Raw is an incredible technology that offers stunning image quality and flexibility, but requires an investment from capture to delivery. Filmmakers who must fulfill multiple roles on set while adhering to tight schedules may find that processing raw data delays client delivery – potentially hurting their bottom line in the process.
1. You don’t need a high-end computer
Employing a high-end computer to edit RAW files will make the editing process smoother, but isn’t absolutely essential. As long as you possess adequate memory and an SSD, the job will get done just fine.
Shooting raw gives you access to all the data collected by your camera in order to create quality images, regardless of any setting mistakes or lighting irregularities. That means there’s plenty of leeway when editing photos using raw format – for instance reviving overexposed skies by decreasing highlights slider or brightening areas which were too dim by decreasing shadow slider.
As a sole shooter juggling multiple roles on set, raw footage’s versatility can be invaluable. Being able to quickly adjust for mistakes or flaws on set can save time, money and hard drive space – provided your scene is lit correctly of course!
As well as adjusting highlights, whites, and shadows, you can also control contrast by increasing or decreasing it based on where dark areas of an image lie in relation to its brightest areas. An increase in contrast will increase shadow detail while decreasing it will lighten and crisp out highlights more quickly.
RAW can also help you to correct the color temperature of your shot – this refers to how warm or cool an image appears depending on its processing – which can be extremely useful in making sure skin tones match, or in matching surrounding landscape colors.
As RAW files don’t adhere to one universal file format, you will need to convert them before posting or sending to a client. While this process might require some extra time and work on your part, it ensures you won’t lose any of your work when sharing or sending.
As a final point, RAW files start out much larger than JPEGs; you should prepare yourself for the additional storage requirements associated with them. However, that shouldn’t deter you as you can still resize images to suit whatever purposes they serve – from social media thumbnails to large billboard prints!
2. You don’t need a high-end camera
An expensive camera can produce outstanding image quality, but it isn’t the only way to capture exceptional images. Your computer is much more powerful than any camera ever was and can quickly process raw files that contain data collected from scenes you shoot – providing incredible flexibility in terms of making changes and producing results you desire regardless of their appearance in real time.
Shooting in RAW offers another advantage when it comes to recovering from mistakes on set. For instance, if the sky appears too bright, RAW allows you to adjust it in post production whereas with JPEGs this adjustment cannot be done since the scene has already been processed in-camera.
RAW files contain an abundance of data about light sources and how they fall on scenes, as well as an understanding of their temperature (which you can use to adjust exposure issues), which makes RAW an invaluable asset when shooting photos in RAW mode.
JPEGs lose some information during compression, which can be particularly devastating in images with fine details such as landscapes and portraits. When shooting RAW, however, all information can be preserved so you can reclaim any lost details later in post-production work.
If your photos will never be edited, there’s no sense in shooting RAW. After all, uploading straight to social media without making changes wastes both your camera’s capabilities and hard drive space.
Alternatively, wedding photographers whose clients will expect high resolution images should consider shooting RAW for maximum image quality and editing flexibility. If storage space is an issue for you, purchase a large memory card or invest in an external hard drive with plenty of capacity.
3. You don’t need a high-end editor
Beginners to photography may find the concept of shooting raw intimidating, yet its application is actually very straightforward! There are countless programs to help beginners get started shooting raw images and most even offer free trial periods so they can test out which programs best suit them; YouTube also serves as an invaluable source for tutorials that show them how.
Once your program is chosen, it is crucial that you take time to critically review your footage. Doing this will enable you to accurately identify which type of edit would best meet your needs – for instance if your video clips need to be stitched together into a coherent narrative this would likely necessitate a basic edit; but if special effects or color modifications need to be added an advanced or high-end editor may be more suitable.
Keep in mind when editing RAW files that the end result won’t match what was in the original RAW file, since JPEGs are lossy formats that degrade image quality with each open and save action; RAW files retain all their original image data and only save compressed versions once editing has finished.
RAW files offer an excellent way to capture more image data, but require more post-processing work due to lack of pre-processing that occurs with JPEGs. When taking photos in JPEG mode, your camera automatically adjusts white balance depending on lighting conditions; with RAW shots however, you have more flexibility in manually setting white balance for every shot taken.
One of the greatest advantages of shooting in RAW format is its ability to allow for fine-tuning images. You can reduce noise and sharpen images without losing quality; additionally, you can customize exposure and contrast for each photo to achieve perfect images.
4. You don’t need a high-end colorist
No harm should come from having an experienced colorist work on your project; however, you can still achieve excellent results by hiring someone less seasoned. There are various techniques for creating similar effects with different equipment and software – the key here is communicating with your colorist about what look you desire before the shoot begins; they will advise which lenses and settings would best complement the scene you are filming.
Once you know exactly what results you are after, working with any colorist becomes much simpler. RAW workflow is generally preferred as this saves both time and effort for everyone involved; also RAW files tend to be much more stable than JPEGs which lose quality each time you open and save them – this makes a major impactful statement about the quality of prints produced from them.
