How much of your image do you want to leave behind?
I speak with Infrared photographers on a daily basis, and the issue of RAW files and workflow often comes up.
Now, I am not talking about whether or not you should shoot in RAW; that I hope is a given.
You WANT to shoot in RAW. You NEED to shoot in RAW.
What I am referring to is the next step.
Converting the RAW file.
Often, when we discuss workflow, I ask them what they currently do. Quite frequently they proceed to give this long series of arduous steps.
When I hear the workflow, in my mind I see a large blackboard and a guy in a lab coat writing in chalk . . . . . .
Then there is always that moment where I am ask. “So is this what you do?”
My response “. . . . . umm,..uh ..no. I use my RAW Editor”
I then get that shocked look like I just told them the most amazing thing possible.
“You mean you don’t use blah, blah, blah,. . . . it’s so intuitive, it’s so slick, it’s so stylish, ….. everybody’s using it.”
Then there is that pause and “Raw Editor??? What’s that?”
Here’s the thing.
Every camera manufacturer has a proprietary format to their RAW file. If you want to access all the information within that RAW file, to create the highest quality image possible,
. . . . . . . you must use the RAW Editor that is native to your camera.
This is not my opinion, this is what the camera manufacturers will tell you. Most of them give the RAW Editing software to you when you purchase the camera. Several make you download it from their site, and one makes you purchase a full version of it.
So, what are we talking about?
Let’s use an example:
Let’s think of your RAW file as what it is, Computer data. Now, let’s say each piece of data is a penny.
Here’s your RAW file
This is the image you worked hard to create. You White Balanced you camera, got your f-stop and shutter speed perfect, the ISO is right. You nailed the shot.
So, here’s my question.
How much of your RAW file do you want to have access to?
And how much data do you want to leave behind?
Basically, how much money do you want to leave behind on the table?
It’s really that simple.
The RAW Editor made for your camera will give you access every cent of information in that RAW file.
Now, . . . there are other ways to open your RAW Files, and they will open, but you are note getting access to all the information (data) in that RAW file.
Life is about choices. You make choices on what to shoot, when to shoot, and how to shoot. You have a choice on how to open and convert your RAW files.
My workflow is very simple
- Take a great image in RAW. Sometimes the percentage that falls into that “great” category is not as high as I’d like.
- Open my RAW file in my RAW Editor. In my case as a Canon shooter that is Digital Photo Professional
- Make the adjustments needed to my RAW file.
- Save the image as either a jgg or tiff (depending on my needs)
- Open the image in Photoshop
- Make something cool. Once again, that percentage is never as high as I’d like.
THAT IS IT!
I work hard to make my images (most of the time) and I want access to everything I made.
How about you?
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Dan Wampler
Dan Wampler is a digital artist from St Louis, MO. Having been interested in art and photography since childhood, he spent most of adult life working for Kodak and in the portrait photography industry. A student of the works of Ansel Adams, Any Warhol, and David Hamilton, Dan attempted to keep a wide range of artistic style.
As an early adopter of digital imaging, he found it gave him a way to completely incorporate art and photography. Began shooting Digital Infrared in 2004, and had first camera converted in 2006. His work has been seen in numerous gallery shows, is featured in an iTunes app. He produces Infrared and natural color digital art for sale and teaches his post-production techniques online.
Dan is LifePixel's Creative Director, social media manager, lead blog author, main workshops and training sessions instructor. His images appear in this gallery and throughout the website.
If you have a topic suggestion or request feel free to shoot him an email at danwampler@lifepixel.com
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I use a Nikon camera, but I learned Photoshop a long time ago and what I consider an advanced user. For awhile I used Capture NX2, because I could get excellent results quicker than Photoshop and Dan Wampler I wanted to make use of all the camera controls I paid dearly for like ADL, which no other RAW processor than Nikons can process.
I moved to a D810 a year ago and Nikon stopped supporting CNX2 long before that. I no longer had my beloved D700. So my work flow has changed slightly, but for the better. Though I hate the fact that I can no longer save edits in the NEF, I open all my RAW files in Capture NX-D. This allows me to make adjustments to all the camera settngs, but what I am really doing is creating a FLAT file, using the FLAT picture control and then converting the NEF to a 16 bit TIFF, which I open in Photoshop CS6 Extended and process using Dan Margulis’s Picture Postcard Workflow. Before that I was using his LAB techniques which PPW encompasses. This way like Dan Wampler I am getting the best of both worlds. I capture all the Nikon camera settings, including ADL if I use it and I am using the power of Photoshop on steroids due to the PPW workflow and free panel in Photoshop. I find that I rarely have to use any other plug ins, though I occasionally do. The workflow is quick, unless I have a need to do some extensive editing like removing objects, and is usually 5-7 minutes for a completed file. So Dan is right, if you are using any other RAW processor than the one provided by your camera maker, you are using approximations of what your camera settings were not the actual settings you so painfully tweaked to get that perfect image on your view screen.
I’ve gotten much more comfortable with the features and abilities of Canon’s DPP (4.0) and the difference in my ability to manipulate final colors in Photoshop is the difference between night and day. White balance, white balance, white balance – this is SO IMPORTANT in infrared and I can’t imagine not having every pixel of my captured data available to me as I do post. Thanks for putting this out there, Dan!
I generally open the image in Capture NX2 to white balance only, save an uncompressed 16-bit TIFF to open in photoshop and complete the rest of the edits.