Can't make my RAW photo look as good as jpeg

VayCayMom

Ever have this issue? What am I doing wrong/ Anyway to copy what the camera did to the jpeg and do it to the RAW?

digismile

What are you curently using to process your raw images? And what model of camera?

VayCayMom

I have the Nikon d 700, I don't usually have this problem, but these photos were shot early evening, there is some noise, some softness.
I am opening them in Photoshop CS4 raw converter, I think that is the term. My camera was set to vivid.
I also could use Lightroom2 or DXO to convert them.

I am still somewhat of a newbie. I think I figured out the vivid or whatever setting is not going to translate into my Raw images, just jpeg. The color on the Jpeg is wonderful! I can't duplicate the color or the final results. Maybe I should just PP the jpeg image for my client!

There is a popular photographer of children in Chicago that shots jpeg, never uses flash, sets her Nikon to Vivid and uses her images pretty much sooc. But then again she has a niche and it works for her, now I can see why.
Thanks for responding...

SKnight

I tried RAW for awhile, but I don't get the same results as I did with Jpeg. One day I'll progress to RAW but for now and with my style I get better results in Jpeg.

Elaine

I learned at a Scott Kelby Lightroom seminar that Lightroom 2 has something called camera matching profiles under the Camera Calibration heading. (Also works in ACR 4.5 and later.) It's the bottom option on the far right under the develop module in LR2. Under "profile" you can choose from the various options that you would find on your own camera's menu. So, for example, you should be able to click "vivid" and it will give your RAW photo the JPEG settings for vivid. Mr. Kelby mentioned that he knows someone who likes to shoot RAW for the advantages it offers, but as a general rule, sets Lightroom to import and automatically apply a setting that he likes from the Camera Calibration menu so that he is starting his edits with a good looking photo.

For more info on getting those profiles into Lightroom, try this link from Adobe Labs.

Ric Grupe

VayCayMom wrote:

I have the Nikon d 700, I don't usually have this problem, but these photos were shot early evening, there is some noise, some softness.
I am opening them in Photoshop CS4 raw converter, I think that is the term. My camera was set to vivid.
I also could use Lightroom2 or DXO to convert them.

I am still somewhat of a newbie. I think I figured out the vivid or whatever setting is not going to translate into my Raw images, just jpeg. The color on the Jpeg is wonderful! I can't duplicate the color or the final results. Maybe I should just PP the jpeg image for my client!

There is a popular photographer of children in Chicago that shots jpeg, never uses flash, sets her Nikon to Vivid and uses her images pretty much sooc. But then again she has a niche and it works for her, now I can see why.
Thanks for responding...

You NEED to learn how to use ACR (adobe camera raw) in CS4!

Try the "vibrance slider" at about 25 (to taste) up saturation to about 1/3rd of where you put the vibrance...and adjust clarity to add contrast and pop!

Google for tutes....there's plenty of them.:D

VayCayMom

Thanks for the tips, I did use vibrance, clarity, contrast, curves, but that didn't do the trick this time.
Elaine I am going to tinker with the camera calibrations . Funny thing, yesterday I tried to buy Kelby's online courses, but the website wasn't working properly.
Thanks for the tips!!

adbsgicom

It's been noted that RAW requires that you do some amount of sharpening to get your best results. Rutt has a tutorial here on dgrin. In LR, there is a sharpening option that you can mask. You can also apply unsharp masks during export through LR or by using the Mogrify plugin that has a bit more control than the standard LR2 path.

alexf

The best RAW processor for your camera is Nikon Capture NX2. Period. You can do other things with ACR/LR but not to the extent you can do with the camera manufacturer's RAW processor which gives you absolute control.

I shoot Nikon and nothing but RAW. I process with CNX2 and can change color profiles (STD, VIVID, etc.). You can change WB, EV exposure compensation or what have you as it has access to everything the sensor saw. I treat RAW as a negative. After processing I save a copy as JPG (or TIFF) to send to other programs (such as PS or PSP) for adding copyright text (CNX2 cannot do text) or to add special filters (Color Efex, Silver Efex, Topaz, to name a few). I then send the JPG to Smugmug (or to print), then delete the JPG copy as all the major changes are saved in the RAW copy (my negative) and they can all be undone at any time on the same RAW image as they are non-destructive.

pathfinder

VayCay, the jpg that pops out of your camera, came from your RAW file, via the software image processing built into your camera. You can duplicate it with most RAW processors with just a bit of experimenting.

Richard

pathfinder wrote:

VayCay, the jpg that pops out of your camera, came from your RAW file, via the software image processing built into your camera. You can duplicate it with most RAW processors with just a bit of experimenting.

Not only duplicate it, but come up with something quite a bit better, which is why so many of us insist on shooting RAW. A little investment of time in mastering the conversion software will pay huge dividends in control over your images.

VayCayMom

It's funny but I never had an issue about my RAW files looking good before. I have twiddled away for hours!!
In both camera RAW and Lightroom 2, so it is not from a lack of experience or effort.

I totally understand that my jpeg file has been tweaked by my camera( right?) And that it took a guess at what it should look like. I have been shooting RAW for well over a year now..I wonder of some settings or such got screwed up somewhere recently. I have had computer issues and did a restore recently.

The good news here is that I took the advice of Alexf, downloaded Capture NX2 and the RAW file looks GREAT! Somehow I could not get to that point with this series of photos ( a family of ten no less!! Big series!) in Lightroom2. Camera RAW, and DXO. I tried presets and many many manual adjustments, grrrrr.

But I knew I could get the help I needed here. I am actually using all the tips I got, because I will continue to bounce around until I find what works best for me and sometimes that is more than one program.
Thanks everyone.