Camera RAW captures the “raw” data as seen by your camera sensor before it is converted to an image. The more of this data you capture while shooting the more flexibility you’ll have when editing later. It’s always better to capture more information in the field and throw out what you don’t need in the studio later.
Here’s how to set up your camera to shoot in RAW. In your camera’s shooting menu choose RAW or RAW + JPG. Shooting RAW + JPG will give you the advantage of seeing a processed image (JPG) but will take up more space on your memory card. You do not need the JPG image and eventually will probably want to only shoot in RAW.
I recommend shooting in the highest quality RAW possible unless you have a specific reason to shoot at lower quality. It’s always better to downscale than upscale!
Start by accessing your shooting menu. From there you can choose file type and quality options. I have examples from Canon dSLR’s below.
Your goal is to capture as much information as possible when shooting. This will give you the most flexibility when editing later.