Hey all!
First of all thank you so much for visiting and reading my blog. As much as I love photography, I equally love to write- so thank you for dedicating a little piece of your day to this read.
I was inspired today to make a blog post that compares the differences between RAW photographs and the final edited images.
A RAW photograph is a file stored on my camera’s memory stick that is unprocessed. It is a type of photo that allows for maximum amount of visual information to be stored- which is SO awesome when editing the photos later. I strictly shoot in this format as it allows me to capture as much detail and colour in my photos as possible and gives me the flexibility to edit them however I want.
A lot of the process behind creating beautifully detailed images is in post processing- or “editing”. Most of the time, I use Adobe Lightroom to edit my RAW photos. But sometimes I also use Photoshop if I need to perform a bigger alteration or change.
I spend around 15-30 minutes some days editing each individual photo. A full wedding gallery can take me up to 60 hours to complete. If many of you are frustrated asking the question “Why do photographers charge $100+ per hour?? It is only a one hour photoshoot!” … think again. Your one hour family shoot is followed by up to 6-8 hours carefully picking, editing and reediting to ensure the highest quality in your images. That works out to about $12.50 per hour. UM HELLO? That is less than the legal Alberta minimum wage.
Although the editing process is basically necessary in modern photography, I thought I would show a few different comparisons to what a RAW photo may look like compared to the final edit:
Hope you enjoyed these cool comparisons and remember- photography is so much more than just clicking a button! And also know that perfectly edited photos are not a representation of true reality- they are simply an enhanced version.
There is a lot of time and patience that goes into developing those beautiful photos 🙂