The RAW format represents raw, unprocessed data directly from the camera's sensor. It can be thought of as a "digital negative" that, unlike the regular JPEG format, has not undergone any automatic adjustments such as sharpening, color or contrast adjustments on the device. All of this information is retained in the file, allowing much more flexibility in subsequent editing on the computer, a process called post-processing. This allows the user to make more detailed adjustments to, for example, exposure, white balance, or to pull details out of shadows and overly bright areas without significant loss of image quality. The disadvantage of these files is their larger size compared to JPEGs and the need to first process them in specialized software and export them to more common formats before further use, such as sharing them on social media.