Can You Get More from Your RAW File?

Mark Segal authored a good, basic tutorial (and by “basic” I mean it doesn’t require a lot of layers or complicated techniques, etc.) for getting more out of a challenging RAW file, using Lightroom 2.x (or Camera RAW 5) and Photoshop, on The Luminous Landscape website. If one has the options available, Capture One or RAW Developer (Mac Only) would likely get more details out of a troublesome file, but with Lightroom’s large user base it makes sense to do such a tutorial using it. Notice Mark’s cautionary note:

Because of how powerful some of these Lightroom and Photoshop adjustments can be, unless one is seeking some unusual artistic effect, a really important aspect of doing this work is to delicately adjust tonal values in relation to each other, such that the end result is believable.”

I might prefer even less “impact” in the final image in this example. In fact, I’m reprocessing some of my images as I have time, to correct the effects of a slightly heavy hand used in the past. I’m not suggesting that Mark Segal has over-processed the image (and of course I didn’t see the original scene), just emphasizing that I agree with his suggestion of restraint.

Mark Segal’s Article on the Luminous Landscape