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Do I Shoot in RAW or JPEG ?

For those who are just beginning to enter into photography or contemplating, they would undoubtedly encounter the term RAW files. For the multitudes of people out there shooting with their smartphones, they are most probably familiar with JPEGs but not RAW.

So before we go any further, it's best if we define a RAW image file. What is it? It is basically an image file from the camera which is a minimally processed data. Meaning, AS IS. It preserves most of the data such as sharpness and contrast without processing and compressing. It is equivalent to a NEGATIVE during the film days of photography. So as such, a raw file or image cannot be posted online such as facebook or Instagram ect... it can be viewed and edited however, on your favorite photo editor such as the FastStone Image Viewer . Or any other photo editor of your choice.  From there, you edit your RAW image and convert it into a JPEG file.

So, do I shoot RAW or JPEG ? The answer is ... it depends really. There are of course, as in any situations, pros and cons . If you are on a holiday or vacation and shooting for memories with the intent of sharing these photos on social media on the run and quality is not a priority, shoot JPEGs. If however, you are shooting models , I recommend that you shoot raw. This will ensure that your images will not deteriorate due to editing. Of course, working with raw can be a hassle . And when working with hundreds of raw can be very time consuming. But the end results is always worth it.

The image below was an overexposed shot when the shooting mode was accidentally turned to manual exposure. I usually shoot in Aperture Priority mode when on the go, and I took this shot with  the lens opening small enough for the buildings to be in sharp focus, not realizing the dial was accidentally turned to manual mode without me realizing it. And the camera did not compensate for the shutter speed. To my dismay the shot was all white. BUT, I was shooting in RAW. So tried to recover the image with my favorite photo editor and  voila ! The building emerged ( minus the sky unfortunately)  . 

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  1. AnonymousOctober 5, 2017 at 6:21 PM

    I shoot in jpeg most of the time and they are still tack sharp...just depends on the photographer' s skill I reckon

    ReplyDelete

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