affinity photo Snowstorm on the Lake

[Ldina]

Photo taken midway through a blizzard a few minutes walk from our home. The original photo shot RAW with a Canon 5Dmk2. Developed and edited in AfPhoto v2.6.2. 

[Alfred]

A beautiful picture, @Ldina. For maximum appreciation of the work you put into achieving the end result, it would be good if you could show us what you started with.

[Ldina]

5 hours ago, Alfred said:

A beautiful picture, @Ldina. For maximum appreciation of the work you put into achieving the end result, it would be good if you could show us what you started with.

Thanks, @Alfred . Below is the "As Shot" version with ZERO adjustments applied in the Develop Persona. Affinity's LibRAW development doesn't apply any adjustments (presets or otherwise, unlike many other RAW processors) to a RAW file when it is initially opened. It's up to the user to interpret the image, set contrast, brightness, highlight and shadow recovery, etc. So, the "As Shot" version without any adjustments is pretty flat. My goal in this image was to accentuate the white snow against the stormy sky and separate them so they didn't completely blend together. So many possible interpretations!

[Alfred]

As you say, without any adjustments it’s pretty flat.

4 minutes ago, Ldina said:

My goal in this image was to accentuate the white snow against the stormy sky and separate them so they didn't completely blend together.

You’ve done a wonderful job. 

[KarinC]

Thanks for showing the before image. I would have thought the before image was pretty good if I hadn't seen the adjusted one.

[Ldina]

3 minutes ago, KarinC said:

Thanks for showing the before image. I would have thought the before image was pretty good if I hadn't seen the adjusted one.

Thanks...actually, the 'before' image is pretty nice, soft and natural, though it definitely needs a little tweaking. I'm always amazed at how many interpretations are possible with the same original! Depending on the day and my mood, they often come out quite different.

[KarinC]

My camera produces jpg's. I don't know how to do the raw image developing. Are jpg's raw images?

[Ldina]

3 hours ago, KarinC said:

My camera produces jpg's. I don't know how to do the raw image developing. Are jpg's raw images?

Are jpg's raw images? No, definitely not.

You have to tell your camera to save RAW images in your camera settings. If your camera is set to JPG only, then the RAW data (which the camera captures) will be converted to a reduced-size JPG "in-camera" and written to your camera's memory card. In that case, the RAW data is discarded after the conversion from RAW to JPG, mainly to conserve space on your camera's memory card.

Many cameras allow you to save RAW Only, JPG Only, TIFF Only, etc, or a combination, for example, RAW & JPG versions. I have set my camera to save ONLY RAW versions to my memory card, but RAW plus JPG is a very good option for many people, as JPGs don't consume a lot of space on your memory card, Those JPGs "bake in" your settings, using a 'one size fits all' camera algorithm, and are small and convenient for email, previews, etc. JPGs do show a fairly realistic view of what the camera captured, so they can be useful.

If you want to experiment with RAW, see if your camera settings allow you to save BOTH RAW and JPG. Then you will have both available to play with. RAW images are much more flexible and adaptable, but also require more work. Saving both to your camera's memory card allows you to choose.

James Ritson has tutorials on RAW development, or we can help if you decide to try it out. 

[KarinC]

@Ldina Ah. Thank you. I will add that project to my long list of things to play with.