Tag: rawstudio

2009-03-24

I tried out RAWstudio a couple times through the past year or so. I had to try it, because I knew how much time it could conceivably save me. Both times, though, the image quality of the output JPG was horrible in comparison to UFRaw. So, it would save time, but my photos looked nasty.

Then, I noticed some slick JPG output on the MeetTheGIMP videocast when Rolf (the host) gave RAWstudio a test run. It looked so much better than mine. What was I doing wrong? So, I decided I would give it another try, and I am glad I did.

2009-03-18

Chase Jarvis mentioned the “creative gap” in an interview the other day, “creative gap” being the “difference between what you want your pictures to look like, and what they actually look like.” It is the gap we need to jump to take that next step in the development of our creative muscle. Basically, we have to be out there shooting a lot, trying new things, chasing down that story, creating that photo in our heads, or doing whatever needs to be done to actually create the photos we are trying to create.

I guess there is a lot more to it than just “shoot a lot”, though that is a huge component. In that interview, Chase even said that (taking a lot of pictures) is the most under discussed aspect of our development. We have to know what works, and for the most part, that is learned through looking at hundreds of your own photos that just did not accomplish what you wanted and then going back out and figuring out how to make it work.

One of the first questions I had after thinking that through for a few minutes was this: “if we need to be shooting a lot, are we prepared with the tools necessary to actually go through those photos?”

2009-03-16

You know how we all have thousands of digital photos and cannot seem to ever find the ones we want? Well, keywording (or tagging) is a great way to organize those photos so you can actually find the ones you want later.

I have been looking for software that could do this for me, and though finding software is easy, finding open source or free software was proving a bit more difficult. Of course, Adobe Lightroom is on top of this game, but I am not paying hundreds of dollars…rephrase: I cannot pay hundreds of dollars, even though it would be spectacularly convenient. Plus, I am a Linux guy, but before you tune out, the solution I found works in Windows and Mac as well.

2009-01-31

I have only begun to use it, but RawStudio has become my new “go-to” program for photo workflow. “Workflow?,” you may ask. Well, let me explain briefly.

The digital age has made workflow an even bigger problem than before. Now, even my mother comes home from a family reunion with a few hundred photos. What happens to so many photos then? For most of us, we put them on our computer, the hundreds become thousands, and by the time we actually want or need to use some of those photos, we cannot build up the motivation to dig through them. Workflow seeks to solve this problem.

RAWstudio raw photo workflow software

Now, RAWstudio (as you can see by the name) is for folks who shoot in RAW format instead of JPG. It is also available for Linux or Mac OS X. So, if you use a PC, I guess you will have to dish out a chunk of cash to get a program that does the same thing. So, anyway, if all you shoot is JPG, you might just tune out now. No worries…catch you next time.