RAW-image-file capture 191A good example is the work Barry has done in the health-care
fi eld at clinics, hospitals, and laboratories. In many of these situ-
ations, he was escorted into an examining room, operating room,
or similar environment—with only moments to assess the sur-
roundings, choose a White Balance setting, check exposure, and
prepare for photography. Many examining rooms are lit with one
overhead fl uorescent fi xture, but the actual exam lights have
bright tungsten or incandescent bulbs. In other words, it’s our old
friend mixed lighting. Intensive-care units keep lighting to a
minimum, requiring a high ISO, and no fl ash is allowed. Surgical
suites have intense, focused spotlights to illuminate the surgeon’s
work area, making the rest of the room dark by comparison.
Having the ability to recover lost highlights or open darker
shadow areas from RAW fi les during postprocessing is a saving
feature to Barry. The same scenario exists for wedding photogra-
phers, because the bride’s white gown can really stand out against
dark backgrounds or when she’s next to the groom in his black
tux. RAW capture gives the breathing room to make these assign-
ments successes rather than failures. In fact, the Health Sciences
Center at the University of New Mexico has won several awards
for their publications that feature Barry’s photography.Before you can see the edges of
your RAW fi le that are “hidden”
by the camera, you will have to
convert that fi le into Adobe’s DNG
(Digital Negative) format. To do
that, you’ll need Adobe’s free
Adobe DNG Converter (www.
adobe.com/products/dng) that’s
available for both Mac OS and
Windows and easily translates
RAW format fi les from many of
today’s popular cameras.