Did you ever notice that camera photos don’t always look like the scene you photographed? Maybe the colors are pale, maybe detail is lost in the glare or shadows, or maybe it’s just too blue or yellow. That’s because the camera sensor doesn’t “see” light in the same way our eyes do. At any given moment, our eyes are seeing both brighter brights and darker darks than a camera can … or, for that matter, a screen can display or a printer can print. Camera software tries to correct for that when it converts the actual ‘RAW’ image from the sensor into the typical processed JPEG image, but it can’t match reality.
Here’s an example using my sunset photo from Garden of the Gods. This first image is my final edit where I tried to capture what I actually saw and felt while taking the picture:
I worked to capture the warm light from the sun on the cliffs, the colors in the sky, the details in the shadows, and the peace and beauty of the moment. Compare my edited image to the unprocessed ‘raw’ image right out of the sensor:
All the information is there, but it's flat and boring because it isn't displayed the way our eyes see.
This next image is the computer processed jpeg image that my camera created from the raw photo:
The jpeg conversion still didn't get it right: the shadows are too dark, and the sky and cliff colors are washed out. The software made the wrong compromises.
The camera-generated JPEGs from different exposures taken at the exact same second better show the colors in the sky and cliff, although other areas of the picture are destroyed:
Those are dramatic differences, aren’t they! There was too big a range of brightness and darkness for the camera JPEG software to capture everything, and so it compromised.
And that’s a big part of why I edit my photos: I make better selections than the JPEG software - even on an expensive camera. Artistically, I can also emphasize and de-emphasize various parts of the image to better convey the beauty and feeling of the actual moment. My goal is to enable you to step into the picture and experience the full peace and beauty of the moment!
I hope my images help you take quick visits to nature to recharge and find peace!
Thanks for reading,
John