Question for those of you who shoot RAW

[Nettio]

How do you handle storage of your RAW files? Do you save them? Do you edit and/or convert them to JPG?

I've been shooting RAW since I got my DSLR in 2006. Right now I store all my RAW files on my computer because I don't trust them on an EHD but the amount of space the files take up now is just not going to work long term. So I'm in need of a better solution and would love to hear what you do.

[pixelstix]

I'd love to know this too. I'm in the same boat and I'm drowning in files....

[nikkiARNGwife]

I have mine on my main EHD and backed up on 2 others just in case

[Amber1279]

I need a better solution as well

[nun69]

I edit, convert them to high res jpegs and delete the RAW files...I kept all my RAW files for a year and NEVER EVER once went back to them, so from then on I started deleting....now if I had a photography business I would keep them for a year, just in case, and then delet after that...but my personal photos...nope....gone....

[Jen22]

I'm like Angie - I edit & convert them out the gate, and then delete the RAW files. If I was a professional, I'd keep them stored on an EHD or something, but I'm not I might keep a photo or two in RAW format, just in case I did lots of edits and might want to change stuff later, but definitely not all of them. I don't have that kind of space

[pixelstix]

But see, I never have time to edit them right away. I take so many that I couldn't possibly go through and edit everything I want to keep. I wonder if I need to just go through and delete (at least the RAW file) of all the ones that I don't like. I just keep everything I take. I don't even scrap anymore (trying to get back to it) so for the most part my photos sit on the hard drive until I need them for something. And then I want to have the RAW files to edit.

[nun69]

Lisa I would go crazy! I upload and covert images at least once a week....I go through and delete the bad ones 1st, then go through a 2nd time and delete some more...then I convert them in Lightroom and save....I think I would be too overwhelmed to think they were just sitting on my HD to be converted, but that is just me....plus I change my screensaver to rotate images of the current month and the kids really love to see them go by on my computer screen

[NeverendingJen]

I convert any to JPEG as frequently as I can, and only keep a few of the RAW files(on photos I notice I need a lot of work or are from big events), and delete the rest.

[heathergw]

I'm in the same boat Lynnette... I keep all my RAW, but I don't convert to jpeg because I'm always editing from RAW depending on the kit I'm working with so I want to have everything there to work with rather than a jpeg which loses a lot of it's info so I can't always get the results I want... tho I do need to go through and delete blurry pictures and hybrid pictures and duplicates that I'll never use

[Amber1279]

I need a better system of uploading, deleting & editing my RAW photos in general LOL

[KateD]

I save the RAW images for all the photos that I want to keep. My post-processing skills keep getting better and if I want to use a photo again in the future, I want the RAW image to work with. I do delete photos that I don't want to keep so I'm not keeping all the ones I take. Right now I have them on my hard drive which is backed up to 2 EHD's and to Crashplan. When I get my Mac next week I'll have less storage space on the computer itself - 750 GB instead of the TB I have now. I'll still have enough space for a while, but I'll have to do something sooner or later - either move some of my scrap supplies or some of my photos to an external drive.

[nesser1981]

I don't keep my RAW files, after I edit them I delete them. I save my Jpegs.

But, here's an FYI to you girls, if you play with your files a lot after post processing, every photography teacher I've had while I've been working on my degree recommend saving the files as Tiffs rather than Jpeg. Everytime you do something to a Jpeg, you loose a little bit of date. With Tiff files you don't. Jpegs compress the information too, Tiffs don't.

I usually never edit a picture again after I convert it to a jpeg.

[nun69]

Originally Posted by nesser1981

I usually never edit a picture again after I convert it to a jpeg.

this is me as well.....unless I want to add a simple action to it or somethign in PS....

[tsbegley]

1) upload from camera and do my initial pruning to delete the ones I am not going to keep.
2) do initial edit on RAW files (white balance, exposure, etc.)
3) go do other stuff for a few weeks
4) buy new digi SB kits and then spend inordinate amount of time looking for the perfect pictures for them
5) process RAW images and convert them to .jpgs
6) scrapbook them

I'm partially kidding. I do save both the RAW and .jpgs on my EHD and if they are really important, I save them to my 2nd EHD and occasionally burn a DVD.