAW workflow to be too time consuming, especially with the volume of images I work with. The best JPEG workflow app is ACDSee Pro when you have dual monitors (I work with 19" + 24" LCD) and I zip through 1000 JPEG images fairly easily. For editing, I use Paint Shop Pro 9 with a number of customised photoshop plugins and this too runs fast on my PC. I would require some significant investment in latest Core 2 Duo hardware or switch to Mac just so I can run RAW conversion at the same speed I process my JPEGs now.

Apparently I am not alone here. Other professional photographers share the same opinion and have completely dropped RAW because we just aren't getting enough hours in a day juggling work and family time. For what is worth, I have also evaluated a popular RAW converter called Bibble Pro which also handles JPEG. This is one unique tool that packs a lot of features in one interface. Unfortunately, I have trouble adjusting to it and reverted to my usual workflow in my comfortable studio environment

may i know how do you manage your digital asset since you have multiple files of the same image?

 

[Ansel]

You miss out one option: 50/50.

For me, the casual or events shots will be in JPG. The one that I expect large prints to be made or lots of DI work to be done, I will shoot in RAW.

 

[ioriroger]

are u using a nikon D80?
does ur RAW format have alot of noise in photoshop?

Thx

well, i only notice the noise at darker area(or abit under exposure when i shoot in raw)if i intend to gain too much for the 'exposure'.;p so on that situation i try to use more adjustment on 'brightness' setting.ofcoz it also abit noise but better. coz PS not axacly try to save my under exposure image(i guess) it only gain a bright tiny pixel grain into my image. so if for too much under exposure i will notice the grain when i try to gain too much exposure, if slightly under...i'm not going to notice the grain(noise) lor. that is what i feel lah:dunno:


like the pro said"always try to get the photo right in ur cam not ur software":bsmilie:

 

[janshim]

may i know how do you manage your digital asset since you have multiple files of the same image?

I take a pragmatic approach in managing my large volume of photography assignments without use of a cataloging software. When a client books me for a job, it gets entered into my Outlook Calendar, once confirmed, job gets entered into my Accounting spreadsheet with revenue/cost details. After the shoot, the images are downloaded* into a folder eg 2006-03-30 (Year/Month/Day) <Name of Client> <short description> and images into ORIGINAL and WORKING. Once the assignment is completed and invoiced, the entire folder gets moved to an offline USB HD and a copy burned to DVD.

When I need to locate the job at a later stage, all I do is look up Outlook for the date, after that it's just a matter of looking at the date. When I started couple of years back, I had put my images in folders with date formatted Day/Mth/Year and this was very messy so naturally the format I use now makes a lot of sense and it gets automatically sorted by Windows XP. Also for fellow Windows users, use dash instead of full stop eg 2006.03.30 .. I've also discovered that when you share a folder over the network, certain (not all) folders remain invisible but this problem is fixed when you use dash.

* some clients at this point want a few images for Press Release the next day so it can be a bit of rush if I haven't got my laptop with me considering I live 1.5 hrs away from my clients.

 

[Liew]

I take a pragmatic approach in managing my large volume of photography assignments without use of a cataloging software. When a client books me for a job, it gets entered into my Outlook Calendar, once confirmed, job gets entered into my Accounting spreadsheet with revenue/cost details. After the shoot, the images are downloaded* into a folder eg 2006-03-30 (Year/Month/Day) <Name of Client> <short description> and images into ORIGINAL and WORKING. Once the assignment is completed and invoiced, the entire folder gets moved to an offline USB HD and a copy burned to DVD.
clients.

an enlightening workflow.

in my case, i normally tend shoot raw when i need to do a lot of post processing with my photos especially studio and outdoor potraits (i've tried getting the skin tone right with photoshop and it's very time consuming). most of the time, it's only going to be another process of transfering the files into photoshop but you get to play around with the exposure, colour mode and etc when you didn't get it right on the field. most of the time, the LCD preview is 1/2 accurate. i need the assurance that i can deliver only the best images. unless you got lots of time to do bracketing, white balance settings in the field, then, i'll strongly suggest shooting raw.

on the space contraints, having less space doesn't mean that it's a bad thing. it means that you will carefully plan and frame your shots perfectly instead of blowing a few hundred frames in the span of an hour.

 

[janshim]

an enlightening workflow.

in my case, i normally tend shoot raw when i need to do a lot of post processing with my photos especially studio and outdoor potraits (i've tried getting the skin tone right with photoshop and it's very time consuming).

It's really about knowing what you shoot, what your clients want and how to deliver them, I've been able to do that with JPEG and I guess I really need to discover the limit first before I adopt a RAW workflow into my life .

 

[Liew]

It's really about knowing what you shoot, what your clients want and how to deliver them, I've been able to do that with JPEG and I guess I really need to discover the limit first before I adopt a RAW workflow into my life .

generally, clients do not really know much about the loss of quality, loss of details, blown images etc etc, which is easier.

 

[nicekit]

generally, clients do not really know much about the loss of quality, loss of details, blown images etc etc, which is easier.

i guess so
as long as the final product is beautiful and flattering to them

i am still totally turned off by the slowness of the PC handling the RAW files
and my Photoshop Elements seems to have alot of noise when handling D80's RAW file..

sigh...

 

[Snowcrash]

I take a pragmatic approach in managing my large volume of photography assignments without use of a cataloging software. When a client books me for a job, it gets entered into my Outlook Calendar, once confirmed, job gets entered into my Accounting spreadsheet with revenue/cost details. After the shoot, the images are downloaded* into a folder eg 2006-03-30 (Year/Month/Day) <Name of Client> <short description> and images into ORIGINAL and WORKING. Once the assignment is completed and invoiced, the entire folder gets moved to an offline USB HD and a copy burned to DVD.

When I need to locate the job at a later stage, all I do is look up Outlook for the date, after that it's just a matter of looking at the date. When I started couple of years back, I had put my images in folders with date formatted Day/Mth/Year and this was very messy so naturally the format I use now makes a lot of sense and it gets automatically sorted by Windows XP. Also for fellow Windows users, use dash instead of full stop eg 2006.03.30 .. I've also discovered that when you share a folder over the network, certain (not all) folders remain invisible but this problem is fixed when you use dash.

* some clients at this point want a few images for Press Release the next day so it can be a bit of rush if I haven't got my laptop with me considering I live 1.5 hrs away from my clients.

Thank you for sharing.

And do you use keywords to tag your images? If your client is 1 off project based then it make sense. what able repeat customers with multiple projects?
Eg, A client company want all pictures of their VIP (eg CEO) of all the events you had shoot for them, how long can you find it through your system?

 

[janshim]

Thank you for sharing.

And do you use keywords to tag your images? If your client is 1 off project based then it make sense. what able repeat customers with multiple projects?
Eg, A client company want all pictures of their VIP (eg CEO) of all the events you had shoot for them, how long can you find it through your system?

The images are not individually tagged and I have no reason to do so. I also have no obligation to store the images for them as my clients get a copy of prints and images on CD. In my quote/contract there's a clause stating stating the client is responsible for safekeeping of the photographs. I normally have a copy until i decide I can no longer keep them but that has yet occured.

 

[theRBK]

RAW and RAW processing has come a long way...remember my old E10 had 11mb RAW files...same size as my D200 ones...so while resolution has doubled, storage req is still the same :bsmilie:

let me give my perspective as a soon to retire ;p DI artist from a commercial photog studio

sure, if you are going to make sure everything is right, shooting jpgs is fine...provided you are in control of time, lighting, subject matter...that's a lot to control, and sometimes there is just no way to control those factors...also, if you deal with clients who insist on making changes after the fact of the shoot, or if you yourself want to try different outcomes, then shooting RAW starts to make sense as it gives you more leeway to adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness...

also, for those who want to make large prints, then upsizing the file would be needed...sure, not all of us are gonna make large prints, and not all prints are gonna be enlarged to such an extent, but if you don't want to take the chance, shooting in RAW is gonna make it easier to upsize as there would not be the compression artifacts that would be present in jpgs...

basically, my point is that, shooting RAW gives me so much more options, and money can be spent on memory cards and DVDs and other harware but cannot be used to buy back opportunities that have passed...

 

[Yatlapball]

Apart from all the more practical aspects and flexibility given by shooting RAW.... Part of the pleasure and satisfaction of photography (at least for me), comes from the post-processing also... Maybe its a harkback from the film days. When just taking a photo isn't enough. You got to develop it too.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[zac08]

I am a hobbyist and I want to get the best out of my camera. So why would I compromise and shoot in a downgraded format... After-all, PnS dun give u RAW, if I want JPEG, I'd shoot with a PnS.

 

[psychobiologist]

i shoot in raw+basic jpg.

basic jpg for quick browsing, and when i decide the shots i want, i'll just move the raw file into another folder and batch convert them or just open them in ps

 

[ianpaice]

At least 80% of professional photographers shoot in Jpeg only. Do we really need RAW?

 

[espion]

At least 80&#37; of professional photographers shoot in Jpeg only. Do we really need RAW?

Where did u get that figure?

For news reporting it may be possibly so - and also what proportion of these are those coming over from film, ie being less savvy with digital processing? - but for other genre, like fashion, product, studio, advertisements, etc I suspect the figure may not be correct.

For if there is no reason for convenience or speed or bulk output, RAW may be the preferred mode for its very subtle and refined control of image quality. And IQ is something more important than speed for uses such as high end fashion magazines or huge wall size prints. I don't think you want to use JPEG for these.

 

[zac08]

i shoot in raw+basic jpg.

basic jpg for quick browsing, and when i decide the shots i want, i'll just move the raw file into another folder and batch convert them or just open them in ps

Btw, just for info, there is a program for RAW preview extractions (Preview Extractor)... Works pretty well for me to check the image before I work on them...

So you can save a bit more space on your card.