Author Topic: How to convert from Raw (Read 8780 times)

vectorpixel · « **on:** May 06, 2011, 13:02 »

Hi everybody hope somebody can help...

I just bought my first Canon DSLR camera and I am shooting in Raw mode. Now I would like to learn to convert my images the right way. Where do I find information about this? A guide explaining step by step the proces of going from raw, import to Mac, editing in lightroom and Photoshop an ending up with final high quality file.

I have been experimenting today first downloading with the software that came with the camera (Digital Photo professional). Then converting and saving from DPP to Exif-jpeg or Tiff 16 bit - output resolution 350 dpi in full size. Then I import the jpeg in Lightroom and edit the image and after export the image - export with preset - "burn full sized jpegs". When I open the image in the end in Photoshop the image has the right pixel size (3456 x 5120 px) but it is only 240 dpi and not 300 dpi - as I think it should be?

Can somebody help me with the right proces from Raw to final file? What am I doing right or wrong? I would like to learn this process right from the start to make photos that are up to Istocks quality standards.

I have Canon 7D, Digital Photo Professoinal (Canon software), Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS3

Would be very gratefull for some advise!

disorderly · « **Reply #1 on:** May 06, 2011, 13:11 »

I use Adobe Camera Raw, which comes with Photoshop, although the raw converter in Lightroom uses the same code and should produce the same results. I have ACR create an sRGB 16-bit image, do all my editing on that and then convert to 8-bit and save as JPEG as a last step.

Different raw converters will do marginally better than others, and I suspect ACR as a generic solution may not be ideal. But it's there, it works, it's fast and I haven't seen a reason to replace it. The main thing is to make whatever edits you can in your raw converter, so the processed file (TIFF or PSD or whatever non-raw format you use) doesn't go through multiple edits and multiple stages of degradation. Keep your data 16-bit as long as you can; 8-bit data can degrade very easily with aggressive processing. And keep the 16-bit version around if you plan to go back and make more changes. JPEG is okay as a final format (and the only one a lot of places can use), but as an intermediate format it sucks.

vectorpixel · « **Reply #2 on:** May 06, 2011, 13:37 »

Hi thank you for the advise... very helpfull!

But I can not find out how to import a Camera Raw file in Lightroom?... it comes with a message "the file seems to be unsupported or damaged". Do you know what I am doing wrong?

Another question How do I open the Adobe Camera Raw program? And how do I import the Raw file?

I would like to try both ways...

LSD72 · « **Reply #3 on:** May 06, 2011, 13:47 »

Which Canon do you use and what version of Lightroom do you have. ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) might need to be updated to support that camera.

vectorpixel · « **Reply #4 on:** May 06, 2011, 14:08 »

I solved the Raw import to Lightroom problem... I updated to Lightroom version 2.7 and it worked.
the camera is a Canon 7D (ACR question)

So now I can import Raw files directly in Lightroom and edit them there, and I also found out how to keep them in 300 dpi exporting them from Lightroom...

But... How do I make shure I keep the file in 16 bit? When I open in Photoshop it is a 8 bit jpeg!

vectorpixel · « **Reply #5 on:** May 06, 2011, 14:56 »

Ok so after the advises here and some trying an updating software, my proces from Raw to final file is this in short:

Downloading files from camera to computer with the Canon software
Import Raw file to Lightroom 2
Edit the file in Lightroom
Exporting the file to Tiff 16 bit, 300 dpi, RGB
Opening the file in Photoshop and saving for Jpeg 8 bit for the final file.
Ready for upload...

Can anybody tell me if this is the right way (or one of the right ways) from Raw to jpeg file, ready for upload?

disorderly · « **Reply #6 on:** May 06, 2011, 16:07 »

Quote from: vectorpixel on May 06, 2011, 14:08

I solved the Raw import to Lightroom problem... I updated to Lightroom version 2.7 and it worked.
the camera is a Canon 7D (ACR question)

So now I can import Raw files directly in Lightroom and edit them there, and I also found out how to keep them in 300 dpi exporting them from Lightroom...

But... How do I make shure I keep the file in 16 bit? When I open in Photoshop it is a 8 bit jpeg!

I don't have Lightroom 2.x on this computer. But in Lightroom 3 you bring up Preferences, select External Editing and change the setting for Bit Depth to 16 bits/component.

vectorpixel · « **Reply #7 on:** May 06, 2011, 17:36 »

Ok so after the advises here and some trying an updating software, my proces from Raw to final file is this in short:

Downloading raw files from camera to computer with the Canon software
Import Raw file to Lightroom 2
Edit the file in Lightroom
Exporting the file to Tiff 16 bit, 300 dpi, RGB
Opening the file in Photoshop and saving for Jpeg 8 bit for the final file.
Ready for upload...

Can anybody tell me if this is the right steps from Raw to jpeg file, ready for upload? am I missing some important details?

LSD72 · « **Reply #8 on:** May 06, 2011, 17:39 »

Thats basically what I do. I highlight and export from Lightroom into a Folder called "Lightroom Eports" (original huh). When I am ready I just start putting them into photoshop for the final part.

I usually do not crop in lightroom unless the crop is affect by a lr preset.