If you’re shooting RAW you will already know that RAW images need some post-processing to come to life and not look like flat, lifeless pictures. If you’re new to shooting RAW please understand that it is not a sin – more like a ‘must’ – to do some post-processing work to make your images look more like the colourful JPG files that your camera will typically produce when you’re shooting JPGs.

I usually use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 to develop my RAW files but the same work can be done in the latest version of Camera Raw right inside Adobe Photoshop CS4.

The processing of this image is an example of the RAW power of Lightroom 2. All processing has been done right inside Lightroom 2 (but as mentioned these steps can also be made in Camera Raw). In fact as you will see I have only used the Basic Panel and the tools just above the Basic Panel (Spot Removal, Graduated Filter and Adjustment Brush). As you can see these simple changes make quite a difference to the image and the good news about processing RAW files is that YOU are completely in control of the changes and how far (or not so far) you want to take them.

The only changes made in the Basic Panel are minor changes to Exposure, Blacks, Clarity and Vibrance.

I used the Graduated Filter to saturate and darken down the water a bit. Notice I have also made a yellowish colour change by using the Color setting within the Graduated Filter.

This shows the changes applied in a second Graduated Filter I used to darken the sky and again I used the Colour setting to put a little bit of blue into the sky. Notice how much I have been able to crank up the Saturation without the sky looking ridiculously blue.

The Adjustment Brush is a new powerful – and memory hungry – tool in Lightroom 2 which allows the user to make local non-destructive adjustments to their image which is very cool functionality. In this example I simply used the Adjustment Brush to make a local contrast increase to the sky.

You can click on the little square thumbnail at the top of the post to view the finish image in large view. By the way the image above is from the grand basin at Castelnaudery on Canal du Midi in France from where you can go on the most beautiful river cruise you can ever imagine.

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