Unedited Images
I am a member of a lot of photography facebook groups because I am always looking for information that will help me improve all of the time. One of the posts I see pretty much daily in multiple groups is always some tog asking how to respond to a client who wants the "Raws". If you are wondering what a "Raw" is...it usually means the unedited image.
See here is the thing, I shoot in Raw with my Nikon camera. This creates a very special type of file that usually requires a program like Lightroom or Photoshop or other software to even open the file. My camera also shoots in JPEG which is a more common file type that is delievered to the client. So why would I use the raw setting when I am shooting?
Detail...
Cameras see things a little differently than we do...your phone take a picture and it is instantly a decent photo. My camera even shows me what the image "looks like" as a JPEG and guess what...it is pretty decent. The raw file however gives the photographer a ton more information to work with when editing.
Before
After
1-The raw file is huge
I could probably get technical here and do a lot of math. But it is math so....no. In this example... my edited jpg is 1.5 MB... my raw NEF file is 29.3MB. I am not a mathmagician but...29 is a lot bigger than 1.5. So not only will the regular person not be able to open the file, but they will also be using up more storage. So leave it to your professional to store that one...it will save you in cloud subscriptions and external hard drives for sure.
2- Photography is art
A photographers editing style is pretty unique to them. Art is subjective so something you may like another person may not...and that is OK. When I edit photos I am editing them usually in the same style as previous photos because it reflects my work. Hopefully, you look at the work on my website and like what you see and you decide to book me as your photographer. Wouldn't you want your photos to look as great as the ones that inspired you to book in the first place? Photographer's take the time to edit photos in their style. If I share my raw file with someone else, they could edit the photo to look entirely different from the way I like them to look. As a photographer I would not want that photo out in the world as a representation of my work.
3 - We are providing a service.
When you go to a bakery to pick up a cake, you pick up a complete finished and decorated cake. The baker is not giving out the raw ingredients. They took their time to put the ingredients together professionally and give you an amazing decorated cake. Not to mention, if that bake gave me the raw ingredients even if I followed instructions and a recipe there is no way mine would ever look good. My cake would be a complete Pinterest fail. The same is true for photos. We are giving you a finished product.
