New to aerial photography and just shot my first RAW files with the DJI Air 3. The images look incredibly flat and muted straight out of camera - almost lifeless! I know RAW files need processing but wow, it's dramatic how different they look from JPEG.

Is this normal? My editing workflow is currently: lens correction ? white balance ? highlights/shadows ? vibrance. Taking about 10-15 minutes per image in Lightroom. The results are amazing but wondering if I'm missing something or if there's a more efficient approach?

Also, should I be worried about the file sizes? These 48MP RAW files are eating up my storage fast!

Completely normal! RAW files contain maximum information but look flat intentionally - they preserve all the shadow and highlight data that JPEG would permanently discard. Your workflow sounds solid. Try batch processing similar shots to save time.

For a faster workflow, try this order: highlights to -20/-30, shadows to +40/+60, then boost vibrance (not saturation) by +15/+25. This gives you 80% of the result in half the time. Save storage with cloud backup!

I had the exact same shock when I started! The beauty of RAW is you can adjust white balance after the shot, which is impossible with JPEG. Those flat files become your creative playground. Stick with it - the learning curve is worth it.