rleonetti Loc: Portland, Oregon

If you switch to Lightroom and shoot raw, do you see a photo when you upload from the camera, or do you have to do some processing before you see anything?

Do you normally shoot just RAW, or RAW+jpg at the same time?

Currently when I shoot all jpg I immediately get a photo and some of them survive without any processing. Does that happen with RAW?

dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma

dugole Loc: Matawan, New Jersey

Lightroom has an option to import photos. My photos are uploaded to a folder named/listed by date. From Lightroom I click on "import" and then select the folder dated with the files from that day.

I shoot strctly RAW and 99% of RAW files do need post processing. JPG pictures are processed by your camera's internal firmware/software that adjusts various characteristics such as contrast, lightness and darkness and so on. JPG also compresses photos. JPG photos cannot be post processed or edited as significantly as can RAW files. RAW allows much more editing and processing than do JPG files.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

I only shoot raw. If you shoot raw and jpeg, when you import into Lightroom, Lightroom does nothing with the jpeg unit. I have no need for shooting jpeg, when I know the raw image is far superior.Lightroom processes the RAW file so you can see it.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Yes, you see a "preview" and it is based on what Adobe thinks some preset values are. It is not entirely different than seeing a JPEG were the camera maker uses some presets to interpret the captured data.

I don't. But, you can. That means you can view what your camera maker thinks you should see as the JPEG and what Adobe thinks you should see as a preview.

Certainly! But remember that in Lightroom you are viewing a preview of what you can produce by Exporting or printing. The first preview might be exactly what you want and require no adjustments. It is still a preview of raw light data and does not become a photo until you make it one.

orrie smith Loc: Kansas

if you like shooting jpeg and the photos meet your needs, try shooting raw + jpeg for a while until you get accustomed to raw and editing. usually you need to load the photos to a folder on your desktop, preferably one folder for raw and one folder for jpeg. if you put both formats in one folder, lightroom will only recognize the raw photos when importing. do not import directly from your camera to lightroom, you may lose photos that way. take your time and learn to post process your photos, relax and have fun with experimenting. when you shoot jpeg, your camera takes the raw photo and converts it to a jpeg format for you, when you shoot raw, you retain all the info and data from the photo for post processing and you get to control how the image will be processed, a lot of them may need nothing, where others will benefit from fine tuning. when you get comfortable with the post processing, you may want to try some HDR software such as photomatix pro for some over the top effects that you can apply to your photos. have fun and don't be afraid to experiment and learn, there are lots of videos on you tube and lots of information on the internet.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

You see a preview based either on your camera's settings or an import preset that has typical settings that you would apply to all of your images. The preview is contained in every raw file - in fact there are three previews, but typically you only see one. If you wanted to you could immediately export all of your images after importing - as they were taken or with an import develop preset.

I advise against taking raw+jpeg - the extra dynamic range in a raw file will sometimes result in an exposure setting that would result in a uselessly underexposed jpeg - but the raw file could be used to make a perfectly legitimate image, after adjustments. That would not be the same as "fixing the image in post", but rather a calculated and deliberate exposure to avoid blowing highlights. It is much harder to reveal underexposed shadow detail in a jpeg than it is in a raw file.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I shoot raw exclusively, and I see the images as they are imported into LR.

steveg48

One thing to note about Lightroom. After you import the RAW images, you can make a few simple edits to one picture, say white balance, capture sharpening (plus anything else you would like--exposure perhaps). You can then select all of the images and synchronize them so that they all have the same edits. This will be a starting point for the entire shoot. Since all edits in Lightroom are non-destructive when you are editing the individual images you reset the edits or readjust anything that was done in the synchronization.

Capture48 Loc: Arizona

How can one edit what they cannot see?

Grnway Loc: Manchester, NH

I'll shoot RAW and jpeg but only because I can write to two different cards on one of my cameras. I rarely use the jpegs but take them just in case someone wants something quickly, or I need to take many high speed, continuous shots. Otherwise, once I look at the raw files, the jpegs never even make it into the computer. I would probably not sell a photo without at least looking at the raw file in LR and seeing if it needs a little work. The jpeg would have to be pretty darned good, by comparison.
When in doubt, and you've got LR, shoot RAW.

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

You can shoot Raw and JPEG. You tell Lightroom to handle them separately so you can compare the raw and JPEG. Go into preferences and check off that Lightroom handles them separately.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

I found my D800 buffer works faster when I only shoot RAW compared to RAW plus JPEG. I only shoot RAW

Crwiwy Loc: Devon UK

LR will show you thumbnails of the pictures on your camera card whether in JPG or RAW.
Once you have downloaded the selected images you will be able to view them full size without processing.
Then just process the ones you want.

You can also set LR up to automatically apply processing as the files are imported into LR - this includes RAW processing and lens correction.

Grnway Loc: Manchester, NH

Good point, Stan. 5DIII is not a "speed merchant" either, so I think I'll skip the jpegs for today's basketball game. Especially since I shoot the jpegs in finest possible detail, which essentially doubles the file size to buffer.