GUIDE TO SHOOTING RAW PART IV

EXPOSURE

     EXPOSURE control is an area where raw files can really show their superiority over JPEGs Colour and white balance issues can be avoided for most shots by careful planning, but the exposure control offers the ability to manipulate and recover detail in an image that would otherwise be lost in the processing to 8-bit JPEGs.
     Although the 12 or 14-bit raw files maintain extra data, a simple conversion will leave the image looking no different from the in-camera JPEG. The exposure controls.
in raw software allow you to reveal that data and really optimise the tonal range before the image is outputted or printed.
     However, this process has to start before the raw converter Getting the exposure right in-camera for a raw file can be even more important than with a JPEG, while the process and the metering methods are slightly different The raw file should not be used as just a fail-safe or an excuse to be sloppy with your camera technique, but as an opportunity to take your images further

The main develop workspace in Adobe Lightroom

METERING

METERING FOR RAW
Raw files maintain greater tonal latitude than JPEG, and tones that may register as pure white or pure black on your camera may in fact still have some intermediate value left in them.
This mean that what may appear burnt out or lost in shadow on the image may still be rescued and have some detail to it.
     This is still limited though, and mustn't be taken for granted.  Extreme highlights way beyond the range will still not return and those shadows that are too dark will never reveal detail.

     Matrix or evaluative metering modes provide the most even tone distribution for an image and so suit raw capture best on most occasions.
However, spot metering and centre-weighted setting still have their place in high contrast scenes when your main object could otherwise be lost in shadow.

BRACKET FOR EXPOSURE BLENDING

 Although raw files are more recoverable than JPEGs, for high-contrast scenes you may still wish to bracket. This allows you to compare the corrections on the different files and discover if your camera produces better results when slightly under or overexposing and I fats then correcting in software The latest |H 16-million-pixel sensors in Nikon, bony and Pentax DSLRs, for instance offer equally good performance when underexposed by 2 or 3 stops,

which allows you to use faster shutter speeds or lower ISO values.
      Bracketed RAW files can also be used to create dynamic range shots, in the form of HDR or exposure blending through Photoshop or a dedicated program like Photomatix.
Using raw instead of JPEG files increases the potential tonal range, although the larger file sizes will put more of strain on your computer's processor.