Fed Up Processing RAW Files

[Cyberman]

Re: Fed Up Processing RAW Files

One Lightroom feature I found useful recently when editing 200+ portraits for many church was the ability the apply the develop songs from the previous image. This meant I could very quickly move through them making only minimal changes.
That option combined with the ability to copy and paste develop settings gives me the speed needed to sort a high number of images.

You can even save common settings as a filter and apply to images during import.

Personally I would not change to JPEG, but it's definitely a personal choice.
I like the flexibility RAW gives so accept the extra work.

[Tigger]

Re: Fed Up Processing RAW Files

agree Andy using batch processing is very easy and you can zip through images making small adjustments as needed

[Nathaniel]

Re: Fed Up Processing RAW Files

Ian, I have just seen your post. I always shoot in Jpeg when I am out and about doing my own thing and tweaking the odd pic on PSE to correct errors. You will see most of my pics posted here are taken in Jpeg. I am also aware that most press photographers and photo journalists take only Jpeg images. I do not take any pics in RAW unless of course they are one off events like certain church ceremonies when I take in RAW & Jpeg. However, even here I will first look at my Jpeg images and only look up the corresponding RAW image if a particular picture could be improved.
I do not waste time with RAW images for exactly the reason you have stated- too much time in front of the computer esp when I am away on holiday and take 100's of photos.
I am sure other members will not agree with me but in photography as with all other things in life you make your choice to suit your individual needs.

[AndyMulhearn]

Re: Fed Up Processing RAW Files

I have no idea, yet, if I can import them into iPhoto or what processing I will have to do before I can share them with my friends and family.

If you've not found out yet, I can't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to do this. When I used a 600D I used both iPhoto and Aperture without problems. As for processing, you can probably get away with cropping and exporting as JPEG. If you want to go further then something like Elements my be more capable.

[AndyMulhearn]

Re: Fed Up Processing RAW Files

Ian, I have just seen your post. I always shoot in Jpeg when I am out and about doing my own thing and tweaking the odd pic on PSE to correct errors. You will see most of my pics posted here are taken in Jpeg. I am also aware that most press photographers and photo journalists take only Jpeg images.

Press and photojournalists generally use jpeg, as do sport photographers, for the simple reason that they're in a business where first decent shot on the editors desk is the one that's used. In that kind of business, RAW makes no sense. This tends to be why pro cameras have Rate buttons and ethernet ports - to get good shots to the newspaper as soon after their taken as possible.

I do not waste time with RAW images for exactly the reason you have stated- too much time in front of the computer esp when I am away on holiday and take 100's of photos.

I consider the time an investment into the quality of my work so look at it from a different point of view. I also don't take my laptop on holiday, what a horrible thought, and the number of photographs I take compared to the number I process from start to finish is way greater. Once they've been imported, I filter them, find the standout shots and work on those. So 400 shots taken in a day round Slimbridge, for example, results in 30 odd that get processed to completion and nowadays four or five go up on Flickr. That doesn't take hours...

[Nathaniel]

Re: Fed Up Processing RAW Files

I consider the time an investment into the quality of my work so look at it from a different point of view. I also don't take my laptop on holiday, what a horrible thought, and the number of photographs I take compared to the number I process from start to finish is way greater. Once they've been imported, I filter them, find the standout shots and work on those. So 400 shots taken in a day round Slimbridge, for example, results in 30 odd that get processed to completion and nowadays four or five go up on Flickr. That doesn't take hours...[/QUOTE]

I take you point that to process about 40 pics is very good. How much time do you spend in looking at your RAW images and filtering the ones you wish to process?

[Tigger]

Re: Fed Up Processing RAW Files

I consider the time an investment into the quality of my work so look at it from a different point of view. I also don't take my laptop on holiday, what a horrible thought, and the number of photographs I take compared to the number I process from start to finish is way greater. Once they've been imported, I filter them, find the standout shots and work on those. So 400 shots taken in a day round Slimbridge, for example, results in 30 odd that get processed to completion and nowadays four or five go up on Flickr. That doesn't take hours...

agree, although I do have to take my laptop with me due to keeping an eye on my business - I don't however process images till I get home and like Andy filter them into ones I'm happy to invest time in processing..

But, this discussion will go around and around with those that never shoot Raw over processing time - but I've never been able to understand what extra time it does it really take to process Raw? you must be looking at seconds - All images need some processing whether its cropping, adjust brightness or just sharpening a tad, with a Raw file you have a vast amount more data to pull a shot together

[Tigger]

Re: Fed Up Processing RAW Files

I take you point that to process about 40 pics is very good. How much time do you spend in looking at your RAW images and filtering the ones you wish to process?

its very quick Nat - the images open in LR as a thumbnail, you click through them flagging the ones you want to return to process - then filter ones flagged

[AndyMulhearn]

Re: Fed Up Processing RAW Files

I take you point that to process about 40 pics is very good. How much time do you spend in looking at your RAW images and filtering the ones you wish to process?

Probably half an hour for 300. Bear in mind what I generally photograph - birds - then a lot will exclude themselves simply by being obviously out of focus, some part of the bird out of the shot, the bird looked away or just not interesting enough to work on. If I do landscapes then that's way different and I'll probably take an order of magnitude fewer shots. but take longer over them. Either way, it's not days.

[AndyMulhearn]

Re: Fed Up Processing RAW Files

its very quick Nat - the images open in LR as a thumbnail, you click through them flagging the ones you want to return to process - then filter ones flagged

I may have mentioned already but once the imports done I set all of the images to 3 stars. Then filter the set by 3 stars or more. Open the first image and if it's a keeper move to the next image. If it's a good one I want to process, press 4 and move to the next image. If it's not worth keeping, press 0 and move on. Repeat until there are no images left. Then delete all the 0 star images, filter to show only the 4 stars and start work.

Because I use a preset that applies a basic set of settings, based on what Anthony Morganti demonstrates, I then just crop, set the white and black points, select the lens profile and do any sharpening needed. If that takes a minute then that's a lot. Every now and then there will be a shot that could do with a bit more work - some selective adjustments to bring out shadow areas is something I've started doing more of - but that adds on a little to the overall time.

So perhaps an hour in total for 300 shots

[Tigger]

Re: Fed Up Processing RAW Files

Because I use a preset that applies a basic set of settings, based on what Anthony Morganti demonstrates, I then just crop, set the white and black points, select the lens profile and do any sharpening needed. If that takes a minute then that's a lot. Every now and then there will be a shot that could do with a bit more work - some selective adjustments to bring out shadow areas is something I've started doing more of - but that adds on a little to the overall time.

So perhaps an hour in total for 300 shots

agree.....again , this is what I can never understand when people say they don't want to spend all day processing Raw it takes no time to follow yours and probably many others processing methods ....but what you do have when the camera / human error happens you have a Raw file you can rescue, you'll never be able to do that with Jpeg

[taxboy]

Re: Fed Up Processing RAW Files

I'm I the RAW camp just to give me the option of rescuing something good. I think the issue here is really one of selecting. Now that you can come back with several hundred shots from a day's shooting. You just need to be a little bit critical of what you want to keep e.g from a sequence of say 5 shots only one will be the keeper.

On import I choose the potential keepers and make a collection of these in LR. This takes the same length of time whether you shoot jpeg or RAW. Whilst I'm going through these I look to see what I'm going to do with them e.g any that I decide to print will get my full attention with time spent processing, which I quite enjoy. Those that are to be shared possibly with a slide show get batch processed, which in effect is what the in camera jpeg does at the time of capture and is an automated process. However I've still got the RAW file to go back to if I ever need it.

[Columbarius]

Re: Fed Up Processing RAW Files

Lightroom has some shortcut keys to help when reviewing images. Once I've loaded a batch I quickly run through using "X" reject and "P" pick to select images for either deletion or further processing. If I cannot decide I leave them unflagged initially.

[LarryPlane]

Re: Fed Up Processing RAW Files

I'm a raw user and before I went digital I was a darkroom user, mostly black and white, mostly for expense reasons, but it's where I came to love the format.

I'd equate raw vs jpeg with home darkroom vs sending film to be processed. There is a place in my life for both, but digital did free me from the cost and time hole that is home processing and now I find I shoot everything in raw, my paid assignments, my personal work, my family stuff. To me, processing is part of photography not an optional extra.

But then for me, it has been since I started developing stuff in the early 80s.