Since I still shoot some weddings with digital cameras, I sometimes get asked by brides if they can get the RAW images. What’s a RAW photo, you ask? Is it uncooked? Do I have to wash it first? Does it have anything to do with food? – Not exactly.
Lots of photographers are now providing discs to the couple with the wedding photos on it, and they want to know what format the images are in. Some folks like having the final product, and some prefer to have the original images right from the camera. This post is about the images that come uncooked, right from the camera.
There are two major kinds of image formats that modern digital SLRs produce: RAW and JPG.
RAW is the original binary (100101001010) format of the image. It is a direct output from the digital sensor to the memory card. Every camera has a built in RAW converter that translates this computer code into something that can be displayed on the screen – like JPG or TIFF or PNG. The RAW files that my cameas produce are large – usually around 15 meg or so. And they look flat, dull, and lifeless when opened directly on a computer.
JPG images are RAW files converted into something useful and pretty. Every camera does this. Most do it automatically. In fact some cameras don’t even give you the option of saving the photo as a RAW image. The little computer in the camera converts the binary data into something nice. It makes the colors pop, adds some contrast, and sharpens the image a little, too. 99% of the time the photos look fantastic. But for most cameras, once the RAW to JPG conversion is made, the camera automatically deletes the RAW and saves the JPEG file. So if the camera gets it wrong, oops!
For me, it’s that 1%. That 1% is when you are having a sunset wedding ceremony, and the camera becomes confused by the lighting conditions, or when you are doing your first dance in a candlelit ballroom, or when you are cutting the cake, and the reception hall is full of other cameras flashing, or when you are making your grand exit in the dark, only lit by sparklers – just about every condition at a wedding, if you think about it.
When I shoot RAW, I have the ability to go back to my office, and edit your photos – adding my particular recipe, to make your wedding photos look clean, crisp, and sharp. Timeless. Accurate color. I make sure that every moment of your wedding, from hair and makeup, to sparkler exits is pure. I can’t risk that my camera won’t make the right decision. So I make it, and I give you the results on a CD in the highest quality JPG form. In fact I won’t even let RAW images out of my office.
Here is an example of a RAW image, and a processed JPEG side by side so you can see what I am talking about:
A RAW and an edited JPG file
{ 1 comment }
Hi Eric,
I’m 100% the same. I only shoot RAW. Yes, it does take up a lot of computer processing power and space, but I like knowing that I have the latitude to do some advanced post production work.
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly earlier regarding Photoshelter.
Cheers.
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