What are RAW images? RAW format: what is it. RAW or JPEG which is better? Archive raw

The most common problem that prevents users from opening this file is an incorrectly assigned program. To fix this in Windows OS you need to click right click on the file, in context menu Hover your mouse over the "Open with" item and select "Select a program..." from the drop-down menu. As a result you will see a list installed programs on your computer, and you can choose the appropriate one. We also recommend checking the box next to “Use this application for all RAW files.”

Another problem that our users also encounter quite often is that the RAW file is corrupted. This situation can arise in many cases. For example: the file was downloaded incompletely as a result server errors, the file was damaged initially, etc. To fix this problem, use one of the recommendations:

Try to find required file in another source on the Internet. You may have luck finding a more suitable version. Example Google search: "File filetype:RAW" . Just replace the word "file" with the name you want;
Ask them to send you the original file again, it may have been damaged during transmission;

If you shoot with a digital camera (oh well... since you are reading this blog, it means you know how to use the Internet and other benefits of civilization, that means you are a normal modern person, then... why this “if” - you definitely shoot with a digital camera)... So Now, since you shoot on a digital camera, you definitely faced the question of whether to shoot in RAW or JPG. And it is precisely this question that we will answer in our short article.

First of all, RAW and JPG are different formats created for different tasks. And each of them has its own pros and cons. The most important thing is to understand whether you really need the capabilities that RAW provides, or is the simplicity and compatibility of JPG more important to you?

To do this, let's compare all the strong and weak sides each format. So.

.JPG

The main task of the JPG format is to convey the highest quality picture with minimal costs memory capacity. This is where all of its shortcomings come from, but also its advantages:

When you shoot in JPG, you immediately get a finished image. You can immediately send the photo to print or post it on the Internet.
JPG photos take up significantly less space than RAW or TIFF files.
The colors in your photos will immediately be exactly as the camera sees them. When working with RAW, you will have to use the right RAW converter.
By shooting in JPG, you can immediately adjust the sharpness, saturation and contrast settings of your photos. You can also enable the automatic noise reduction function.

The possibilities for further processing are much smaller than when shooting in RAW.
When shooting in JPG, the fine details in the frame are lost. When printing photos in large format it will be noticeable loss quality.
On many DSLR camera models, when shooting in JPG, the overall sharpness of the photo is worse than when shooting in RAW.

Bottom line

JPG is the ideal format for those who value simplicity and ease of use. You can take photos and send them straight to print in a darkroom or on your home printer. Having copied them to your computer, you can immediately send them to your friends on the Internet. They take up little space on a flash card and you will always have enough JPG to print a 10x15 or 15x20 photo in good quality.

If you need to shoot a large volume of photos (500, 1000, 1500 frames) and you don’t have time to process all these photos in a RAW converter, choose JPG, because that’s what it was created for.

.RAW

The RAW format is “raw”, i.e. it requires subsequent conversion to JPG or TIFF. The fact is that when shooting in RAW, all information from the camera’s matrix is saved into the photo file. It is thanks to this “rawness” that we have extensive processing capabilities, but also all the inconveniences associated with converting files.

Processing capabilities. First of all, these are opportunities for working with color - you can already change the white balance in a photo on your computer. You can also process individual colors in a photo, work in detail with areas of shadows and highlights, contrast and saturation of the image. A very important point is that when shooting in RAW, additional information is saved in the file, using which you can “get” image details from overexposed or dark areas of the frame.
By shooting in RAW, you can use precise noise removal and sharpening algorithms.
The RAW file provides great opportunities for color styling and artistic processing of photographs.
Most RAW converters have a function for saving processing settings. Once you've done the processing, you can apply it to other photos with one click.
From a RAW file, you can convert an image into any format you need, be it a low-resolution JPG file for publishing on the Internet or a high-resolution TIFF file for large-format printing.

A RAW file takes up much more space than a JPG.
RAW files cannot be immediately sent to print or published on the Internet.
To convert RAW files you must use special programs- RAW converters. Learning RAW converters can only be interesting and fun if you are really serious about photography. Otherwise, this process will only be an additional headache for you.
The process of converting RAW files itself takes extra time and requires a computer with good performance.

Bottom line

The RAW format is used by all professional photographers and photo artists. For them, the processing capabilities and picture quality that RAW provides are a necessity. If you are serious about photography, are interested in working with color, or want to print photos in large formats, try shooting in RAW.

P donkey WITH fishing
In any dispute, a compromise can be found. And the dispute between formats is no exception, because you can always enable the function of simultaneous shooting in both RAW and JPG on your camera. This will, of course, require more space on the memory card, but you will be able to use the strengths of both formats.

Electrical signal generated at the moment of shooting digital camera matrix, enters the camera processor in the form of an array of digitized, but not yet processed or, if you like, “raw” data. This data is then either written without further processing to the memory card in the form of a so-called. RAW file, or are pre-processed by the camera processor, which forms a full-fledged image based on them and saves it in JPEG format. JPEG photographs are the final product of the photographic process and are fully suitable for viewing, printing, publishing online or for any other practical use. Pictures saved as RAW files must be edited in a special converter program, which allows you to turn the raw data provided by the matrix into graphic image in JPEG or TIFF format. Shooting in RAW is used in cases where the photographer, for one reason or another, does not want to trust the camera processor to process the image and prefers to do the conversion himself. In any case, all digital photos are born as RAW data and the end result is a JPEG, but manual conversion provides more control over the properties of the final image compared to automatic in-camera conversion. It's important to understand that using RAW doesn't necessarily improve image quality, it just makes the photo process more manageable and predictable.

While JPEG is a full-fledged graphics format with a .jpg extension, RAW does not denote a separate file format, but rather a family of formats that have different specifications and extensions depending on the camera manufacturer: .cr2 (Canon), .nef (Nikon) , .arw (Sony), .pef (Pentax), .orf (Olympus), .raf (Fujifilm), etc.

In addition to digitized brightness values for each photodiode of the matrix, the RAW file contains a JPEG image generated by the camera, necessary for preview, as well as various metadata, such as: specifications of the camera and its matrix, description of exposure parameters, white balance settings and image styles, date and shooting time.

By its nature, a RAW file is not an image, but it contains the information necessary to form an image. Because of this, a RAW file is often compared to a film negative in traditional photography. Digital negative is a good metaphor. Just as a traditional negative, which contains a latent image after exposure, needs to be developed, a RAW file needs to be converted in order for the hidden image in it to see the light of day. And just as a traditional photographer has a choice: send the film to a darkroom for automatic development and printing, or develop and print it himself, controlling all the nuances of the photographic process, so a non-traditional digital photographer can choose whether to entrust the conversion to the camera processor or edit the files manually using RAW -converter.

Despite the fact that I myself shoot primarily in RAW, I do not encourage you to follow my example. This is an individual matter. Both RAW and JPEG have their own unique advantages and disadvantages, and therefore neither approach can be considered unconditionally better.

Advantages of JPEG

Shooting in JPEG saves time. Manual image processing is a slow process and requires special skills.
A JPEG shot with a good camera looks better than a poorly edited RAW.
JPEG files take up much less space on both the memory card and hard drive. Storing a large number of RAW files eats up disk space faster than you'd like.
Because small files are written to the memory card faster, the camera's buffer is also cleared faster, allowing continuous shooting allows you to make longer series.
JPEG is the most versatile and popular graphic format. JPEG photos are ready for use immediately after shooting. They can be easily opened in any program, and after decades they will still be available for viewing and editing. At the same time, RAW files cannot be rendered directly and require a specific converter that supports a specific RAW format, a specific camera and a specific lens. Photography equipment manufacturers have a bad habit of changing their standards from time to time, and no one can guarantee that current RAW files will be readable in the future.

Benefits of RAW

RAW files have bit depth from 12 to 14 bits (4096-16384 gradations), while JPEG is only 8 bits (256 gradations). High bit depth makes very bold manipulations with the image possible without the risk of posterization and other artifacts. The difference between RAW and JPEG is especially noticeable when trying to brighten dark areas of the frame.
The photographic latitude of a RAW file is several stops greater than that of a JPEG, which is important when shooting in contrasting lighting conditions.
A RAW file does not formally have color space, and all color manipulations are performed before converting the data into the gamut-limited sRGB palette of the final file.
Balance white can be adjusted after shooting.
Brightness, contrast, color saturation, noise reduction, sharpening and other image parameters are under the complete control of the photographer.
Editing RAW files is non-destructive: the original data remains intact during processing and can always be returned to for a new conversion.
Different RAW converters interpret the RAW file in different ways, which allows the photographer to choose a program in accordance with his taste and requirements for image quality.

Which format should I choose?

Many novice amateur photographers, having learned about the existence of RAW formats, come to the conclusion that they need to shoot only and exclusively in RAW, since this is supposedly a sign of professionalism. This is fundamentally wrong. Professionals use both RAW and JPEG with equal success, depending on their needs. For example, landscape photographers usually work with a relatively small number of photographs, but value image quality and pay a lot of attention to the individual processing of each image, and therefore work mainly with RAW. Photographers, on the contrary, shoot mainly in JPEG, because they know that their footage will still be published in a small size, but the editor needs to quickly provide the newly shot material as quickly as possible in a form ready for publication.

Let’s now try to figure out which format is right for you personally.

You should shoot in JPEG if...

You are new to photography. In fact, if you are planning to shoot in RAW only because you want to be able to correct mistakes exposure or white balance backdating, then wouldn’t it be better to first learn to avoid such mistakes?
Image quality is not of fundamental importance. This is true not only for reporting, but also for most amateur protocol photographs.
You produce a huge number of photos and don't want to waste time converting them.
Your photos do not need aggressive processing.
You are completely satisfied with how the photos look when they come out of the camera. It’s not a good life to mess with RAW files, and if you manage to achieve the desired result using the camera, then there is no need to complicate everything.

You should shoot in RAW if...

You have time, desire, excess disk space and confidence in your own advantage over a soulless machine.
You tend to put a lot of creative thought into your photos. This is where the redundant information contained in the RAW file comes in handy.
You strive to make the most of dynamic range your camera sensor.
You're simply not happy with the way your photos look when they come out of your camera, and you're convinced that they'll look better when they come out of a RAW converter.

RAW+JPEG

Some photographers prefer to shoot in RAW+JPEG mode, which allows each photo to be recorded in two formats at once. There is a rational grain in this. You immediately receive finished photos in JPEG format and, if they are ok, continue to work with them, and in cases where in-camera processing has not done its job, you turn to RAW files and convert them manually.

If you're someone who personally edits most of their photos, then the extra JPEG becomes unnecessary. Shoot in RAW, and if you need an in-camera JPEG for some shots, it can be easily generated from a RAW file. Image processing software that comes with the camera (for example, Nikon View NX or Canon Digital Photo Professional) usually allows you to convert the image "as is", successfully simulating in-camera processing.

TIFF

I don't see the point in shooting in TIFF format even if your camera has that option. TIFF contains already interpolated and processed data and therefore cannot serve as an alternative to RAW if you plan to seriously edit your photos. Also, TIFF does not have any practical advantage over JPEG, although it takes up much more space. At the same time, the TIFF format is quite appropriate for intermediate processing of already converted photographs, as well as for their subsequent storage.

When shooting in JPEG, your work on the photo should be considered largely complete as soon as the shutter is released. In this regard, all decisions that affect the final appearance of the photo must be made in advance, and the camera settings must fully comply with the shooting conditions.

Exposition

The exposure must be flawless. You will be able to lighten the shadows slightly, but the highlights will be lost forever. When determining exposure, you should focus on subjects that are significant in the scene, even if this automatically leads to overexposure or underexposure of secondary elements of the frame.

White balance

White balance needs to be determined as carefully as possible, since color correction of a JPEG file is fraught with headaches. Learn to use fine-tuning white balance, and in the most critical situations, set the white balance manually.

Picture style

Picture Style determines the overall appearance of a photo and affects parameters such as contrast, brightness, color saturation, color balance, and sharpness. Despite the fact that all these properties can be adjusted in Photoshop, it is still advisable to immediately guess the style at the time of shooting. When in doubt, choose more neutral styles with lower contrast, saturation and sharpness values, as these parameters are easy to boost later, but very difficult to lower without damaging the image.

Quality

I advise you to shoot in high quality, i.e. with the lowest compression ratio. You can always resave pictures with lower quality, but you won’t be able to get rid of over-compression artifacts. Choose the resolution based on practical needs.

Color space

If sRGB is not set by default, then you should manually select sRGB. This is the most universal color space and by choosing it, you are protected from incorrect display of colors in various programs.

Noise reduction

It is advisable to choose the minimum required level noise reduction to prevent photos from becoming overly glossy. Even better, the camera can automatically adjust the level of noise reduction according to the ISO sensitivity value.

Editing

As has been said many times, JPEG is not designed for deep processing, but minimalist editing can be quite acceptable. Acceptable: slight increase in contrast and color saturation, selective sharpening, delicate lightening and darkening. Touching up debris and pimples is also not a crime.

You should shoot in RAW with an eye to post-processing the frame. When choosing shooting parameters, you must not only take into account current conditions, but also plan in advance the further stages of the implementation of your creative plan. The more clearly you imagine the strategy for converting your future photo, the more manageable the entire photo process will be.

Exposition

Expose according to the light using the ETTR (Exposure To The Right) principle. If the scene has high contrast, the photo may turn out quite dark. It doesn't matter - you can easily lighten it in a RAW converter, while preserving the detail in the highlights. It should be remembered that at the time of shooting you are not trying to get the final result, but rather a preparation for future photography.

If you use a histogram to determine exposure, keep in mind that it is calculated based on the JPEG thumbnail, which means it is affected by white balance and picture styles, and in some cases may lie about the actual exposure. Over time, you will learn to recognize these situations and make appropriate adjustments.

White balance

White balance settings at the time of shooting do not affect the RAW data in any way, but they do affect the histogram, and therefore it makes sense to adjust the white balance at least approximately by choosing one of the ready-made modes. You will make fine tuning later.

Picture style

Choosing an image style again does not oblige you to anything, but personally I am pleased when a photo looks more or less presentable on the camera screen. If you don't have time for that kind of aesthetic, then just go for Neutral or Faithfull.

Quality

Color space

The color space set in the camera ( sRGB or Adobe RGB) has absolutely no meaning and does not in any way limit the really important choice of color space at the output of the RAW converter. However, I prefer to have the camera set to sRGB in case I want to shoot in JPEG.

Noise reduction

Noise reduction settings can be safely ignored except for subtractive dark noise reduction at long exposures. The latter affects both JPEG and RAW.

Editing

My personal procedure for converting RAW files is described in sufficient detail in the article “ How to use Adobe Camera Raw" Popular catalog editor Adobe Lightroom uses the Camera Raw engine, and therefore conversion to Lightroom can be carried out using a similar protocol. DxO Optics Pro and Phase One Capture One PRO are also good converters. The programs offered by photographic equipment manufacturers are not very convenient, and their only purpose, in my opinion, is to quickly convert RAW to JPEG using camera settings.

Thank you for your attention!

Vasily A.

Post scriptum

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Article text updated: 8.11.2019

The blog is already 4 years old. During this time, quite a lot of lessons for beginning amateur photographers have been published on its pages, having mastered which you can significantly improve the quality of your photographs. It's probably time to talk about why it's almost impossible to take the perfect picture when shooting in JPEG. Today’s photo lesson is intended for complete beginners: we will reveal the secrets of why the photographs of experienced photographers often look richer and sharper, even if they shoot with exactly the same camera and lens that are in your photo bag.

For some reason, after returning from home, I haven’t been able to write short articles. Get ready, there will be a lot of text below. So that you don’t drown in it, I’ll give you the content first.

1.0. RAW vs JPEG formats. Advantages and disadvantages

The debate over whether to shoot in RAW or JPEG format seems to be a never-ending debate in the field of photography. Some photographers prefer RAW, others prefer JPEG. What is the RAW format in digital photography? What are the advantages and disadvantages of RAW compared to JPEG and why? Should we shoot in RAW or JPEG format? Will shooting in RAW make post-production more difficult? These are some of the most common questions new amateur photographers ask after purchasing their first DSLR or mirrorless camera and learning its settings. Hopefully, by gaining a full understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of both formats, photographers will be able to decide whether to use RAW in their work.

Note. Here and further in the description of settings when shooting, the following order is used: 1/100 – shutter speed in seconds, 9.0 – aperture, 100 – ISO value, 22 – focal length in millimeters. All pictures in this lesson were taken on an entry-level amateur DSLR Nikon D5100 with the simplest KIT lens Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR DX.

I remember the first time I looked through the camera settings and read the manual for the Nikon D5100, thinking about what the NEF file was for and why I should use it. JPEG is an image format that is used by default in most compact cameras and we are all very familiar with it, we view and share JPEG images online and upload/download them from our and our mobile devices.

But I wanted to know something about RAW right away. Maybe it was the word “raw” (this is how you can translate the meaning of this word from in English), which sounded intriguing, maybe it was the desire to certainly get the sharpest, highest quality and the best photos. Regardless of what it was, I changed the camera's image quality settings to "RAW+F" (shooting in NEF + JPEG of excellent quality) and tried to take a photo.

The first thing I noticed was how small my memory card had become. Wait a minute! Why did the number of photographs decrease from 959 to 270? The image on the LCD looked exactly the same, but took up three times the memory? I was disappointed. Then I took the memory card and inserted it into my computer. To my surprise, each file in the folder is presented in two types: JPEG and NEF. And I couldn't even open this NEF! It’s a good thing I didn’t decide, “This is no good, I should just stick with JPEG,” because later, when I learned to work in an NEF editing program called Lightroom, I redid all the frames.

Sounds familiar? If you are in a similar situation, do not immediately give up RAW, you will bite your elbows in the future. We really need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of both formats before making a decision so that we don't regret it later.

1.1. What is RAW format?

RAW images, also known as “digital negatives,” are actually raw files taken directly from the camera sensor. They are truly “raw”, like iron ore that must be processed to make iron or steel. Unlike JPEG files, which can be easily opened, viewed and printed by most image viewing and editing programs, RAW is a proprietary format that is tied to the camera manufacturer and sensor, and therefore is not supported by all software products.

RAV files store the most information about an image and typically contain more colors and cover a wider dynamic range than JPEG images. To display the recorded image on the camera's LCD, RAW files typically consist of two parts—the actual RAW data from the camera's sensor and a processed JPEG preview image. Many image viewing applications, including the camera screen, then use this JPEG embedded in the RAW file to display it.

1.2. Benefits of the RAW Format

Compared to 8-bit JPEG, which can contain up to 256 shades of red, green and blue (16.8 million in total), 12-bit RAW images contain the most information with 4,096 shades of red, green and blue (equivalent to 68 billion flowers!) or even more. On the Nikon D610 I can record 14-bit RAW files, which is equivalent to about 4.3 trillion. possible colors. This is simply a huge number compared to 16 million!
RAB files contain the widest dynamic range (the ratio between the maximum and minimum brightness of highlights and shadows) and can then be used to restore underexposed or overexposed images or parts of an image.
When you create a RAW image, all shooting parameters (also called metadata or EXIF), including camera-specific and manufacturer information, are simply added to the file. This means that the image itself remains unchanged - the settings are provided as information only, and you can make any changes to them later in post-production applications such as Lightroom and Photoshop. This is a huge advantage of using RAW because if we accidentally apply incorrect setting(eg white balance) in the camera, we will have the option to change it later.
Due to the number of colors stored in RAW images, the type of color space set in the camera settings (sRGB or Adobe RGB) is also not important when shooting in RAW format - we will be able to change it to any value during processing.
Unlike JPEGs, RAW files use lossless compression, meaning they do not suffer from image compression artifacts.
Shooting in RAW does not sharpen the image, meaning you can use better and more complex algorithms on your computer to do so.
RAB files can be used as proof of your authorship and the authenticity (unmodified) of the image. If you meet a Bigfoot in the taiga and take a photo in RAW, no one will be able to tell that you used Photoshop to add a humanoid to the photo. 🙂

1.3. Disadvantages of the RAW format

RAW files require post-processing and conversion before viewing, which adds significant time to the photo acquisition process.
RAW takes up much more camera memory and flash drive space than JPEG. This means that the card can store fewer images and the camera's buffer may fill up quickly, resulting in significantly slower shooting speeds. To work with RAV images we also need more random access memory and much more disk space on your computer.
RAW files do not have a common standard for different manufacturers. For example, software Nikon cannot read RAW files from a Canon camera and vice versa. Additionally, not all image viewers and editors can open RAW files. If we have absolutely new camera, which has just been released, it may take some time for software companies to update it to support our model. Here are the main designations of the RAV format from different manufacturers: NEF - from Nikon; CRW, CR2 for Canon cameras, ARW, SRF and SR2 for Sony, RAF for Fujifilm, ORF for Olympus, RW2 for Panasonic, PTX, PEF for Pentax, SRW for Samsung, 3FR for Hasselblad (if there are owners of these medium format cameras that don’t know what RAV is) and DNG is a universal Adobe format.
We will need to convert the RAW files to a compatible format, such as JPEG or TIFF, before we can show them to friends and clients, as they may not have suitable viewing programs.
Since RAW files cannot be processed by third party software, the settings must be saved in a separate XMP file, which means more storage space and more complex file management (unless we convert our RAW files to DNG format).
Due to the size of RAW images, the archiving and backup process takes much longer.

1.4. What is JPEG?

Today, JPEG is the most popular format, capable of displaying millions of colors in a highly compressed file. JPEG uses a "lossy" compression method, which means that certain information is removed from the image. For of this format Different compression ratios (percentages) are applied, which affects the quality and size of the image. The more details saved, the larger the file.

1.5. Advantages of the JPEG format

JPEG images are processed in-camera and all adjustments such as white balance, color saturation, tone curves, sharpness and color space are already factored into the image. So you don't need to waste time post-processing the image - all you have to do is extract the image from the memory card and it's ready to use.
Jipegs are much smaller in size than RAW files, and therefore take up much less memory and require much less processing power.
Because of smaller size cameras can write JPEG files much faster, which increases the camera's buffer capacity. This means that compared to RAW we can shoot at higher speeds and for longer periods of time.
Majority modern devices and programs support the Jipeg format, which makes it convenient to use.
Digital cameras support different compression and size options for JPEG files, giving us the ability to choose between image quality and image size.
Smaller file size also means faster copying.

1.6. Disadvantages of the JPEG format

The lossy compression algorithm means that we lose some detail from the photos. This loss of detail, especially in heavily compressed files, will appear in images as “artifacts” and will be quite noticeable to the eye.
JPEG images are 8-bit, which imposes a limit of 16 million possible colors. This means that all other colors that the camera is capable of producing are essentially discarded when the image is converted to JPEG.
JPEG images also have a narrower dynamic range compared to RAW, meaning that recovering overexposed/underexposed images and shadows will be difficult, if not impossible.
Since cameras process JPEG images entirely, any errors in camera settings will be virtually irreversible. For example, if we sharpen it too much, we won't be able to do the reverse transformation later.

1.7. Which format should I choose, RAW or JPEG?

Let's move on to the most important question: should we use RAW or JPEG?

For me, the benefits of shooting RAW far outweigh the benefits of using JPEG. File storage devices are relatively inexpensive these days, and I don't worry about file size even when backing up. Since I already spend a significant amount of time taking photos, I don't mind spending a little more time and effort on processing the photos. True, if I had to process images individually in Photoshop, I would completely abandon RAW, because I would not have time to process several hundred photos from each trip. Thanks to great post-processing programs like Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, we can work on images in batch mode and spend minimal time on individual post-processing (when necessary) - for example, my record: 600 images in 3 hours.

But processing time and file size are minor issues compared to the ability to recover detail from RAW files. Like other photographers, I've encountered situations where the lighting wasn't great, where I couldn't trust the camera and didn't have time to adjust the exposure, resulting in poorly exposed images. If I shot in JPEG, such details would be irretrievably lost, and I would end up with low-quality photos. But since I shoot in RAW, I can easily adjust the exposure and other settings and get a good photo. This makes a huge difference, especially in the case of rare, exceptional moments that cannot be re-shot.

Let's look at this frame:

I made a mistake and the image above ended up being underexposed by 1 - 1.5 stops. But thanks to the fact that I shot in RAW, Lightroom can almost completely restore the loss of detail. Below on the right is a restored frame from RAW (I increased the “exposure” and “fill light” in Lightroom, passed the mask over the light sky and darkened it).

As you can see, the frame on the right contains much more color and detail than the frame on the left. Discoloration in the shadows is especially noticeable because the JPEG file is 8-bit and contains much less information to restore color and detail. If we take a photo that is underexposed by 2 stops or more, we will see that it is almost impossible to restore it from JPEG, while from RAW we can get some of the colors and details.

Another common problem besides exposure is correct setting white balance. If it is poorly configured, then in this case we will get a low-quality photo.

The image above was taken with standard settings cameras.

In any case, my opinion on the RAW vs JPEG debate is this: if we take our passion for photography seriously and plan to sell or display our work in the future, we need to shoot in RAW. If you take photos for family archives or fun, and there is no time for post-processing, then you can limit yourself to JPEG.

2.0. How I process my photos

In this article, I will explain what post-processing is and what stages it consists of in digital photography. One thing to keep in mind is that technique can vary greatly between photographers as there are so many variables and there is no standard workflow that will suit everyone. Therefore, the information presented here should be used as a guide only so that you can generally understand what photo editing is. It’s up to us to choose the most optimal processing method to suit your needs.

The photos in today's article were taken in November 2012, when my wife and I flew on vacation to Mexico with a 90-minute stopover in New York. I had a Nikon D5100 KIT 18-55 VR camera with me. I didn’t really understand the settings, so I usually shot in scene mode: “Portrait”, “Landscape”, “Night landscape”, etc.

On vacation, I always take photographs in two formats: “RAW + F”, that is, each frame is represented on a flash drive by two frames: NEF and in-camera JPEG with a low compression ratio (I view it on a netbook in the hotel in the evenings).

Since when shooting in RAV such parameters as white balance (WB), the degree of development of shadows and highlights (the main thing is that there is no clipping) are not particularly important, then my Jeep from the camera does not come out as beautiful as it could have turned out if I would specifically introduce settings for the situation: the correct WB, using the “Active D-Lighting” function to “pull out” details from dark areas of the image, etc.

However, I believe that a beginner who is too lazy to read the instructions for the camera and understand the settings in practice will end up with JPEG images similar to those you will see below. I hope my examples of photo processing in NEF will show you how much potential your camera has for improving the quality of your photos.

2.1. Processing in digital photography

Processing in this case is all stages of working with digital images from shooting to presentation to viewers. It consists of a series of interconnected steps developed by photographers to simplify and streamline their work. Simplification and standardization are two of the key words, as a well-established imaging workflow not only helps you make your imaging work easier and faster, but also helps you stay organized, increase efficiency, and maintain consistency in your work. The number of steps in this process may vary, but they are generally as follows:

Camera setup and shooting.
Copying images to a computer.
Importing images into the processing program.
Organizing and sorting images.
Post-processing.
Export images.
Backup.
Print or publish photos on the Internet.

Let's look at each of the steps separately.

2.2. Camera setup and shooting

The process of taking a photo starts with the camera, so the settings and how we take photos certainly affects the workflow. For example, if we shoot in RAW format, the workflow will be a little more complicated than if we shoot in JPEG. Why? Because RAV files need to be processed before they are suitable for printing or publishing. Also, RAW files take up a lot of memory, which will certainly slow down their import, export and backup.

If you shoot in JPEG format, you need to decide which one to use. color profile, compression and file size, white balance and so on. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages, but we will have to decide that would be better suited in this case.

To get a high-quality image, even before pressing the camera shutter button, the photographer must adjust many processing parameters: white balance, Picture Control mode (it includes sharpness, contrast, brightness, saturation, hue), degree of shadow lightening (Active D-lighting ) and how strong the noise reduction will be.

The names “Picture Control” and “Active D-lighting” indicate processing menu items in Nikon cameras. In Canon EOS cameras these are “Picture Styles” and “Auto Lighting Optimizer”, respectively. Sony mirrorless cameras have a shadow brightening function called DRO (Dynamic Range Optimization). In Fujifilm X mirrorless cameras, shadow processing is set by three items: “DR”, “H tone” and “S tone” in the quick settings menu “Q” (quick menu).

In addition, if we decide to shoot HDR or panoramas, we will have to photograph a series of frames, which adds another step to the processing process - HDR images or panorama stitching. Therefore, we should decide in advance what camera settings we want to use and how we will shoot.

2.3. Copying images to a computer

There are many ways to transfer images to your computer. The first step is to connect an SD or CompactFlash memory card using a card reader or USB cable.

The second is the actual process of copying files from a card or camera to a computer. It can be done different ways. You can copy files to a specific folder on your hard drive using operating system, or use programs such as Adobe Bridge, Lightroom or Aperture for this.

Many photographers prefer to use the second method for importing. They rely on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to do this, and this application greatly simplifies the workflow because many of the steps described in this article are completed within one program.

For each photo shoot, I create a separate folder, which I name according to the following principle: “Year, month, date, keyword.” Each of them may have subsections: “Photos in JPEG”, “Photos in RAW”. In the example in the picture above, my section is called “2017 04 22 Photo processing”.

2.4. Importing images into the processing program

This step depends on how we transfer the pictures to the computer, because some programs perform this procedure in one step. For example, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Apple Aperture simultaneously copy images to the computer and import them into a catalog, saving us time.

The benefit of using such software is that you can customize the import process and add specific keywords, metadata to the images, and even set some presets for each image upon import, saving even more time in processing.

In the picture above you can see that when importing photos into Lightroom, you can tick the desired frames and import only them. The second approach is to load all available photographs from this section into the editor, in order to then sort them in the next processing step. The third is to pre-select the necessary frames by viewing them in a special RAV viewer program called “FastStone Image Viewer”; Remove defective and duplicate ones, leaving only the best ones to work with in the future.

2.5. Organizing and sorting images

Once the images are on our computer, we must decide how to organize and sort them so that they are not scattered all over the hard drive. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Aperture offer different ways to manage your photo catalog.

We can do everything from adding keywords, ranking favorite images with stars, color tagging images, creating custom image groups and more. In Lightroom and Aperture, all image information is stored in a database, making the process of searching for an image very simple. it's the same good way quick overview photos and identify bad, blurry and out of focus photos. Now let's move on to the next step - image post-processing.

In the Lightroom program, it is possible to assign ratings with “stars” and flags to highlight different categories of images: 1) photos that we process first; 2) pictures that we do not touch yet, but also do not delete from the computer; 3) unnecessary frames that we will delete.

Honestly, after a couple of times I highlighted defective frames with flags, and then accidentally deleted the originals from the first category along with them, I don’t use this tool. Most often I use approach No. 3, described in the previous section: I looked at the RAW in the viewer, immediately removed the defects (cropped hands, closed eyes, blurry frames, repeated shots, etc.) and uploaded only the necessary photos to Lightroom, so as not to waste time to tinker with mediocre shots. My FastStone Image Viewer shows NEF photos faster than Lightroom.

2.6. Photo post-processing

Now that we have organized the photos on the computer using the selected application, it is time to process them. Is this step necessary if the image already looks good straight out of the camera? I think it's definitely needed if we're shooting in RAW, and it probably wouldn't hurt if we're shooting in JPEG, since most images will still need some tweaking to make them look better ().

Let's try to show a few examples of the RAW processing sequence in Lightroom to make it clear how powerfully this program can influence image quality.

Example of processing in Lightroom No. 1. Cityscape

Have you noticed that the term “in-camera JPEG” constantly appears in the text? It means that this is a photograph taken from a camera “without processing” when shooting in Jeep. I put the phrase “without processing” in quotation marks, because the generally accepted opinion among beginners that a picture is not processed in a camera is a deep misconception - I will explain why in the next section.

What I don't like about this photo:

When reducing the size for a blog post (to 1400px on the long side), the sharpness of the image decreased.
The horizon is blocked - you need to straighten the photo so that the Brooklyn Bridge does not stand tilted.
There is not enough contrast or detailing of the clouds in the blue sky.

Let's start post-processing. First, let’s align the horizon in one click using the “Ruler” tool and crop the photo the way we want. In the “Geometric Distortions” section we will correct the distortion that arose due to shooting at a wide angle with the lens tilted.

Secondly, we apply presets image qualities that I read in a lesson on post-processing images from the famous photographer and traveler Sergei Dolya:

Increase image clarity: Clarity +17;
Increase the saturation of secondary colors: Vibrance +25;
Set Sharpening: Amount 40; Radius 0.8; Detail 50; Masking 0. There's actually a Masking option to work with to prevent unnecessary sharpening of smooth details, but I forgot to do that in this example.
I set the noise reduction (Noise Reduction): Luminance 65.
In the “Tone curve” section I set the contrast to Medium. At the same time, my shadows turn out to be too black - I set “Shadows” +41.
White balance – “Daylight”.
I automatically correct chromatic aberrations and lens distortion in the “Lens corrections” section. As you can see, the Lightroom editor recognized the Nikon 18-55 kit lens and applied corrections to it.
In the “Camera Calibration” section I set the color profile to “Camera standard”.

I will use all of the above actions in 99% of cases. To speed up RAW processing in Lightroom, it is possible to record your preferred processing algorithm as a preset and use it with one click. I called it "Import of photo".

I have two options. The first is to now select all the photos in the folder and synchronize the settings (three clicks), giving them the same parameters of white balance, sharpness, clarity, lens correction, etc. The second is to apply this preset at the stage of importing photos into Lightroom. Look at image No. 8 – the “Import of photo” preset is highlighted in red on the right side.

In the screenshot you see that you can always analyze the histogram, which is an indispensable tool for analyzing overexposure and underexposure in a picture. In the left panel below is the processing history; at any time you can return to the step that we implemented earlier.

2.7. Export images

Once we've finished processing the images, the next step is to export the images for printing or publishing online. And there are many options here. If we are going to print images, we will have to figure out what image formats are accepted for printing. These can be TIFF files in the Adobe RGB color space, or JPEG files in the sRGB or CMYK color space. Other important factors are the file size and what format of photo we want to print.

If we export images for the Internet, for example, we publish photos on our blog, Yandex.Photos, VKontakte, etc., we need to decide what image size to use during the export process and select sRGB as the color space. We may want to remove the EXIF data from the image if we want to lighten the weight of the images.

When exporting, I selected the following settings: TIFF format, sRGB color profile, reducing images to 3500px on the long side at a density of 120 dpi. Since sharpening will be done in Photoshop, this option is turned off here. Enabled the preset for placing the watermark “www..

In the first three years of blogging, photo processing ended at this stage. The only difference was that in the “Sharpen” sharpness section I set the parameters that are indicated above in the “Import of photo” preset, and when exporting I set “Sharpen for screen”, “Amount standard”. And my exported image format was JPEG.

About six months ago, I installed a set of free “Google Nik Collection” plugins in Photoshop, which I use periodically, and to fine-tune the sharpness I began to use the previously mentioned “C3C Image Size”.

Example of processing in Photoshop No. 1. Basic stage

So, we exported the file in TIFF format, since it is almost as flexible in post-processing as RAW, unlike JPEG. Open the photo in Photoshop and apply the Polarization preset in the Color Efex Pro 4 filter from the Google Nik Collection.

As you can see, the “Polarization” filter from “Color Efex Pro 4” imitates the effect of a real polarizing filter: it made the blue color of the sky more saturated, the clouds appeared more clearly. I don't like the colors in this photo to be too acidic, so I lower the layer's opacity.

14.1. To prevent the sky from turning out too acidic, in Photoshop I reduce the transparency of the layer with the “Polarisation” filter.

The next stage is to reduce the size of the image for blog publication (1400px for horizontal or 1000px for vertical images on the long side) while simultaneously increasing sharpness. I do this with one click in the “C3C Image Size” plugin.

For horizontal frames, I set the “Sharpness” value to “2”; for vertical ones, to avoid oversharpening, “1” is enough.

All! This completes the process of processing photos in RAW in Lightroom and preparing the JPEG format in Photoshop for this particular image. I click “Save As” in Photoshop and save it in Jeep with quality “8” (i.e. 80% is a high-quality picture, which usually weighs no more than 250-600 KB). This is the result we got.

Example of RAW processing in Lightroom and Photoshop No. 2. White balance

The next photo, due to the fact that I chose the wrong white balance in the Nikon D5100 settings, turned out to be an ugly blue color.

If we were shooting in JPEG, we would have trouble getting the white balance right. When photographing in RAW, correcting this error is just one click on the “White balance” button in the Lightroom editor. I apply exactly the same processing algorithm as in the previous image, and I get this kind of candy.

Example of NEF processing in Lightroom and Photoshop No. 3. Radial filter

The following photo was taken at the famous bull next to the New York Stock Exchange. Due to the fact that we shot against bright light, the portrait turned out dark, and the sky behind was almost knocked out, i.e. it is white, not blue. Other tourists were also caught in the frame, spoiling the photo.

In addition to the standard processing with the “Import Photo” preset, I had to play with the “Shadows” and “Blacks” sliders. The picture began to look nicer.

After I removed the disturbing tourists around the edges, I decided to use the Radial filter tool. With its help, I lowered the brightness at the edges of the portrait (Exposure -0.56), and also reduced the sharpness (Sharpness -71). All this made it possible to focus the gaze on the main object in the frame (i.e., me), due to the fact that it is brighter and sharper than the background - the woman, distracting the gaze, became darker and less clear.

Well, this is what the final RAW portrait of the traveler looks like.

Example of RAV processing in Lightroom and Photoshop No. 4. Toning in highlights

The next shot is an eagle in front of the Statue of Liberty in Battery Park in New York. It's the same problem here with the foreground being shadowed due to the bright sky behind it.

The processing is the same as in the previous case. But I don’t like the color of the sky - it was actually so dull. I want a more juicy sunset. Let’s “draw” a little: apply orange tinting to the light areas of the image.

We enhance the effect after exporting to TIFF for processing in Photoshop: using the “Contrast color range” filter (adjusting contrast separately by color) in the “Google Nik Collection” set (Color Efex Pro 4 plugin) we increase the contrast of blue (Blue).

The final result, after processing in Lightroom and Photoshop, looks like this.

Example of RAV processing in Lightroom and Photoshop No. 5. Photo hunt

You don’t have to think that when shooting in Jeep, the pictures you get are always worse than in RAV. Sometimes you can “guess” and get a good photo right away in the camera.

An example of RAV processing in Lightroom and Photoshop No. 6. Gradient filter

When we photograph scenes where there is both a bright sky and a dark ground, it would be nice to attach a gradient filter to the lens, which allows us to correctly expose both light and shadow. If we don’t have this device, the “Graduated filter” tool in the Lightroom editor will partially help out. Naturally, we are talking about shooting in NEF.

I don’t like that the upper left corner is almost blown out (light sky), and also that the seagull at the top is almost touching the edge of the photo. Another disadvantage is the manhole cover, which distracts the viewer’s eye.

Using the Spot removal tool, move the seagull lower from the edge of the photo and paint over the hatch in the foreground. To be honest, I prefer to perform this stage in Photoshop - the tool there is called “Clone stamp”, but now I have demonstrated that a photographer, in principle, can get by with just Lightroom.

And this is what a picture looks like if it was taken in RAV format and processed in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Did you notice that at the last stage in Photoshop, using the mentioned “Clone stamp”, I “painted over” the dirty spots on the concrete parapet in front, removed the step, the hatch and the autumn leaves on the sidewalk at the bottom right? It seems like I should have gone over the face with a brush in Lightroom and lowered the definition to make the skin look smoother. At the same time, it was possible to make the eyes a little brighter and clearer.

An example of NEF processing in Lightroom and Photoshop No. 7. Fighting noise

What is the difference between a cropped camera and a full-frame one? Mainly because its working ISO is 2.5-3.0 times lower than that of a full frame. For an amateur camera Nikon D5100, a photosensitivity of 4000 is a very difficult case: digital noise appears, spoiling the image.

We see that we need to adjust the white balance and try to “suppress” digital noise by adjusting the parameters of the “Noise reduction” section. In addition, we will frame, pass the mask over the windows and lamps to reduce their brightness, brighten the eyes and make them sharp.

Sometimes I perform noise reduction in Photoshop using the Dfine 2 plugin from the Google Nik Collection.

Since the frame is still ruined due to the high ISO, let's practice converting the image to the “old film” style. We do this using the “Analog Efex Pro 2” filter from the Google Nik Collection.

The final image, post-processed in Lightroom and Photoshop, looks like this.

An example of NEF processing in Lightroom and Photoshop No. 8. Applying a mask

When we have to shoot in mountain gorges or in the urban jungle, the most difficult thing for a digital camera matrix is the wide dynamic range of scenes: when there are very bright and very dark objects in the frame at the same time. In this case, you need to use the HDR technique (shooting several frames with different exposures and then combining them into one). But it’s not suitable for shooting moving objects—Active D-lighting comes to the rescue when we take photographs in JPEG.

We will process the image using the following algorithm: in Lightroom we will lighten the dark areas (Exposure +), and then take a brush and paint over the light sky, darkening it (Exposure -). Then we will make the slightly blue sky more attractive using the “Polarisation” filter in the “Color Efex Pro 4” filter from the “Google Nik Collection”, as we did with photo No. 14.

I note that the “Masks” tool (Adjustment brush) allows you to change not only the exposure in the selected area, but also the white balance, clarity, saturation, brightness of highlights and shadows, and much more. This function is used when you need to brighten eyes and whiten teeth in a portrait, make the hair of a fashion model clearer and hide uneven skin. The scope of application is huge.

Another note: Selecting an area is very difficult in Lightroom. Imagine that I needed to darken the sky not against the background of buildings, but against the background of pine branches with a thousand needles! It is impossible to do the procedure carefully. But in Photoshop you create a layer, desaturate it and get a mask that completely follows the contours of the object. Now you can edit individual areas of the image with high precision.

An example of NEF processing in Lightroom and Photoshop No. 9. Night photography

Well, let's look at the last case: shooting at night. The problem is that we have very heavy lighting - a lot of dark and bright areas, making it difficult to properly expose the frame.

When processing RAW, we’ll cut off unnecessary people in the frame and use the “Shadows” and “Highlights” sliders to level out the brightness.

But somehow I don’t like the red color of faces. It was possible to move the red slider in Lightroom, reducing the saturation and brightness. But I want to apply the “Cross Processing” filter in the “Color Efex Pro 4” plugin from the “Google Nik Collection”.

The result is a softer, calmer photo that does not irritate the viewer's eyes.

You need to understand that the examples of photo processing in Lightroom presented in this article are not lessons. Therefore, I did not provide data on working with images in a very step-by-step manner. To learn how to get high-quality results, you will need from two weeks to a couple of months to systematically study the program.

You can self-study by studying photo tutorials on Youtube or on specialized websites. The disadvantage of this method is that it is unsystematic; you will jump from one section to another. You can sign up for courses at a photo school - in my opinion, it’s a waste of money, because they won’t show you anything that you can learn by studying on your own.

The third option for learning the Lightroom editor is to buy a paper textbook or video course, which provides a huge amount of theoretical information and practical examples. Each genre of photography has its own processing characteristics: with a female portrait they work according to one rule, with a male portrait - according to another, with a landscape - according to a third, with a still life - according to a fourth, and so on.

A huge advantage of video courses over self-study on Youtube is that the information is systematized, presented from simple to complex; before photography school - you can study at the pace that suits you, you don’t have to wait for students who are lagging behind.

For those who are familiar with the Lightroom program and would like to learn Photoshop, I can recommend the video course “Photoshop for the Photographer.”

You saw in the example of photo No. 35 what you can get indoors high quality photo harder than on the street. Especially if you own a camera with a cropped sensor that produces a lot of digital noise. The problem is lack of lighting. And you can solve it, firstly, by buying a fast lens. Secondly, purchase an external flash.

Professional indoor portrait photographs using flash are also not easy to obtain, as the photographer must know many nuances. I suggest you familiarize yourself with the contents of the video course “The Secret of Flashlights”. From it you can find out how to assemble a home photo studio, whether the TTL function is needed ( automatic control flash power), how to choose a radio synchronizer, how to control the light, how many external sources you will need to start with, and a lot of other useful information.

I cannot be called a processing professional, you see that I only gave a general overview of the possibilities graphic editors. Watch a very high-quality lesson from a more experienced colleague.

2.8. Backup

While the computer is exporting photos from the processing program, it's time to start backing up. If a backup has not yet been made, then this should be done as soon as possible. How can you evaluate processing if, in the event of a failure? hard drive, will we lose all our pictures?

I used to back up to one external drive once a week, but after losing very important photos when my HDD flew in the middle of the week, now I back up to two hard drives and other external drives after each shoot.

In addition, once a month I take external storage and duplicate its contents on another disk. This may seem unnecessary, but at least I know that my photos are safe and I won't lose them. Also don't forget to create backup copy Lightroom catalog. It's not enough to copy just the photos or just the catalog - you need to back up both.

If we have a lot of photos and need a good backup storage solution, today there are many great products created specifically for photographers and videographers.

2.9. Printing or publishing photos on the Internet

The last step is to print the photos or post them online. To print, you need to upload exported images to the photo lab website (if possible) or copy the files to a flash drive. If you have a printer, exporting from Lightroom and Aperture, or any other software package, may not be necessary, since most of them support printing directly from the application and provide all the tools necessary for printing.

When it comes to publishing online, Lightroom and Aperture already provide the ability to publish directly to Flickr or Facebook. To publish photos on a personal website or blog, in Odnoklassniki, you must use the images exported in step 2.6.

3.0. Which program to choose for processing: Photoshop or Lightroom

The same question periodically comes from blog readers - many beginners do not understand the differences between Lightroom and Photoshop. In this chapter, we'll look at the main differences between these two Adobe software packages, what they're used for, and what we can do in Photoshop that we can't do in Lightroom.

3.1. What is Photoshop?

Photoshop was originally created as a tool for simple image editing, but since 1990 it has grown into a huge package of programs with many functions and capabilities for graphic designers, architects, animators, publishers, photographers and even 3D graphic artists. This is probably the Mercedes-Benz of image editing, with unlimited potential that increases not only with software updates, but also with special plug-ins, or “filters,” from Adobe and third-party developers.

Do you want to combine several photos into one panorama? Or create a high dynamic range (HDR) photo? Or get rid of skin defects in the photo? Or maybe make a person taller, shorter, thinner or fatter? Yes, Photoshop can do it all; and many many others. It would be pointless to try to list what Photoshop can do because the list would be endless. The term "photoshopped" is now part of our daily vernacular because we constantly see edited images that look realistic - that's the power of Photoshop.

3.2. What can Lightroom do?

The full name of the Lightroom editor is “Adobe Photoshop Lightroom,” which can be confusing because it contains the word “Photoshop.” This can be explained by the fact that Lightroom is a part of Photoshop with specific functionality that Photoshop does not have and probably never will have.

Lightroom was created to manage a large number of images and organize them conveniently in one place. Photoshop is a very advanced image editing tool, but when editing hundreds of pictures, organizing them becomes a challenge over time.

Many photographers only work in Adobe Camera RAW (which allows you to open, convert and manage RAW files) and Photoshop (which is used for image processing) before using Lightroom. This is a complex, cumbersome, and inefficient process, even after you semi-automate it using batch processing in Photoshop.

The biggest challenge is organizing the edited images on your hard drive, sorting them, and cataloging them. We're not even talking about image search, because that's an impossible task that requires crawling through thousands of thumbnails and image metadata to find what you're looking for. As your file catalog grows, you realize you need to find a better way to organize your photos. And that's when you turn your attention to Lightroom.

Lightroom is a database-based photo management software that automatically reads metadata from a photo (such as camera make and model, date and time taken, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, etc.), called EXIF, and writes information about each photograph into a new database called a catalogue.

When you import images, Lightroom can add additional information to each photo, allowing you to tag images with specific keywords, flags and star ratings. It makes it easy to sort through hundreds of images and select the best ones, edit them selectively or in batches, and then export the best photos directly to websites like Flickr and Facebook. This type of tagging and indexing is not available in Photoshop because it does not have a database of cataloged images.

In addition to media management capabilities, Lightroom contains a set of tools that let you work with your images. In short, Photoshop is an image editing tool and Lightroom is a photo management tool with some limited editing capabilities.

3.3. Editing Photos in Lightroom

Lightroom has a specific set of tools that make editing and managing photos easier. Here, for example, is a list of tools available in the “Develop Module” tab:

“Histogram” subsection: histogram, cropping and alignment, point removal, red-eye removal, gradient filter, adjustment brush.
“Basic” panel: white balance, color temperature and tint; exposure, recovery, fill light, black tones, brightness, contrast, clarity, richness, saturation.
“Tone Curve” panel: highlights, highlights, shadows, shadows, tone curve view.
Panel “HSL / Color / B&W”: hue, saturation, luminosity.
“Split Toning” panel: hue and saturation of highlights, balance, hue and saturation of shadows.
“Detail” panel: value, radius, details, masking for sharpness; brightness, details, contrast, color, details for noise reduction.
“Lens Corrections”: lens profile, distortion, chromatic aberration, vignetting.
“Effects”: style, value, midpoint, roundness, shading, lights to create a vignette; as well as the value, size and coarseness of the dots to give the image grain.
“Camera Calibration”: Process version, profile, hue for shadows, hue and saturation for red, green and blue.

As you can see, the list of tools is quite long: from cropping and changing basic exposure to lens-related issues. Below are screenshots of the Histogram and Basic panels:

Specific changes can be saved as a preset (a specified processing algorithm) and applied to an entire group of images. For example, you are engaged in subject photography of shoes (the same settings, the same lighting parameters, etc.): you processed one image, selected all the frames and synchronized the parameters. That's it, a thousand pictures have been processed.

As Adobe develops new versions of Lightroom, new subsections and other special features become available.

In addition to the processing capabilities described above, Lightroom has built-in modules for creating slide shows, printing photos, exporting photo galleries to the Internet, etc.

3.4. Editing photos in Photoshop

All of the above Lightroom image editing capabilities are automatically built into Adobe Camera RAW, which launches when you open a RAW file in Photoshop. Although this program is slightly different from Lightroom in appearance, every function is duplicated in Camera RAW. Adobe releases updates to Lightroom and Camera RAW at the same time, so even small changes, such as lens profiles, appear in both programs at the same time. Here's a screenshot of the Camera RAW panel:

Here's a comparison of the exposure adjustment panels:

As you can see, they have the same functionality.

To sum it up, we can do everything in Photoshop that we can do in Lightroom and more. Some photographers use Adobe Bridge and Photoshop and don't use Lightroom. Although Adobe Bridge supports some of Lightroom's features, it is not a database or catalog. It's more like a browser or file manager. Searching for an image requires going through all the files and can take a long time, whereas a similar search in Lightroom can be completed in seconds—again, because Lightroom's database is optimized for search. If you use Adobe Bridge, try Lightroom and you'll never go back to Adobe Bridge.

4.0. Main alternatives for Lightroom

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom isn't the only RAW converter available: there are quite a few alternatives. Apple Mac OS users can take advantage of Aperture, which is actually very similar to Lightroom, but is only compatible with that operating system.

If you Windows user, you can use the "Capture One" editor from Phase One. I've heard studio photographers praise it. There is also a program called "DxO Optics Pro". DxO is a very technologically advanced developer. Consequently, their software must be very accurate and efficient when it comes to, for example, correcting lens distortion.

Finally, there is "Silkypix". A separate Silkypix-based RAF converter is available with Fujifilm X-Trans based cameras such as the Fujifilm X-T2. It is reasonable to expect that Silkypix will offer very good support RAF files of X-Trans matrixes (these RAW files are slightly different from RAW from other cameras due to a different matrix structure and decoding algorithms).

These programs, along with Adobe Lightroom, are the most popular RAW converters. Each program has its own strengths and weaknesses. I tried Lightroom first and settled on this choice. Now using this program will take up most of my processing. This does not mean that this editor is better than its competitors in everything, it just started my acquaintance with professional photo processing, and I got used to it.

In the commentary to this article there is a video with an overview of the automatic editor - take a look, maybe you will be satisfied with the work of artificial intelligence. Editing takes place in one click.

5.0. Camera settings when shooting in in-camera JPEG

Well, we have seen what great opportunities a photographer has when editing photographs in RAW format using third-party graphic editors. But what should those amateur photographers do who have neither the time nor the desire to understand all these programs? I think that they should carefully study the instructions for the camera and actively use fine settings for in-camera JPEG.

As you can see, the in-camera Jipeg can also be quite flexible. At the same time, if you compare the menu items in the camera and in the Lightroom and Photoshop programs above in the article where the algorithms for post-processing images are shown, you can see that there is a lot in common. But there are also features...

No beginner or advanced photographer, unless he takes 2,000 photos every day or is a psychic, can take the perfect photo using the JPEG format. Why? Because even before you press the shutter button, you must predict how much you need to brighten the shadows, what white balance to use, and the like.
Even a professional who shoots 2000 frames a day, 9 times out of 10, will not be able to take a perfect JPEG photo. The reason is that in the camera settings there are no local processing tools that are available in Lightroom: a brush, a gradient and radial filter, and a patch for removing spots. In reviews of Fujifilm X mirrorless cameras, there are statements that the in-camera Jipeg is so good that processing in the editor is not required. Nonsense! When editing a female portrait, I will use several brushes to whiten the whites of the eyes and teeth, make the iris of the eyes and lips saturated, increase the clarity in the hair and reduce it in the skin areas so that defects are not visible, remove pimples and wrinkles. When processing the landscape, I will increase the saturation of the blue color in the sky, increase the clarity so that the clouds stand out better, and use a mask to highlight the shaded areas under the Christmas tree. In addition, for example, when using noise reduction in the camera, only “high”, “normal”, “moderate” and “off” are available, and when editing in Lightroom we have 6 sliders that allow you to adjust the settings in 1% increments (see photo No. 33 higher). The same goes for most other post-processing options in Lightroom.
On forums you often come across photographers who post photographs and, with pompous lips, emphasizing their high importance and superiority over those who edit the pictures, declare: “Here is an in-camera JPEG. No processing was carried out!” Such amateur photographers are either incompetent or liars. Absolutely all digital cameras (cameras, camcorders, smartphones and phones) shoot in RAW format, after which they convert the images into Jeep using a given algorithm (similar to the one we used to process photo No. 10). An in-camera raw JPEG without processing looks like this: dull, neutral colors, zero sharpness and blurriness of the image, no contrast and no color correction, there is strong digital noise, shadows fall into blackness and the white balance is unclear. Such a photo will not impress anyone and the only thing it is needed for is for subsequent processing in Photoshop. And then, the TIFF format is more suitable for Photoshop, since it is easier to edit due to more saved information.

6.0. RAW processing in the camera editor

Photographers, at least those who own Nikon DSLRs, have another image editing option available: NEF processing in the built-in RAW editor.

How is this option better than the in-camera Jipeg? Because after shooting you can, by pressing a few keys, get a picture of higher quality than that generated by automatic JPEG (for example, you can change the brightness within a wide range). The finished result can be sent by mail if the photo is needed very urgently.

In practice, I don’t use the NEF editing option in the built-in editor. Firstly, the functionality is still poorer than in Lightroom. Secondly, the camera monitor is not ideal and does not display brightness, contrast and other parameters correctly - the picture will look different on a computer.

7.0. Conclusions to the lesson on photo processing in Lightroom and Photoshop

If you are a photographer looking to create beautiful pictures, then the question is not whether you process your images or not (because you already do), but how well and consistently you do it. When I started photography, my processing was truly terrible (), and I suffered from a variety of problems, from not being able to find photos on my computer's hard drive to efficiently processing hundreds of images from my camera.

I learned the basics of photo editing in Lightroom in a couple of weeks, but it took me several years to develop a more or less coherent approach to post-processing that helps me edit photos effectively, and even simplify it thanks to new tools that appear in new versions of Lightroom and Photoshop . Undoubtedly, my photography style will change as new technologies such as cloud storage, are becoming more accessible, I will definitely add and remove some steps to my workflow. I highly recommend taking a look at your editing process and seeing what you can optimize and improve—I'm sure there are ways to make it even simpler, more efficient, and more reliable. This article only discusses the stages of post-processing in general; it is not a photo tutorial on working with Lightroom and Photoshop. In reality, processing is more detailed, with more specific steps at each stage.

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