Understanding RAW Photography [Hardcover]

Andy Rouse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2008

A RAW file allows far more flexibility than a JPEG will, and enthusiastic amateur photographers everywhere are discovering their vast potential. RAW files open up a whole new world of image processing where photos can go from ordinary to perfect simply and quickly. In Understanding RAW Photography, renowned photographer Andy Rouse follows the entire procedure from start to finish: the volume takes the form of an easy-to-follow workflow overview, covering all the essentials right from the beginning of a shoot. Rouse explains how to make software choices; work in the field; edit, correct, and process the picture; and ultimately display it in print or on screen. A wide range of images and screen grabs illustrate techniques both basic and advanced, as well as creative possibilities.

 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Andy Rouse is a world-famous photographer, specialising in wildlife photography. He has been consulted by several software manufacturers during the course of their RAW software development and in Understanding RAW Photography he uses no-nonsense language outlining exactly what amateurs need to understand, without becoming mired in jargon.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Photographers' Institute Press (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 186108515X
• ISBN-13: 978-1861085153
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,277,823 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Reference for Digital Photographers, April 7, 2008

By 

A Reader (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Understanding RAW Photography (Hardcover)

Understanding RAW Photography is a rare gem. In 140 pages, Andy Rouse explains the basics of how to deal with digital images from the photographer's point of view. This book is not 500 pages of fluff with some good information tossed in. It is a handbook of what steps the photographer must perform after the shutter is pressed.

Workflow is thoroughly discussed in 16 pages. Workflow is simply setting up the camera to shoot RAW file format, managing the RAW data, and editing/correcting the RAW data. This is tedious but not difficult work. Every DSLR camera manufacturer has their own proprietary software to deal with their own version of RAW data, so read the owner's manual for your camera and use the proprietary software or use freeware that accepts your camera's version of RAW data.

Chapter 2 "In the Field" has many excellent exposure tips, techniques for keeping the camera sensor clean, and backing up the camera memory card while on assignment.

The rest of the book deals with image editing, correction and processing, printing and digital asset management. These topics are discussed in a straight forward manner with enough information given so that the user can get an understanding of the process and then seek more advanced texts if greater detail is needed.

Every DSLR photographer today has the ability to become their own photo processing laboratory. Gone are the days of dropping off rolls of film at the processor's facility and then reviewing proof sheets or slides. Each user can set up the camera, capture the image, download the RAW files on to the computer, edit, correct, process and finally print the photos. This book helps the busy photographer understand and master this series of steps.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RAW explained using some stunning images., October 4, 2008

By 

Ned Middleton (British professional underwater photo-journalist & author) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Understanding RAW Photography (Hardcover)

It is always difficult to give credence to any book about photography where the quality of the published pictures is suspect. The digital revolution as far as cameras are concerned have led those of us who were previously successful with film format into a whole new area of learning. Consequently, there are books and tutorial DVDs which seek to assist in that process of education. Those products generally fall into the 3 broad categories of Good, Not so good, and Abysmal.

In this case, however, we have an exception. This is a product which falls into the category of Excellent!

Quite seriously, this man knows his stuff, is able to take some pretty amazing photographs and also quite able to put his skills into book form so that we who wish to learn may do so.

His photography is of the highest calibre and, whilst I did not buy the book to look at his pictures - but, instead, purchased it in order to learn about RAW, I would have found it very difficult to accept anything written by someone who was not able to practise what they preach.

If you are at the stage where you also need to understand RAW, this is the book for you. It will not disappoint.

NM

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Another Good Guide for Better Digitals, but..., January 22, 2009

By 

Ink & Penner "geMack" (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding RAW Photography (Hardcover)

-No, this isn't about down-and-dirty, raw, triple-x kinds of photo work. The "raw" refers to a special kind of computer file, used by the newest, digital still-cameras. As described in the book, it's a professional format that's clean, unaltered, uncompressed while in the camera...and seems to be slowly catching on everywhere, even though most amateurs (and some pros) still rely on the .jpg and .tif varieties of files. If you know nothing about .raw files, after reading "Understanding RAW Photography," you'll go away knowing something about them (maybe even lots more). You're encouraged to start experimenting and working with .raw files; but if you're beyond the introductory stage, the book will probably satisfy an urge for details.

Strange thing, though. Overall, this information-packed book seems less about ".raw" files and more about the total process of camera digitals to prints...no matter what kind of picture-format is used. -From selecting camera options to exposure to shooting to downloading to editing and even to hard-drive saving and filing...it's all covered. This is good; and it's interesting to read how one photog does it, but the material on the "RAW" gets noticeably thin. It's spread around all over. It's fragmented, well buried among many slow pages of how-to tutoring.

So, in the end, we're Still unsure about RAW's validity as a coming staple for the photo community. You know it's got to be a good thing, though, given the impressive personal wild-life pix the author's included throughout the edition. They're outstanding color pictures, especially as reproduced on the heavy, slightly-glossy pages of the book. -But is this because Andy specifically used the .raw file format...or are the pictures great because of all the post-shooting image altering, editing, tweaking, checking and changing he's done to his original .raw files? Can you get the same results with other, more commonly used, file formats? -It's not clear....

Too, author Rouse includes good info on "your greatest ally in the world of digital photography," says he. That would be: every photo's "histogram." -But for something so roundly important, why does Rouse assume everyone's already very familiar with it? He should have devoted one concise section on exactly what the histogram is, what it's for, what it does, what each of the graph lines means, what to look for in an "optimum" histogram. Instead, every now and then, he connects a photo to an illustration of its histogram graph and explains. Fuzzy histo-terms and curious histo-features included, it turns out, though, (for the new-comer on the subject) to be a vague explanation at best. If histograms are essential for digital shooters, then the author should have started at the beginning.

This reader's beyond the point-and-shoot digital arena but is not pro-experienced. -And he "learnt"* more than expected from this information-packed photography book. Even so, there's Still an inadequate feeling of full "understanding" of .raw, no matter what Rouse named his book. Indeed, the book's a worthwhile read for the rank amateur as well as good review for the professional...and is also valuable for in-betweens like myself. It works; but as for "Understanding RAW Files," (for some of us, I guess) this book's just a start.

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* Author Rouse actually uses this grammatical imperfection several times. At first, "learnt" seemed a distracting joke or a typo for the more correct "learned."