planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

I was at my photography club meeting on Tuesday where the guest speaker was a guy who has won many awards in PSA contests. He always shoots in RAW and many times, really cranks up various sliders, making his photos vibrant in color and full of contrast, often changing a daylight scene to a sunset (warming the whole shebang and enhancing oranges, etc - he had befores and afters to illustrate). I've also noticed on my own, though I don't often use RAW, that even pics that you think are totally un-saveable can often be fixed. I was going to try to post an example, but for some reason when I try to open the original (subject somewhat properly exposed but background blown out) I kept on trying to open a fixed version, but uncropped. I got so frustrated with the failed attempts I just gave up. I'll try later with a different pic. Nevertheless I was impressed with what I could do with the shot. The fixed version I posted in my FB Oshkosh '18 album, a C-17 Globemaster cargo plane.

Rolk Loc: South Central PA

You may have to change the image size or resolution to post it on here, Planepics. I think the maximum file size is 20mb.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

If this works for you that is great. There are very good reasons, and times, to shoot raw. But bad skills with the camera are not one of them. I suggest that spending time developing shooting skills, to get exposure right in the camera, rather than trying to save badly exposed shots behind the computer, is a better use of time. When shooting to build skills, JPEG is a better choice as it is more demanding of correct exposure. It is the "medicine ball" format.

A GIRITC raw shot, when post processed has a lot more potential than what is available trying to save a poorly exposed raw image.

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

Problem was I couldn't even open the original bad shot. It came up fine the first time before I fixed it, but after that all I got was an original 4:3 (or whatever) with the re-worked image.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

There are times when “getting it right in the camera” is restricted by the light. For example: I recently captured my first ever image of the Milky Way. Shooting wide open @ 3200 @ 20 seconds (the max to avoid unintended “Star trails”) resulted in an underexposed image. Using the raw processor built into the camera, I was able to adjust the exposure by 3.0 EC. If you viewed the initial image next to the raw processed result I believe you would agree that this “get it right in the camera” mentality is not for every situation. See attachment

No adjustment for exposure

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+3 EC

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Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

Make sure image is jpeg, and about 15mb in size.

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

Just a quick question . What are the strange letters that show up in your post? for example: "There are times when “getting it right in "

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

So which, in your opinion, is the GIRITC shot in the bracketed series below?

The are all SOOC as jpeg except for one. The one image was shot as raw but converted without any adjustment to fit into the bracketed SOOC sequence. That one raw file was then edited and converted to make the last image.

But I am curious as to how you would evaluate which is the so-called "right" exposure. FWIW, I switched to raw in 2006, and I have shot weddings, equestrian and team sports and other high volume kinds of events where shooting jpeg is traditional because of the myth that somehow it is faster that shooting raw. When it comes to making proof quality images for client selection there is nothing faster than raw converted to jpeg. And now with the Auto adjust feature in Lightroom, something that has been part of Capture One for several versions now, it is possible to import with a preset where the auto adjust is applied and you virtually do not need to touch the images other than to export them to jpeg.

I am not a fan of digital Polaroids. Though a few are still holding on to the notion that making believe that your camera is a polaroid and GIRITC makes you a better photographer. What makes you a better photographer, IMHO, is understanding the camera and it's capabilities and limits, and leveraging that knowledge to make great images.

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rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

One should never approach using RAW as it's a good way to fix images. One needs to execute precise metering and then adjust for tonal placement using the exposure settings.

I didn't fix anything in this image. The tonal values were placed exactly where I wanted them to be.
--Bob

SOOC

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Processed

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mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

It is true that problem images shot in raw have a far greater chance of being recoverable than those shot in jpeg, but that is merely an extra benefit of shooting raw and should not be construed as its main purpose.

frjack Loc: Boston, MA

Not the poster, however, every time I try to put the appropriate marks in a Slovenian word (c,s, and z without the carat over the letter are pronounced very differently than with the mark) the strange Klingon letters appear in the final posting. A problem with the site not the poster.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

"A problem with the site not the poster".
--Bob

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

I shoot in raw using the best technique I can muster. Some images need little post-processing but some need a lot. Pp saves some but can't save really poorly shot pics. I find myself most satisfied with the shots that were better SOOC to begin with but like to challenge myself to tweak the ones that aren't.

CPR Loc: Nature Coast of Florida

If the shots matter I shoot raw. Just not so perfect a photographer as some, I guess. It's always best to get the shot as good as possible under the circumstances But,we, as photographers, don't always have control of circumstances.
Personally I find that knowing the capabilities of Photoshop helps when circumstances don't let me get the shot right in camera.

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

A vast majority of my annual shutter activations happen at airshows (4-5k pics if I'm there for a week like Oshkosh) Sometimes I shoot shutter priority, sometimes auto. Shooting left to right and up to down, exposure tends to be all over the place. Most of the time everything turns out fine, but I've noticed that it's easier to fix exposure issues if using RAW than JPG. If I shoot landscape or macro I know I can adjust to my satisfaction before pressing the button, whether that means using manual or deciding which mode to emphasize.