When we make changes to a raw,
we’re simply altering the way it looks
in the preview window. The make-up of the
image isn’t altered in any way: rather, we’re
simply changing its appearance in the viewer.
Nothing is ever committed until we save the
file in another format like a JPEG or TIFF (and
even then, we can always go back to the raw
for further edits). So our entire workflow
stays non-destructive throughout.Raw’s non-
destructive
nature makes it
easy to try out
different looks and
treatments, so you’re
free to take an image
down several paths
before you settle
on a final look. In
Camera Raw you can
save these different
looks as Snapshots.
In Lightroom, you can
make virtual copies
(r ight-click it and
choose Create Virtual
Copy) to experiment
with treatments.