Unlike a JPEG, you can’t immediately pull a RAW file off your camera and upload it to your favorite social network or take it to a printer. For example, a photographer can add more contrast to a RAW photograph by adjusting the highlights, lights, shadows and dark areas of an image separately. And along with making minor image corrections, RAW files can be adjusted to settings that aren’t adjustable in the camera. Exposure errors can be corrected with more accuracy than using a JPEG file. Correcting the white balance on a RAW file doesn’t harm the integrity of the shot. With so much more data than a JPEG, RAW files open up more possibilities during post processing. Because RAW files contain more data, they have a wider range of possibilities inside Adobe® Photoshop® CC, Adobe® Lightroom® CC or another image editor. A RAW file is unprocessed, but it also contains more data than a traditional JPEG. 4 tips for editing RAW in Photoshop and LightroomĪ RAW file is essentially a digital negative.What are Bits, and how do they affect image quality?.

Of course, RAW images take up more space because of the amount of available data, but if you want more flexibility when creating the final image, this may be the format to use. With a RAW image, all of the data for the image is saved so you can make all of the adjustments in post. This limits your ability to modify the image after the fact. To put it simply, this processor, based on the settings that the photographer chooses, makes the decisions on white balance, contrast, color space and sharpening. JPEG mode allows the camera to run the images through its image processor, which varies with each camera brand. And if you want to be able to do more in post processing with your images, then you might want to consider using that option. But now all DSLRs, many point and shoot cameras and even smartphones are giving you the option to shoot in RAW. In the past, most photographers used JPEG because you could get more images on your memory cards and the photos looked good. JPEG FormatĮvery new photographer feels the same confusion when hearing about the differences between shooting images in RAW vs. The Advantages of Shooting in Camera RAW vs.

Raw photo processor