The format you should be using to take photos on your camera
So...what is RAW?
A RAW file captures all of the uncompressed data from your camera sensor. The data it captures can be thought of as the "raw ingredients" for a photo. Unlike with JPEGs, the camera does not process the image for you, so photographers manually edit and have complete control of every facet of the picture. These facets include white balance, color, sharpening, and more.
"RAW" isn't actually the name
The term "RAW" is a standard used by many photographers to refer to the file type that contains all uncompressed data; however, almost every camera brand has a different name for this type of file extension. Here is a quick cheat sheet list with common brands.
Brand | RAW Extension |
Sony | .ARW |
Canon | .CR2 |
Nikon | .NEF |
Panasonic/Lumix | .RAW, .RW2 |
Leica | |
Fujifilm | .RAF |
Olympus | .ORF |
Why use RAW to shoot photography?
Images shot in RAW are unmatched in quality and depth.
Essentially, RAW files produce higher-quality images than JPEGs and other image file types. Standard compression in JPEGs may sometimes result in an altered photo. What a photographer sees in their viewfinder is often different than the image on their computer after uploading.
In contrast, RAW does not compress any of the data in a photo. Since photographers have full control over highlights, shadows, and more, there is no grain or missing data from the image file when editing. Photographers may experiment as they please without worrying about lost data within the image file.
Further, when it comes to color– one of the most nit-picky portions of photo editing– RAW files give an immense palette that allows for the most fine-tuned details during the editing process. An 8-bit JPEG contains 256 shades each of red, green, and blue, resulting in about 16.8 million color possibilities. This may sound impressive until you realize that a 12-bit RAW file offers 4,096 shades each of luminosity levels, resulting in an astounding 68 billion color possibilities. The depth of the images coming from RAW files is immensely better than JPEGs and other file formats.
The Drawbacks
Of course, no file format is perfect, and RAW has a couple of cons.
Number one, if you are new to photography or editing, there will be a learning curve when starting to use RAW files. Of course, it is worth it to learn how to shoot and edit in RAW, but do not expect to be an expert right off the bat. The fact that the photographer has control over every aspect of the photo in RAW format means that the photographer must know how to manually alter camera settings when shooting and manually edit more demanding portions of the photo. (But don't fret; YouTube tutorials go a long way.)
And, as expected, since RAW files take in uncompressed data, the file size is much larger than JPEGs, so you must have adequate storage to house all of your image files. Given enough time, one photo shoot could easily take up 7 GB of storage, so make sure you are shooting with large SD cards that have high read speeds.
Editing Software
RAW files are not image files, so you cannot just open the image on your computer. You must have software that specifically reads RAW files and can edit them. These programs are able to export your edited raw files into common image formats such as JPEGs and PNGs. Here are some examples.
Program Examples |
Affinity Photo |
Adobe Lightroom |
Corel PHOTO-PAINT |
Adobe Photoshop |
Capture One Pro |
Pixelmater Pro |
GIMP (Free) |
RAW is the number one choice for many photographers (including us at Albaledo Media) because of its versatility, quality, and unmatched depth of images. If you are considering switching to RAW, our best advice is just to go out and shoot. Experiment in different lighting and environments, and go crazy with editing in your chosen software. Look at other photographers' work for some inspiration, but find your own style! Your imagination is the only limit.
Until the next Enyclomedia post! -Miranda
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