RAW Digital Camera Files, Digital Camera Settings For the Best Results

A brief review of what “is” a RAW digital camera file. The RAW file is the set of measurements of the exact amount of light reflecting from the scene recorded individually by each pixel in your camera. Each individual pixel is similar to a hand held light meter. A RAW file is not an image or picture you can even see at the RAW stage. A software program is needed to take these millions of measurements and then create an image we can see.

The Contrast, Saturation, Sharpening and White Balance camera settings are stored with the RAW image information and will be used as the default processing settings in many desktop software programs. The main importance of these settings for our purpose is that these settings are used by the camera to generate the thumbnail image you view to determine composition and for many photographers the exposure of the shot. This is also the information that is used to create the histogram we use to help with our exposure choices.

Camera Contrast, How it Affects Exposure.

Many photographers have learned that a fully exposed file produces the best possible prints. Adjustments can be made in RAW processing but the better the exposure during the shoot, the better the final file and the better the prints. To determine this full exposure we watch the histogram and look for highlight data to be near the far right edge of the histogram. This is sometimes called “shooting to the right”. If we have the contrast setting set to a higher position our highlights will be pushed to the right faster displaying a blown overexposed situation. Our reaction would be to reduce the exposure of the shot causing some loss of detail in the shadows. If we would use a lower contrast setting we could increase our exposure more before the histogram and camera indicated we had reached the maximum exposure by displaying highlights as blown or overexposed. This is about the time I hear, “I don’t want a flat dull picture”. I agree you don’t. You also do not want images that do not record all the tones in the scene. It is better to shoot your RAW file a little on the flat side, recording both high light and shadow detail. Then at your desktop you can adjust the tones in Camera RAW or Lightroom to perfectly capture the mood in your scene. Tip: Try reducing one click at a time the Camera Contrast setting, testing after each change.

Camera Saturation

I see many images of people, wedding photographs, family portraits and senior portraits that have faces with a little extra pink, some times orange. Some of this is due to over exposure, some to high contrast but a lot is due to how camera chips along with the strong camera saturation settings process your files. Even though we will use ACR or LR to process our files, reducing the camera saturation setting will help with exposure and shooting to the right. Tip: Try reducing one click at a time the Camera Saturation setting, testing after each change. Very likely you will only reduce this by one or two clicks from the default camera position.

Sharpening

A little goes a long way. Sharpening that does need to be done should only be done on the final file just prior to printing. Sharpen specifically for each unique size file and print size. Here is something to consider. Today’s digital cameras and lens have much more detail than when we first began digital photography. Some of the settings and techniques we used and described in the beginning of digital photography are no longer ideal. Sharpening is one of those things we need to reconsider. Another thought, I hear and read some photographers wishing to achieve a more “film like” appearance to their photography. One key element my eyes see when comparing film images of the past and today’s digital images is the excessive sharpening and contrast displayed in the digital images. If we want to be more film like, reduce the sharpening a little.

White Balance

Remember we are discussing a RAW file work flow. The White Balance setting we choose for the camera can be changed during the processing step. It is still advisable to have the camera set to the appropriate and most realistic white balance for the scene we are shooting. Auto white balance can work well for fast changing wedding situations. Consider that in most of the wedding photographs the white balance sensors are seeing either a white dress or a black tux. Both of these are good neutral targets for color. For team sport pictures auto would be the worst choice. Each of your shots will likely be filled with a different solid color of jersey. The color of each face will change for each different jersey color and not be correct for any but the subject wearing a gray jersey. The best choice for this controlled situation is daylight, flash or custom white balance. In studio camera room situations where you have a lot of control a custom white balance is the preferred choice.