Glossary
What is a RAW file in photography.
A RAW file is what a camera’s sensor recorded, saved before the camera turns it into a finished picture, so it keeps far more room to change exposure and color later. It is not a photo anyone can open and post as it is: it needs editing software, and each camera maker writes its own format.
RAW against JPEG.
A JPEG is the camera’s finished picture, with its own choices about color, contrast and sharpening baked in, compressed to a small file. A RAW file holds the data before those choices, at a higher bit depth, which is why a photographer can pull a blown sky back or warm a face without it falling apart. The price is size and an extra step: every RAW has to be edited and exported before anyone can use it.
DNG is a RAW format from Adobe. Lightroom Classic can export camera RAW files as DNG to keep them in an archival form.
If a client wants the RAW files.
Most photographers say no, and say why: the RAW is not the photo they were hired to make. If you agree to send them, send the originals untouched. Lightroom Classic’s export has an Original format that copies the RAW and writes your edits beside it in a sidecar file, and Capture One’s Export Originals copies the source files with their settings files.
On a DropYourFiles link.
RAW files upload to DropYourFiles as they are. Your client sees a preview on the link, made from the picture inside each RAW, and the download is the original file.
Free up to 5 GB. No card.
Questions.
Can a client open a RAW file?
Many computers and phones can preview one. Changing it, or turning it into a photo to post or print, takes editing software.
Is DNG a RAW file?
Yes. It is a RAW format from Adobe, and Lightroom Classic can save camera RAW files as DNG for archiving.
Should I give my client RAW files?
It is a business choice, and most photographers do not. There is a whole post on how to answer the question and what to charge if you say yes.
Where this comes from.
- Adobe, Lightroom Classic: Export files to disk or CD (File Settings, Image Sizing, Watermarking), read October 29, 2026.
- Capture One Support, Exporting originals, read October 29, 2026.
Keep reading.
- Should photographers give clients raw files?
- How to share raw photos with a client
- How to send photos from Lightroom to a client
- Capture One client viewer, then the finals on one link
- What is a HEIC file, and how to send one
- sRGB vs Adobe RGB for client delivery
More in the glossary, or see what DropYourFiles does.
Send your client one link for the whole job.
Free up to 5 GB. No card. Your client never makes an account.