Discoverylanding the Raw Difference

Many hobby photographers have probably heard about or even contemplated the notion of shooting their photos in JPEG vs in RAW format.  The former is the universally recognized, most common image format out there.  It can be edited, and while software has come a long way, there are limits to the amount of visual information that can be manipulated.  On the other hand, RAW images contain a much deeper and more expansive amount of visual information captured, allowing recovery of information that may not be overtly obvious in the baseline files.  Shooting in RAW can allow highlights to recover color, shadows to draw out detail, and color temperature to be enhanced and stylized.  The downside is file size--RAW file are huge, but they need to be to carry so much visual information.  

But sometimes, you have a scene that absolutely needs RAW format to facilitate the dramatic impact desired.  In the example below, no amount of basic photo editing of a JPEG file would be able to get the default version (shown in the second image below) anywhere close to the edited RAW version of the first photo.  This is particularly true in the sky, which will typically be blown out too brightly because the camera will be focused on properly exposing for hte rockwork and details of the foreground.  

That's why I long ago switched to shooting my "nice" Disney photos in RAW.  Even if it doesn't look like I've captured much initially, the format allows me the flexibility and ability to pull out the aspects of the photo to convey the scene in my mind's eye!

The edited version of a scene shot near the entrance of Disneyland Paris' Discoveryland, full of vibrance and afternoon golden light.

The default rendering coming from the RAW image file.