Some guests take photos in RAW, either on a camera or on a phone set to Apple ProRAW or an Android phone's RAW mode. A RAW file keeps everything the camera's sensor recorded, which gives a photo editor far more to work with than a JPEG. Guests upload RAW photos the same way as any other photo.
Which RAW formats work?
- DNG, used by iPhone ProRAW, many Android phones and some cameras
- Canon CR2 and CR3
- Nikon NEF and NRW
- Sony ARW
- Fujifilm RAF
- Panasonic RW2
- Olympus and OM System ORF
- Pentax PEF
- Samsung SRW
If a camera saves RAW in a different format, the upload page tells the guest the file type isn't supported. They can upload the JPEG version instead. Most cameras can save a JPEG alongside each RAW file.
What appears in your gallery
For every RAW photo, we make a full-size JPEG. That's the version you see in your gallery and slideshow.
When you download a single photo from your gallery, you get the JPEG, which opens on any phone or computer.
Getting the RAW files
We keep each guest's original RAW file too, untouched, next to its JPEG. Every ZIP download includes the original unedited RAW files. Each one has the same name as its JPEG but ends in .dng, .cr3, .nef and so on, so the pairs sit together in the folder, ready to open in Lightroom, Photoshop or the editing app that came with the camera.
On our Premium plan, exports to Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive include the RAW files as well.
RAW files are big. A 48-megapixel iPhone ProRAW photo is around 75MB, compared with 2 to 5MB for a normal phone photo, so a ZIP with lots of RAW photos takes longer to download.
Tips for guests
Because RAW photos are so large, they take longer to upload and use more mobile data. Uploading over Wi-Fi helps, especially with a lot of photos. There's no file size limit.