Comments on: Do you need to shoot in RAW format?

By: HodyAdoth

HodyAdoth — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:30:22 +0000

Hello! Just want to say thank you for this interesting article! =) Peace, Joy.

By: Boris

Boris — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:14:33 +0000

I found shooting RAW as a very good training to catch up with Digital Photography especially being for beginner – some people might argue on the fact you need to understand the technology, but it’s a mandatory step to be efficient in the digital world.

I don’t really understand the question of JPEG or RAW especially with Lightroom giving efficient workflow for any format !
I recommend Chris Orwig training available for Lightroom, BUT I recommend everybody to spend some time defining proper PRESET. I consider PRESET like ACTION for Photoshop, this has to be used to call whatever method you might have to work, a workflow.

By: Doug

Doug — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 02:30:41 +0000

I use both RAW and JPG modes but I often find that I don’t have the time to do post processing. I would love to be able to post process all my photos but if I did that, I would never have time to upload them to my websites.

For images that I share on the internet, JPG is good enough considering the low resolution that I upload them at but if I am going to print or have a special event, I will use RAW mode.

By: Mike Panic

Mike Panic — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:51:46 +0000

@bmunch – not when the people who try to edit don’t know proper color theroy, are not using a quality monitor and are not using a hardware calibration unit. RAW, to most new photographers who have never shot film, is simply an excuse to not learn how to properly take a photograph.

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:06:13 +0000

@bmunch – Yeah, but jpg/camera defaults LOCK you into those defaults.

JPG is more convenient for sure but that is all it is. You’ll never get better image quality from jpg than from RAW.

That being said, its easy to become a snob about these things and there are plenty of scenarios where the convenience of jpg is the way to go. But as someone trying to make money from photography (part time, so I hesitate to call myself a professional) I don’t find my self in those scenarios often.

By: Martin

Martin — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 02:36:39 +0000

Since I try to sell photos, I believe that RAW is the best for that situation. Plus I have begun to believe that have post processing skills IS just as important as shooting skills. If you refuse to learn or are scared of Photoshop then you are leaving great photographs unmade.

JPEGS are for snapshots and when space is limited in my opinion.

By: bmunch

bmunch — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 00:53:30 +0000

@Donncha – I agree totally. Your camera can have a burst of 5 shots a
second, but if your card speed don’t match up to it, it’s useless.

@Martin – I too use Picasa to organize my photos and if I remember
correctly Picasa do support some RAW formats.

@Paul – I am not condemning RAW, its just that I think it is a bit
troublesome to use at the moment.

@Mike – I would have thought someone in the photo/print industry would
have backed the RAW format for its flexibility, guess not…

@Dave & Bob – Have you thought that if using the defaults is just fine in
Lightroom, putting the same settings into a camera would have given you
the same results without any further PP?

By: Martin

Martin — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:58:20 +0000

ok, so maybe Ken was not a too good pick as a “professional” (well, compared to me he is) but I like his writing. Hey, he even wrote an interesting post about it as I remember now: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/raw.htm

Raw is a good thing. But don’t feel bad when you’re not doing it. You don’t lose soooo much in picture quality (see also Ken Rockwells post) and you gain simplicity and speed. A bad exposure is not really that much better with raw. A good exposure is not really that much better with raw.

Raw is a good thing but at a cost. For me it’s not worth it anymore – but that’s a very personal decision. Plus it might change over time.

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:46:32 +0000

Oh yeah, I try to get the exposure right the first time AND shot in raw because I’m not perfect.

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:25:49 +0000

If I wasn’t using a workflow product like Lightroom or Aperture I might shoot in jpg. But after using lightroom for a few months I almost forget I’m dealing with raw files, the process is so streamlined. I don’t spend a lot of time tweaking if I don’t need to, the defaults in Lightroom work fine. But the option is there if I need it and as I grow in my skills. I love not having to think about ruining the originals by saving over them. Memory is cheap, I don’t think that’s a real issue.