Shooting RAW


On prosumer EOS bodies, and on the Rebel, fi nd and select Quality from the Menu. Select RAWL. You’re good to go Current EOS-1 bodies, 1Ds Mark II, 1D Mark II N, use the Image Size Selection Button (the new Mark III uses the Function button), found on the bottom of the camera’s back, along with the Quick Control Dial. The selection is indicated on the camera’s rear LCD.
Note that on earlier models, such as the 1Ds, RAWJpeg had to be selected in the Menu, along with the desired jpeg quality, in order to obtain both formats. After the Menu selection, use the Quality button and the Quick Control Dial to fi nd RAW. Both fi les will be created. When your download is complete, open DPP and compare the two fi les side by side. If you’ve really messed up you use the RAW fi les, fi x and process them, and create a fi le of perfect images. If the .jpg fi les are perfect (which should always be a goal), ignore the RAW fi les, make the proofs, and take the orders. Additional tweaking to get a perfect image will be minimal, and can be accomplished when client-selected fi les are made ready for printing

File Accessibility
The question of how to easily access and store fi les is frequently raised, and is another situation that should be studied by each photographer, then implemented according to individual needs.
Regardless of how you access your fi les, keeping your primary computer’s hard drive full of fi les you might work on is not the best solution. Some say that computers function best when they are about half-full, and I have no logical argument against that. Using de-fragmenting software assures that the information that comprises your images is stored in as linear a position as possible, which means the search arm of your hard drive won’t have to skip all over the drive’s surface to reconstruct an image. Also, if you’ve got free space, you’ll never have to worry about having enough room to download a big job.
The important thing to know, especially if you’ve never experienced it, is that all devices will fail, sooner or later. It’s inevitable; a fact of life, and a problem that you must address if you want to keep your images for any reason.
My own workfl ow solution works like this: After a shoot, I’ll download the fi les and immediately make a CD or DVD of those fi les (what can I say, I’m paranoid) which goes into a physical fi le reserved for original data. I try to shoot as much work as possible in low compression (high quality) jpeg mode, to avoid additional time processing RAW fi les, and I routinely shoot those jpegs for commercial, stock, or portrait work. With the tight control that I exercise over my lighting and exposure, whether with my Canon’s features or through hand-held light meters, my exposures are terrifi c (and my clients never complain).
If my shoot is deadlined and I will have the fi le on my machine for a short time, I’ll keep it there and do whatever work I need to do on the fi les my client orders, saving my retouched images as separate fi les, designated by “v.2” after the camera-given or batch-renamed fi le name. Once the work is complete I’ll burn another disc and fi le both discs together in an archive fi le. Once the second disc has been verifi ed I can trash the fi le off the hard drive.
If my shoot is one I’ll have to work on for a while, such as a large group of stock photographs, I’ll make the fi rst disc for insurance and keep the data on an external hard drive where I can work on it as time allows. Finished fi les are renamed to refl ect the subject matter and are additionally copied to a special fi le I call “Saved Work #--,” which I back up on another drive and which is burned to two separate DVDs when the fi le is large enough. These discs are cataloged so I have quick reference to what I’ve fi nished and which “Saved Work” disc it’s on. Because this is important work, the second disc is kept in a safe place away from my offi ce.
Being able to save more than one copy of an image is a tremendous step above fi lm negatives. Copy negatives were never as good as originals, and if the originals were lost or damaged they could never be re-shot. Still, CD and DVD discs do fail sometimes, and the extra copy is an additional measure of insurance. Please be aware that there is great debate over the longevity of CDs and DVDs. The life expectancy of a standard CD or DVD is somewhat dicey unless it’s kept in ideal conditions. Some say that the Gold CDs and DVDs make all the diff erence. A quote from the Delkin Devices website regarding their “Archival Gold” CD would indicate: “CD-R’s are known to deteriorate quickly due to Earth’s common elements: ultraviolet light, heat, and humidity. Using N.I.S.T.’s (National Institute of Standards and Technology) accelerated aging process to test the longevity of CD-R media, the Archival Gold CD-R’s have been shown to safely store your images for more than 300 years.”
If you feel your work warrants long-term storage, which is to say, longer life than that of a negative, you owe it to yourself to investigate storage methods and make the best decision for your work. “Diamonds Are Forever,” Ian Fleming wrote. Most digital media, as it’s currently defi ned, is not.
Want more info? Type this link into your browser to check out an optical media longevity study from the Library of Congress: http://www.itl.nist. gov/iad/894.05/docs/Public%20SP%20500263%20November%202005.pdf. I wrote earlier that workfl ow is slightly diff erent for everyone, and I think there are many important stories to tell. I’ve interviewed a few high-test Canon shooters and was given insight into their workfl ow habits, which I’d like to pass on to you. Read each interview to see how others do their jobs, then take what you like and apply it to your own situation. |