R A W V S . J P E GU N I T 3 • D I G I TA L D A R K R O O M

L E A R N I N G G O A L S

• Do I have knowledge and understanding of RAW and JPEG file formats for photography?

• Can I use digital tools to process a RAW file?

K E Y Q U E S T I O N S

• How is each file format processed?

• Which format is lossless and which is compressed?

• Which file format has a large dynamic range (highlights—>shadows)?

• Which file format is larger?

• What can be corrected in RAW that cannot be corrected in JPEG?

Sensor Processor Memory Card

R A W

Sensor Processor White balance

Contrast Saturation

Colour depth Sharpness

JPEG Compression

Memory Card

J P E G

R A W

• A digital negative

• Uncompressed (lossless)

• All the lossless image date that your camera’s sensor records

• Much larger file size (~18 MB per)

• Higher dynamic range

• Correct white balance in post-processing

• Needs to be processed by computer

J P E G

• Compressed (lossy)

• Can be read by any device

• Small file size (~5mb per)

• Lower in dynamic range

• Processed within the camera

Think of it like a WAV vs. MP3

RAW JPEG

D O W N L O A D R A W F I L E & O P E N P H O T O S H O P

Let’s practice processing camera RAW files.

K E Y Q U E S T I O N S

• How is each file format processed?

• Which format is lossless and which is compressed?

• Which file format has a large dynamic range (highlights—>shadows)?

• Which file format is larger?

• What can be corrected in RAW that cannot be corrected in JPEG?