RAW.

hey again! i go way too long between blog posts..

but anyway. today i am going to talk about RAW and JPEG. what are they? and what's the difference between the two?

when i started shooting, i started shooting in JPEG like almost every single person does when they take photos on a digital camera. then after lots of nagging from my dad and grandpa about how shooting in RAW is much better and much more beneficial to shoot in. i didn't know why it was more beneficial, but i went by their word, and i started shooting in RAW. but then, this past summer, i started shooting in JPEG again, because RAW files do take up more space than JPEG files. and now, i'm shooting RAW again! so it's been all over the place. but i'm sticking with RAW from here on out.:)

but now what is the difference between RAW and JPEG? let's start with RAW.

in your camera there is a sensor. this sensor is full of pixels. the sensor collects the data that it reads coming in through the lens and each individual pixel records what it reads. so all the data that the sensor reads is recorded to produce an image. a RAW file is all the original data that the sensor collects.

a JPEG is all that data that the sensor collected, and compresses is. the camera compresses all the recorded information and adjusts the image how it things the image should look.

now when you come to edit the photos, when you adjust or edit a RAW file it's like your just putting an outfit on your photo. then if you want to reedit the photo, you can simply 'undress' the photo and be back to exactly what you started with. then you can 'dress' it with a new edit! whereas JPEG on the other hand, when you edit it, it's as if you're gluing an outfit onto the photo. if you save this, that edit is permanent. if you want to reedit the photo, you're going to have to add another 'outfit' on top of the outfit it's already wearing. you can't ever start out with exactly what you started with. so even if you edit a JPEG file and undo the change that you made to the photo, it never completely undoes what you've done. so you're potentially just putting more 'outfits' on top 'outfits' that the photo is already wearing. you can't 'undress' your photo completely.

and THAT is why i shoot RAW. RAW is the original data that the sensor collects, whereas a JPEG is a compressed file altered slightly to what the camera thinks should be done.

some people might argue that you should shoot in JPEG because it challenges you to make more perfect exposures and to strive to nail it on the first try because you know you don't have as much control or  have the ability to fix your photo after you've shot it, but i disagree. i feel that if photography is your passion, you would want to strive to make perfect exposures, no matter what. RAW just gives you a little bit more control over your photo AFTER it's shot.

there is just one downfall to RAW files.. not all photo programs can read them. you need to make sure that you have a program that can read the RAW files. and RAW files cannot be put on the internet either. you have to convert them to JPEG before putting them on the internet.

i hope that this all made sense! and i'll leave you with a few photos to enjoy today.:)

these three are sisters.:)

this girly is the youngest in their family of 6 kids. such a cutie.:)

her eyes are amazing. <3 and i LOVE her little smirk, here:

this girly is the oldest out of these three. she is such a gorgeous girl! i hope that someday i'll get to do her senior pictures. because i can only imagine how beautiful she is going to be when she gets older. and she is the sweetest thing ever. her heart is the size of Texas. <3

and i couldn't resist a photo of all three girls. <3

xoxo.Bree