For Better Tones In Digital Photos Double Process RAW

PC Photo has published an article outlining the advantages of NOT trying to do too much with your digital images in one step. Lewis Kemper shows how using a two step approach can yield images with greater tonality and her writes,

One problem photographers have always faced is the fact that no medium yet invented can capture the tonal range our eyes can see. Film can’t get close to recording the brightness range of light that the human eye can perceive. This holds true for digital sensors as well. While some high-end sensors can record more tonal information than film, they still can’t record all the tonal variations the eye can see.

Is it best to slightly underexpose or overexpose RAW images? When you lighten a dark RAW image, you risk adding a lot of noise to the shadow areas. When you darken a light RAW image, you might not have good highlight detail. I find when shooting under contrasty light that it helps to slightly overexpose the image and then process it twice—once to have more shadow detail and once to bring back the highlight detail.

See also: Tricks