Why You Should Shoot Your Senior Portraits In Raw
With the technology in DSLR cameras becoming more advanced, it is easier for students to shoot and edit their own senior photos. This is often a great idea for high school seniors who feel awkward about being in front of the camera. If you can have a friend or family member take your pictures, you could make the whole experience more enjoyable and less stressful. This article explains why you should shoot your photos in the Raw format.
Raw vs. JPEG
Most DLSR have a default setting to shoot in JPEG format. The files on JPEG images are much smaller. A JPEG image will be about 3-8 megabytes while a Raw image is closer to 20 Mbs. But, with the smaller size, there are far fewer pixels in the image. This is a major issue, especially if you are going to end up having the photo printed or put in the yearbook. With Raw images, you are not only given crisper images, you also have much more to work with when it comes to editing the photos. A Raw image records all of the data that the camera sensor recorded. This basically means that you can edit this "data" to change the image. This means there is no loss in the image quality. When editing a JPEG image, you are basically just changing the image, not the data, so there is often quality loss with certain types of edits.
Editing in Raw
Both Canon and Nikon have simple Raw photo editing software that is included with the cameras. You can usually find these programs on the internet if you cannot find the CDs. These programs allow you unmatched image editing. For instance, you can completely change the white balance of an image without losing any quality. This is a huge issue with portraiture because skin tones can look very yellow and green if the white balance is off. With Raw photo editing, you can also set simple presets that you can apply to all of your images. This makes it easier to automatically set your tones to your preferences. Then, you can go through and make adjustments to individual images.
Whether you are personally shooting your senior portraits or having them shot by a friend or amateur photographer, you should make sure the camera is recording the images in the Raw format. This allows you much more wiggle room and editing capabilities if the images don't come out perfect at first. For more information about having your portraits done, contact a company like Renoda Campbell Photography.