Why use UFRaw?

Marie asked this question:

Hi Alex,
your tutorials are awesome!! I’ve been wanting to learn GIMP for so long, and you are making it so much easier. Quick question about UFRAW. Why do you use this together with GIMP – isn’t GIMP enough used alone and, more importantly, what does UFRAW do that GIMP can’t?

What’s the difference?

First off, you’ll need to understand what each program does.  in the simplest terms, Gimp is an image editor. With Gimp, you are capable of taking many image formats and editing them, but it cannot edit a raw-formmated image directly.  UFRaw is a RAW image editor.  With UFRaw, you are able to adjust the exposure, of a RAW-formatted image, as well as adjust white balance, and many more things. A RAW image has a lot more information in it than a typical image (such as a .jpg) has, and this information allows you to adjust the exposure of your images much better with a RAW photo than Gimp.  I’d recommend starting by reading up on the benefits of shooting in raw.

So, Why Use Gimp?

UFRaw can edit these powerful raw-formatted photos, which makes it a much better tool to use for adjusting exposure in a photo. The problem is, its functionality is limited to simple exposure adjustments and color correction.  Gimp on the other hand, will allow you to make layers, combine images, create new images, make effects, and so much more. Usually I take photos in a RAW format, (many affordable raw shooting cameras can do this) then I adjust the photo in UFRaw, and then finally I move the photo to Gimp for final tweaking (blemish removal, etc.)

More Info

Here are a few related lessons on how I use UFRaw to my advantage:
Practical HDR Using Gimp (Exposure Blending)
Exposing A Waterfall Using Gimp
Product Photography Using Gimp

I hope this helps you out Marie!

Marie asked this question: Hi Alex, your tutorials are awesome!! I’ve been wanting to learn GIMP for so long, and you are making it so much easier. Quick question about...