A Beginner's Guide to Shooting in Raw With Your Cameraphone

Shooting in raw with your smartphone is a simple tweak that can significantly enhance your smartphone photography. We're diving into how this feature can improve the quality of your pictures, offering more detail and better color accuracy. It's a practical look at how this tech can upgrade your everyday shots.

For this, I'll be using the Vivo V29 smartphone, but any modern smartphone that shots in raw can accomplish this. 

What Does It Mean to Shoot in Raw? 

Shooting in raw is a technique used in photography where images are captured in a format that records all data from the camera's sensor. This format is preferred by professionals and serious photographers due to its high dynamic range and extensive color spectrum. Unlike JPEG or other compressed formats, raw files are uncompressed and unprocessed, preserving the highest possible image quality and editing latitude. This quality retention is particularly beneficial for post-processing, as it allows for extensive adjustments in exposure, white balance, and color without degrading the image. For instance, a photographer can recover details in overexposed highlights or underexposed shadows much more effectively with a raw file than with a compressed format.

However, the benefits of raw come with some challenges. Raw files are significantly larger than their compressed counterparts, requiring more storage space both on cameras and computers. This can lead to the need for more frequent memory card changes during shoots and potentially more extensive data management. Additionally, because raw files are not universally compatible with all viewing software and require specialized software for editing, they can add steps to the photography workflow. These factors make raw less suitable for casual photography or situations where quick image sharing is essential.

In recent years, the capability to shoot in raw has expanded from professional cameras to smartphones. Many current smartphones, particularly higher-end models, offer raw shooting either natively through their stock camera apps or via third-party applications. This inclusion in smartphones democratizes high-quality photography, allowing amateur photographers and enthusiasts to capture images with a level of detail and flexibility previously reserved for professional-grade cameras.

Shooting Raw With Your Phone

This feature is normall accessible in the stock camera app, eliminating the need for additional software. Many phones have a pro mode that offers extensive control over key photography parameters, allowing you to fine-tune your shots for the best results. Two of the most critical settings in this mode are shutter speed and ISO, both crucial for managing exposure.

Shutter Speed

This setting determines how long the camera's sensor is exposed to light. A faster shutter speed is ideal for freezing motion, perfect for capturing fast-moving subjects without blur. Conversely, a slower shutter speed allows more light to reach the sensor, useful in low-light conditions, but can result in motion blur if the camera or subject moves. Adjusting the shutter speed can help you achieve the desired balance between motion capture and lighting conditions.

ISO

ISO controls the camera sensor's sensitivity to light. A lower ISO value is ideal for bright conditions, ensuring that your photos are not overexposed. On the other hand, a higher ISO can be beneficial in darker environments, although it may introduce some noise into the image. 

White Balance

Another vital aspect of shooting in raw is managing the white balance. White balance refers to the process of removing unrealistic color casts, so that objects appear natural. 

The Difference Between Shooting Raw and JPEG

Smartphone technology has improved immensely over the last decade, reaching a point where comparisons between camera phones and "real" cameras are not only reasonable but increasingly relevant. This evolution is attributable to various factors, but there remains a significant area where smartphones lag behind: image processing.

Professional cameras typically employ a "light touch" approach to image processing. Adjustments are made to contrast, noise reduction, and color, but these changes are usually subtle. In contrast, smartphones tend to apply far more aggressive processing. This overbearing approach is evident across various manufacturers, highlighting the advantages of shooting in raw for superior results.

The image produced by a camera phone, such as the one above, might appear fine at a glance. It shows a reasonable level of detail and the colors seem pleasing. However, the true potential is revealed when comparing this to a raw file that has been processed in Lightroom. 

The differences are striking, with notable enhancements in clarity and detail retention. The most significant improvement, however, is seen in the colors. Skin texture and color appear much more natural and appealing, and the overall scene is rendered more accurately and pleasingly.

Additionally, noise performance is significantly better in the Lightroom-processed raw file. And when you factor in some of the AI features available in most image editing software, the disparity in performance between the JPEG and the raw file becomes even more pronounced.

For this second comparison, the primary differences lie in color and detail. The JPEG loses much of the skin texture and hair details due to its aggressive processing. In contrast, the raw file processed in Lightroom showcases natural colors, with red tones rendered more accurately, resulting in an overall more appealing image. It's akin to contrasting a smartphone photo with one taken from a high-quality camera, which is quite remarkable.

One could argue that the tell-tale signs of a low-quality smartphone image are not solely attributable to the small sensor but may predominantly come from the excessive processing typically employed by smartphone manufacturers. Below, you will find the complete, uncropped images.

High ISO Comparison

The subsequent set of images was captured using both raw and JPEG formats at the highest ISO setting of 32,00. Controlled lighting was implemented, and the phone was firmly secured on a tripod to prevent any potential issues.

Without even zooming in, the difference in performance between the two images is noticeable. The raw file, once again, exhibits superior color rendition and clarity, and the details appear more preserved. In contrast, the JPEG looks as though it was shot on a smartphone, with aggressive noise reduction erasing much of the detail.

Upon zooming into the images, the distinctions become even more apparent. The JPEG loses significant detail on the surface of the camera, resulting in a blotchy and unattractive appearance. The raw file, however, does exhibit noise, yet it's not overly distracting. This is especially true considering most of the detail in the camera is well retained despite shooting at such a high ISO.

It appears that smartphone manufacturers tend to over-process images regardless of the lighting conditions. Even in bright outdoor shooting environments, the details can appear muddy due to noise reduction. Thus, whether shooting in ample light or at high ISO, the results are relatively similar in terms of detail loss.

However, when shooting in raw, there's a clear difference in noise performance between images shot in bright conditions versus those taken at high ISO. Despite the challenges of high ISO, the raw file still looks significantly better, with details and colors retained much more effectively.

Final Thoughts

The standout lesson from our time shooting with a smartphone is the importance of shooting in raw format. This feature significantly boosts the phone's ability to take photos, offering users the chance to snap pictures with a richness and adaptability usually seen in pricier models. Raw photography opens doors to extensive post-editing possibilities, turning a decent snapshot into an exceptional one.

This is especially valuable information for photography buffs watching their wallet, as it demonstrates that you don't need to break the bank to get top-notch photos. The option to shoot in raw, along with a basic grasp of photography principles, can maximize the potential of a budget smartphone camera.