Why you should never delete your RAWs

leftcurl

leftcurl

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Leigh
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i've recently been out taking shots of house interiors for my website (tiles, not photography). I managed to get most of what i needed from recent projects, but i was still missing some product shots... then i remembered i'd taken some shots a few years previous of the products i needed.

i found the folder on the server of all the RAW files... some going back to 2007. Back then i was using a 350D and basically shooting in auto and converting the RAW files straight to jpeg :bonk: I just thought that's how it should be done!

Going back to those RAW files now, i have managed to create some great shots for the website of images i thought at one time were a lost cause. Poorly lit, wonky, heavy vignetting.. you get the idea.

What i'm saying is (mainly to beginners).. don't delete the RAW files after you've converted them!! As your knowledge grows you learn more and more about editing RAWs and how to adjust WB / crop / manipulate images to bring out the best in them. :thumbs:
 
I agree.

I converted all my RAW files to JPEG and recently, I thought I'd print a few, frame them and put them on the wall.

The JPEGs I have won't print very well.

I converted to save space...:cuckoo:

Cheers.
 
posiview said:
I agree.

I converted all my RAW files to JPEG and recently, I thought I'd print a few, frame them and put them on the wall.

The JPEGs I have won't print very well.

I converted to save space...:cuckoo:

Cheers.
Click to expand...

I was doing something similar to what you used to do... I would save the raws for a while but after a few months, delete them and just keep the jpegs... Big big mistake though :D

Looking back to some of those pictures, I wish I could go back and edit them again. Now I keep everything...
 
With the price of storage these days it probably isn't worth deleting any, I know I certainly don't!
 
I'll agree with you that we should keep ALL RAWs when somebody gives me a reason to keep ones like this.
If you have missed the shot then dump the file, no matter how cheap storage is, what's the point of keeping totally unusable shots.

_MG_8051.jpg
 
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Good idea :thumbs: Im finding myself looking back through photos ive taken 4-5-6 years ago. I keep thinking one day when i get good at photoshop , i'll edit you and make you proud :D Shame i wasnt shooting in raw back then :bang:
 
Been told this and have to agree that keeping the RAWs is a good idea. Just need to get a backup drive for them as i am going to be taking loads of pics this summer
 
As an aside, if you keep all your RAW files, name the folders otherwise you will have, as I have, hundreds of folders identifiable only by the date taken.

This, of course, applies to all folders.

Cheers.
 
Win 7 has PhotoGallery which i have started using and it is great for Organizing photos.

Of course, one has to name folders etc.

Do people actually put a name to each and every shot? I don't
 
posiview said:
As an aside, if you keep all your RAW files, name the folders otherwise you will have, as I have, hundreds of folders identifiable only by the date taken.
Click to expand...

Depends if you use an image management application like Lightroom or Aperture or not, and make sure you tag everything properly (yes, I do this religiously before any PP) ;)

In ye olden days, I kept index cards for my film photographs (the little boxes you used to be able to buy from WH Smith).

A computer file system is not usually a very efficient database when it comes to metadata.
 
leftcurl said:
What i'm saying is (mainly to beginners).. don't delete the RAW files after you've converted them!! As your knowledge grows you learn more and more about editing RAWs and how to adjust WB / crop / manipulate images to bring out the best in them. :thumbs:
Click to expand...

I agree 100%.

My first cam (also the 350d) was bought for an 8 month backpacking trip about 5 years ago. I was completely inexperienced in photography at the time but knew some of the very basics. I knew I would miss a load of great pics as part of my learning curve, but I hoped to get some great shots as well. That trip with that cam is what hooked me on this hobby! I shot RAW as a safety net (had to take portable hard disks with me!) but soooooo glad I did now. Every time I re-visit those pics I get better and better results. At first I was just batch converting to jpeg after tweaking exposure to make sure it wasn't too far out. Now I'm using most of Lightrooms features, and in 5 or 10 years time, when hopefully I'll be much better again, I be doing all sorts of things.
 
You've got me thinking.

I've only just switched to RAW.

When i'm finished editing in LR3, and hit " Export as... xyz " do i loose my original RAW then, or does it store it somewhere?

Or should i be making a copy of the original raw before editing and exporting so i still have the Original RAW?

Hmmm:thinking:
 
Few sums
24mp image = about 20meg raw file
2 tb drive if you shop around = £100
So each image cost = 1/100 of a penny
Not a big investment on something that may one day be just the image you need
 
inlineadam said:
You've got me thinking.

I've only just switched to RAW.

When i'm finished editing in LR3, and hit " Export as... xyz " do i loose my original RAW then, or does it store it somewhere?

Or should i be making a copy of the original raw before editing and exporting so i still have the Original RAW?

Hmmm:thinking:
Click to expand...

Lightroom always keeps your original RAW file (unless you go out of your way to delete it).

It also never makes any changes to your original RAW file, so you can always go back to where you started - check out the history panel on the left hand side of the screen when you're in Develop mode [you can also see the difference between that and the changes you've made by hitting the \ key]

-> No need to make extra copies.
 
Musicman said:
Lightroom always keeps your original RAW file (unless you go out of your way to delete it).


-> No need to make extra copies.
Click to expand...

completely disagree! Backup is essential. Media fail, get stolen, etc - then what?
 
daugirdas said:
Backup is essential
Click to expand...

Absolutely, yes! Make regular backups of all your data.

But that's not what was being asked about, which was editing and exporting RAW files in Lightroom, which is a parametric, non-destructive editing environment.

Edit an original JPEG in Photoshop and choose a plain "Save" instead of "save as..." and you have lost your original data.

Unlike working with JPEG or TIFF files in Photoshop, there's no need to make additional copies of RAW files (or indeed other formats) within Lightroom before or after editing, or exporting.

Making additional copies within Lightroom contributes nothing to a backup strategy.
 
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Musicman said:
Lightroom always keeps your original RAW file (unless you go out of your way to delete it).

It also never makes any changes to your original RAW file, so you can always go back to where you started - check out the history panel on the left hand side of the screen when you're in Develop mode [you can also see the difference between that and the changes you've made by hitting the \ key]

-> No need to make extra copies.
Click to expand...

Thank you Rob:thumbs:
 
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