RAW newbie... subject matter?

[gardener]

I've been watching the threads on shooting pics in RAW format with interest and ya'll have convinced me it's the way to go for certain projects. Now, never having switched the Rebel XT over to RAW up to this point, are there better practice subjects than others? Lots of color and contrast? Little color and/or contrast? Bright light? Dim light? Some of both? A bunch of whatever pops in front of my lens?
I don't mind putting in some practice time on the format and my PS Elements 4 but if it will make make the transition easier, some suggested subject matter would be much appreciated to learn on.
Thanks again,
Steve W

[Terrancelee]

Shoot whatever you want! That's the beauty of RAW .. you can make it look any way you like. My main reason, well other than being a control freak when it comes to my pictures, is for the white balance. I can leave my camera in the auto setting and never, (so far), have to worry about it, as I can simply change the photo to whatever type of white balance I want for that particular shot. Even if it's not the "right" wb, if I like it a different way, presto, no problems.

Just shoot. :)

[suzyjazz]

RAW gives you more flexibility with exposure, and one way to play with it is landscape photography where you have a large variation in exposure: darker foreground, brighter sky. Open the RAW file twice in your program, adjusting the exposure 2 different ways. Use layer a layer mask to blend the images together. It took me awhile to learn it, but it's really neat.

[engstrom]

Originally Posted by suzyjazz

RAW gives you more flexibility with exposure, and one way to play with it is landscape photography where you have a large variation in exposure: darker foreground, brighter sky. Open the RAW file twice in your program, adjusting the exposure 2 different ways. Use layer a layer mask to blend the images together. It took me awhile to learn it, but it's really neat.

I found a good tutorial on digital blending here: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tu...blending.shtml

I use the Layer Mask method except I use a Levels adjustment before the gausian blur and change the white/black point to only include the brightest stuff in the mask and not much of the midtones.

[gardener]

You guys are amazing... Easy to understand instructions, look here/look there pointers, lots of instructional e-links ... it just goes on and on.
I appreciate ya as I'm sure many other photography newbies here do!
Steve W

[engstrom]

We serve to please!

[darktiger]

Wow, that is a pretty good tutorial...

[Justin]

Originally Posted by gardener

You guys are amazing... Easy to understand instructions, look here/look there pointers, lots of instructional e-links ... it just goes on and on.
I appreciate ya as I'm sure many other photography newbies here do!
Steve W

I second this! Can't wait to try on my Tower pics...

[rab3rd]

Go buy this book, its a good one on processing raw files.

"Real world camera raw with adobe photoshop CS2" by Bruce Fraser.

I have read about half of it and dont think I will ever shoot in anything but raw again.

[Justin]

Do you guys have a general PS CS book to recommend, with an emphasis on photography? I see a Kelby book, one by Martin Evening....

[sraulers]

I bought Scott Kelby's "The Photoshop CS2 Bood for Digital Photographers" on the recommendation of a guy who's been using PS for quite a while. I looked at the Fraser book and two others that were specifically about Camera Raw and decided I needed something with a little more about all aspects of CS2. After spending a couple hours in Borders Books looking through four or five, I went with the Kelby book.

Of course, there are roughly 300+ books on CS2 on the shelves, so it's a bit of crap shoot. The best book for one person may be just what they need based on their experience level and way over the head of someone else. Being a CS2 novice, I think the Kelby book will be fine to get me started and then, if needed, I'll look for more advanced material in the future.

Well, my $.02 is up...

[engstrom]

I too recommend the Kelby book. It's easy to follow but don't let that fool you. It has some advanced techniques for processing photos in PS CS2.

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by sraulers

I bought Scott Kelby's "The Photoshop CS2 Bood for Digital Photographers" on the recommendation of a guy who's been using PS for quite a while. I looked at the Fraser book and two others that were specifically about Camera Raw and decided I needed something with a little more about all aspects of CS2. After spending a couple hours in Borders Books looking through four or five, I went with the Kelby book.

Of course, there are roughly 300+ books on CS2 on the shelves, so it's a bit of crap shoot. The best book for one person may be just what they need based on their experience level and way over the head of someone else. Being a CS2 novice, I think the Kelby book will be fine to get me started and then, if needed, I'll look for more advanced material in the future.

Well, my $.02 is up...

I have the Kelby book and find it very good particulary for quick ideas.

Fraser has out:

Real World Adobe Photoshop CS2 [Paperback]
By: Bruce Fraser, David Blatner

It covers all of PhotoShop including RAW in ACR. It's the best of both worlds.