I got myself all psyched out about something, convincing myself that it was difficult and complicated and confusing....and then when I finally took the plunge, I looked back from the other side and thought "that's what I was so worked up about?!"
"The plunge" I'm talking about in this case is shooting in RAW. Not nearly as overwhelming as I thought it would be.
And while I still have some to do about editing the RAW files, I'm totally on board with the whole idea. Now I get why people rave about RAW.
Those are the RAW & JPEG files side by side for comparison, post processed the exact same way. Do you see the difference? It's suble but significant. The light in the RAW version seems so much....purer....cleaner. And it was that way with all the images I shot & processed in both RAW and JPEG. I can't wait until I'm able to salvage an image that would have been a total washout without RAW - now that'll be cool. :o)
Since I take so many pictures and since RAW does add another step to the editing process, I don't know that I'll shoot in RAW all the time. But it's a great tool to have available, and you can bet I'll be shooting RAW for any future photoshoots. Which, by the way, I should have some more coming up - can I get a little cheer??
And now for those of my readers who don't care about all this photography mumbo-jumbo, I've got something for you, too.
Nadia spends a lot of time with playdough lately. In fact, playdough, reading, coloring and Mr. Potatohead probably comprise 90% of her play time. The creativity portion of her little brain is working overtime.
She's very methodical about her creative process. First she has to line up all her tools, sorting them by color. Then she has to ask me which one she should start with, and finally she can start creating. Lots of snakes and balls are made, along with lots of....ummm, blobs.
A few days ago I suddenly thought to pull out the seldom-used cookie cutters. Don't know why I didn't think of it earlier as she loved it, especially the heart!
The kid has a thing for hearts. With every heart she encounters, she announces "hearts mean I love you!" It's one of the sweet little things she does that makes the all the other not-so-cute things bearable.
Now I just have to mention that I love these last three shots. I don't get artsy very often and it's even more seldom that I do it successfully...so I'm pretty tickled to have pulled it off.
Sorry, but I can't resist the obvious pun here. She holds my heart in her hands.
Okay, there - I said it.
Find more raw/unrefined images at Stacy's for Theme Thursday.
And find more photos full of love at Shutter Sister's Love Thursday.
26 comments:
I'm in awe of you. I've been contemplating going RAW...I'm intimidated :)
Congrats on your upcoming shoots! and your gorgeous shots, especially of her holding your heart in her hand....awwwwwww
More shoots -- YAY!
And kudos to you for trying to shoot in RAW. I didn't get to try it this week, but I think it might be a weekend project...I hate to be behind everyone else!
I think that these turned out great; and I completely agree with you that the difference between the two is subtle yet certainly significant...
Yay for you for taking the plunge. You're right, I can see the difference. I still haven't tried it...I'm just not up for ANOTHER thing to do. Perhaps this winter when things slow down...
Oh, and LOVE your artsy shots :-)
oooh i like the last 3 too. especially the first of the three. why? i don't know. i just love the way it looks.
I just started shooting in RAW this week too. It does add that extra step to processing, but you're right, it's definitely worth it.
Of course, it definitely helps to have such a cute subject ;-)
Love the cliche saying... but oh so true about our kids, isn't it?! :)
I love the title. I am still laughing at the "rawr"... hahah.
You should really cross-post this over at Shutter Sisters for Love Thursday. Thanks for the side-by-side of RAW/Jpeg. I know I'm not ready for that leap but this gives me good reason to look forward to trying it.
You are right...it is a subtle but great difference there. Great job on taking plunge and the pictures turned out so great! Did you use any presets that I hear so much about? I think I'm going to try it this weekend when we are out of town *again*.
LOVE your shooting style...just what I wish I could do! My fav iss 4th from bottom--her lips are priceless! Found you via shutter Sisters...happy lt!
I love that you posted the images side-by-side, it really helped me see the different. I'm in NO WAY reading to take this step yet, but it's great reading and learning about it! And I echo Susie's sentiments that you've captured some love that you should share with the sisters!
And, it's a novice question I know, especially considering I don't even have processing software of my own, but is there a short answer as to what "extra steps" RAW shooting requires on the back end?
very cool that you have more photo sessions coming up -- kudos to you! love the artsy photos, especially the single heart in the rolled out dough.
I think the same way about RAW! I use it when I know that they are "special" photos...like a planned photoshoot, etc. But I don't shoot in it everyday - the files are just too large for the amount of photos I take. I do think the light it more pure and the color a little clearer.
And now on to the fun! I love your "artsy" photos - they are very beautiful. We like cookie cutters for playdoh too - and I just got a recipe for edible playdoh - we are so trying that soon!
I love shooting RAW just because of some of the extra freedom you have on the processing side of things.
I love the one of just the heart. There's something so subtly beautiful about it!
Yay! I'm so glad you see the benefits of shooting RAW. :) And perfect side-by-side comparison!
Congrats on getting new clients. That's awesome!
I love your artsy shots too... I think you did them very well! I should try to be more artsy. I'm just not that creative. But will try! :)
To me the RAW image looks a bit washed out, less detail...
Looks like you've been making your own playdough. What a great medium, it's a sensory (for pre-schoolers and above, I even enjoy feeling how it mushes through my fingers) and easy to manipulate, and helps develop those muscles that are important in a writing grip!
Beautiful Christina! I shoot RAW all of the time, except recently, I have noticed that even though I love RAW and the ability to "fix" images that are not SOOC nice, the color punch is not as vibrant as the jpeg out of the camera. I like that too....decisions...decisions....
As a non-photographer....I still have my pocket camera from the '70's!-- I have to say that the RAW one seems "crisper" to me....but either way, I just love them all!
She lines up her tools...hmmm...I told you before and I'll tell you again....that gal o' yours has a very mathematical brain...I just cannot wait to follow her through her "school years"...
I never get tired of your images.... Welcome to the land of RAW!
Playdoh is pretty popular around here too. Ben's been using cookie cutters with it for a while. Perfect idea!
I am loving your RAWness!
Love that last one! We love play-dough around here too :)
I'm totally intimidated with RAW too, but now that I've switched to shooting in full manual mode, I may as well have a go at RAW too. I'll have to do some comparison pics and see if I come up with anything as gorgeous as you did. :)
YAY! These turned out great! I agree...those last 3 are AWESOMELY ARTISTIC!!
I am feeling very pleased with myself because I have actually HEARD of RAW!!! And not from my photographer husband either, from my Dad who bought a DSLR earlier this year. I love love love your artsy shots, especially the heart on a stick on the clay 'canvas'. Thanks so much for your appreciation of my pix of the SB's birthday. It was funny cos I got out the better camera but I couldn't get it to do what I wanted so I switched back to my old PAS which is only 3.2 mps. I am more and more convinced that I just need a PAS with higher resolution. The semi manual monster requires me to read the manual every time I want to use it gggrrrrr. You, however, are an inspiration.
I haven't tried AW yet but I think I may try.
Congrats on the photoshoots!
Franesco likes the heart shape too. He pounds his chest were his heart is when you show him a picture of a heart and says "heart, heart", it just too cute!
well done. :) I have not gone to raw yet. I tried once, but my computer and camera were NOT communicating and the computer wouldn't recognize the raw files. Not sure what went wrong. I had uploaded the software that came with my camera......it is a brand new computer.....vista....maybe that is the problem. not sure. I go so peeved I just said forget it.
LOL
love these photos though. really like the artsy ones.
oh and I'm back....online. whew.
I love the artsey shots. Especially the last one where she holds the hearts in her hand.
I totally see the lighting difference between the RAW and Jpeg. Good for you for switching over and trying something new. I think I might need some more time with my camera before switching over to RAW since I just got my D80last week.
And the shout out for gettng more photoshoots.....Can I get a "Hell ya!"
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