RAW vs JPEG: The TRUTH

One of the first questions to come up when learning photography is should you shoot in JPEG or RAW. I have a lot of thoughts on this. Let's talk about which one is better and should you shoot RAW or JPEG.

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Video Index:

Intro 0:00
JPEG 0:25
RAW 3:17

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[donnlowel]

RAW if you make a mistake you can adjust it easy. JPG just don't unless you are a perfect photographer, or for personal use only.

[one]

When I first started out everyone said you have to shoot raw. I followed suit and it went well. As I’ve progressed I’ve learned that raw isn’t always the way to go. Especially with family and traveling. I prefer a simple workflow that doesn’t seem like work. I shoot JPEGs for all non paid work and shoot aperture priority. For client and studio work, raw and manual exposure.

[MacGuy]

I've always shot RAW and Jpeg. I archive the RAW's and work with Jpegs. If an image is way off, I just go grab the raw file and fix maybe a couple that I have. Especially since I switched to Fujifilm, the JPEG's are incredible.

[vivaphotographywirral]

I've shot Fuji since the days of the S5 Pros and I always shot RAW+Jpg. I rarely looked at the jpeg files, thinking of them only as backups to the RAW files. RAWs into Lightroom and process them. Last year I happened to look at the jpg files after I'd processed a wedding in Lightroom, taking of course, many hours. I was amazed that I had literally spent hours processing the RAW files, only to have them look like the SOOC jpg files! I still shoot RAW and jpg, but now I look at the RAW files as the backups, just in case I am not happy with the jpg and need to seriously edit it!

[dawnaiello]

I freelance for other wedding companies and they just want me to upload JPEGs to them, so I shoot Raw & JPEG on my xt5 or xh2 on those weddings. I told myself I'd have the RAW files if I ever had to really save an image before uploading it to the company that hired me, but I've never used them and all of those clients are happy!

[patriciaberrymore]

You are amazing! I have been stuck in my attempt to startup because of earliest training. You have spoke to questions I have. Thank you for your wisdom and I will be joining with you soon. JPEG is for me as a new shooter. I will start where I am. Square space will be my choice because of you!! Thanks so much and I wish you total sucess continually. Joy! Joy! Joy! I shoot with Canon equipment but and I know you don't but I still trust you can be my teacher/mentor. So glad I continued watching you.

[greenstrat]

It depends on how much editing you want as well as lighting conditions. I shoot both and have had good results with JPEGS.; you can still edit JPEG's, but you will be limited (it's surprising how much detail some of these files can retain).. I don't shoot professionally and being able to quickly share a photo is nice. But if the lighting is tricky, or it's a special subject, then I will always shoot RAW in those instances.

[johnclay]

great question, both possibly depending on context. informative video thanks John.

[FinnishSuperSomebody]

Years ago when I started taking photos with digital cameras (20 years ago, maybe one year before that I had bought point and shoot film camera) I shot JPEG only because it was only option. Lateer I bought DSLR and after that I have shot mostly RAW, but on last couple of years with Fujifilm I have shot JPEG + RAW since I noticed that RAW + same film simulation profile in Lightroom does NOT look similar than camera JPEG.

Well, since I bought Leica D-Lux (Typ 109) a month and a day ago I have shot only JPEG again after years with RAW photos. I have not even tested the RAW on this camera. I have noticed that I like the quality of the Dynamic Black & White JPEG profile, I get small and good quality photos straight out of camera, JPEG works with every device and there is no any compability issues with anything, it is easy to backup etc. and most importantly, I do not need to edit anything. It is what it is.

If I get bad photos with JPEG, I know it is my fault and I just need to learn to be better photographer :) Somehow I kind of thing JPEG similar way than my film camera shooting - when it is shot, it is what it is and I cannot do much about it except print it and learn about what things I need to learn to shoot better next time.

Of course, I shoot only just for fun. If I would be shooting for paid customer I would probably use my Fujifilm X-T2 or Canon R50 and would shoot RAW + JPEG, but since I am shooting only for the enjoyment of the photography I like to stay with JPEG and master my skills. Less hassle, less need to be spent with computers (I work with computers so I sit already long times on computers) and lots of benefits for me with this kind of shooting.

[dragnfly]

Wow, I’ve been shooting Raw so long, I never even thought to shoot jpeg anymore. I could be saving so much time.

[its_takuu]

I personally don't remember the last time I shot in JPEG. My camera has been set on RAW for the last 4 years.

[robigerovasilisphotography]

Jared Polin is pulling his fro out right about now hearing this!!! 😂

[TungstenOvergaard]

A bad exposure in RAW is not editable. Nowadays JPEGs have a lot of latitude to correct light and shadows. In many many times, huge range to correct. For some cameras, like Ricoh GRs, I don’t even see a difference in how much light and shadows I can correct in Raw vs. jpegs. In new 40mp Fuji JPGEs, if simulations is not crazy but natural, if WB is not totally off, there’s also lot of information, lot of dynamic range to work with.

[achesley]

Just playing shooting things in this room in Jpeg the the same things in Raw. The G16 Canon I'm using for this experiment makes a larger photo in JPeg than in Raw. When I convert the Raw to Jpeg it stays the same size at the Raw picture. Just in this room not a lot of difference in color or focus.

[SeanWashPhoto]

JPEG for sure when doing personal projects. Even for high-end projects like personal portrait sessions with a friend or a model that's not client work, I'll shoot JPEG.

[ChrisFlores]

I own a video production company and using my work cameras for family stuff was not inspiring at all lol so I picked up a Fuji xs20 and I already love the experience of the small camera and great jpegs. Any favorite settings or recipes to help me avoid editing my family stuff? Thanks!

[Cameron-gk]

Do you use square space for your business website and then pic time just to deliver photos to your clients.

[jazzmonk]

One option I really love with Fuji is that you can shoot raw & jpeg simultaneously.

[iShaymus]

Shoot everything in RAW or RAW+JPEG. Shooting in JPEG only when you have the option to shoot both either means you don't care about the thing your photographing or you don't know better, it's that binary.

Accidents are called accidents, not purposes. Nobody (even the most experienced photographers) shoots with the intention of overexposing or under exposing an image. It happens, by accident and RAW gives you the potential to recover from that. If space is an issue then shoot, edit, export as JPEG then delete the RAW files .... I 100% wouldn't recommend doing this but if you have no choice then you have no choice.

Using a session based workflow (like Capture One) is SIGNIFICANTLY better than a catalogue style workflow when it comes to managing disk space.

[tylervincent]

It would be amazing if Lightroom added a function for seamlessly shooting both. Like show the jpeg and at a buttons press move the raw to the top of stack when you need a raw version.