Make mine raw: Improving quality and extending your image legacy

Rather than allowing the camera software to decide on the color conversion and file format, it could make more sense to work directly with the raw files.

Think of a raw image as if it were a piece of film from one of those ancient cameras that you used to use. Just as you could change developer, processing times and processing methods to modify the “look” and aesthetic details of the photo, you can work with the raw image to give you a better starting point before you bring the digital file into your image editing program.

Color temperature, exposure, shadow detail, brightness, contrast, saturation and image sharpness tools are all at your disposal when working with raw images. You can work with individual color channels or the composite image. But for some, the most important benefit in working with raw images is in the ability to work with the resulting 16-bit images in Photoshop. Images that have a 16-bit depth rather than an 8-bit depth can have smoother gradients and improved tone separation.

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