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Three Reasons To Shoot RAW

Lesson 11 from: Mastering the Art of Photography

Chris Weston

Three Reasons To Shoot RAW

Lesson 11 from: Mastering the Art of Photography

Chris Weston

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Lesson Info

11. Three Reasons To Shoot RAW

Looking at the whole process of photography, from visualisation to print, Chris explains the three key reasons for moving away from JPEG and embracing RAW.

Lessons

Class Trailer
1

Class Introduction - Three Steps To Creative Photography

03:48
2

Firing The Creative Mind - Part 1: The Camera Points Both Ways

03:10
3

Firing The Creative Mind - Part 2: Letting Go Of Judgement

06:53
4

Firing The Creative Mind - Part 3: Detaching From Outcomes

04:12
5

Practicing Mindfulness In Photography

02:43
6

Finding The Visual Narrative

02:39
7

Behind-the-scenes: Naples

07:52
8

Seeing Beneath The Surface Of Things

02:30

Lesson Info

Three Reasons To Shoot RAW

let me say straight off, I always shoot raw. And there's a very simple reason the data captured by the center has to be processed. After all, it would look terrible if it wasn't. Now you can get the camera to do that processing for you, which is what all these menu options are for and that will give you a process JPEG. Or you can do the processing yourself, which is what the raw files for now, I like to do it myself because first off, the camera isn't a particularly sophisticated processing tool. For one thing, any adjustments it makes or apply to the whole image. You can't, for example, selectively adjust the brightness of the sky and leave the foreground as it was originally exposed. Neither can you, as just another example, soften skin tones without also softening around the eyes. Fine distinctions like this are really important when it comes to creating perfect prince and the camera as a processing device. In my opinion, simply isn't up to the job. Another factor and to me the most...

important is I know what I want the final image to look like the camera doesn't so which of us is more likely to produce the more authentic end product. Ever since photography was invented, image processing has been a critical component of the photographic process. The camera captures the data, and the photographer turns that data into information in the form of a finished print or digital output. Ansel Adams put it rather more poetically when using a musical metaphor. He described the negative as the score and the print as the performance however you get there. The art of photography is a combination of data capture and data processing to create a finished photograph that perfectly reflects my interpretation of the subject for me at least, requires me to be in full control of both of those elements. Yep, when it comes to photography, I'm a control freak. What can I say? That's why I don't shoot with the camera in full auto mode, and it's the reason I don't want the camera processing my images. For me, the bottom line is processing, especially if you want to create fine print or large prints or simply stunning photos is far better done working on the original raw data than on JPEG data already processed by the camera simply put with a raw file. You have loads more data to work on better, more sophisticated tools with which to work on it and much finer detail and control over it.

Ratings and Reviews

Gary Hook
 

Wow, what a wonderful journey. I love the concept of telling a story with one's photos and as I go through past images, I'm seeing them in a much different perspective. That's the good news, The bad? The lost opportunities I never 'saw' before; however that is a good thing. There is so much to internalize with the material so that it can get out of the head and into the 'heart'. I also found the concept really helps me with composition, both in camera and post. Biggest take away, as Chris underscored in his closing, is to slooooow down, take the time and feel it. Don't be so quick to leave one scene as there remain other aspects, yet to be discovered. A great experience that I truly enjoyed Thank you

Glenda
 

I loved this course - in particular the latter part of it in which he demonstrated how post processing lets you really tell the story of the image. Another fabulous course. Thanks Chris & thanks Creative Live.

Abdullah Alahmari
 

Thanks a lot to mr. Chris Weston This course is great and It is a 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 course for me. Beside the other course ( mastering photographic composition and visual storytelling) both courses are Complementing to each other and highly recommended.

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