RAW or JPEG files for weddings?

[david_simon]

I used to do weddings on film and will be getting a digital Nikon,

either a D70s or a D200. My question is when you shoot weddings

digitally what file format do you use, RAW, JPEG and what level of

JPEG ?

[kari douma]

Check out this post a few donw

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00EzuM&tag=

[ellis_vener_photography]

I shott raw with a Canon 1Ds Mk.2 (i'm in the process of changing from Niko nto Canon

but the advice applies to any make of DSLR)

 

Yes, the raw capture format requires some more work on the back end to process the raw

captures into TIFF, PSD or JPEG (the Image Processor in Adobe PsCS2 combined with

Adobe Bridge automates much of this) but since you can't control every aspect of the

shoot with regard t osubject and lighting, raw gives you a kind of built in insurance that in

camera processing to a jpeg doesn't. Shooting jpegs locks you into a quality level and sets

your white balance and color space, Shooting a raw format puts you in charge so Isee raw

formats are just being that much more versatile than in camera jpegs, even if what yo u

are mostly delivering are jpegs in the sRGB color space.

 

I won't rehash the whole raw vs. jpeg argument but in my experience "raw" is a better way

to go.

 

I'm sure there will be others who say there is no need to shoot raw, just shoot jpeg, and

they are welcome to their opinion. But shooting raw is what works best for me.

[hooman_b]

FWIW, I shoot RAW for everything I use my D70 for - be in weddings, or anything else.

[bill_clark___minnetonka_mi]

For weddings I capture only with RAW. The lab I use takes my RAW files, looks at the metadata and corrects them for me. All I have to do is get the files to them and they have various ways of doing that as well. Currently I use 1 gig cards, transfer each card to a folder on my computer. Look the images over and edit out the ones I don't want, burn to a CD then US Post Express mail to my lab. They charge 20 cents per image. My time is more valuable than that.

 

My two areas I focus on with my business are getting the client and capturing the event. Those two allow me to be the most productive with my business.

 

Just how I run my business presently.

 

Do I do other stuff? Sure I do. But those are subsequent things that are additional opportunities after the above first two objectives are fulfilled.

 

Hope this helps you.

 

Best to you in 2006.

[EricM]

Ellis, you're doing it eh?

[KenPapai]

RAW is always better than JPG if you have a little extra time for the extra post-processing. Anyway, this question was just asked, so you need to learn to do a little bit of research as it's a super common question.<p>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00EzuM&tag=">RAW vs. JPG</a> for the 1,557th time.

[chris_floden]

Gary Fong, arguably one of the most successful wedding photographers around teaches at his seminars (and say he himself shoots all of his weddings) to shoot JPG, (Large, not fine). A Nikon shooter, he argues that images larger than 6 megapixels are a waste for most weddings shoots. Personally, I shoot 8 megapixel JPG (1D Mk II N) and compress JPG to "7". Shooting about 100 weddings a year, I haven't had a client unhappy with my technique. Of course, when I shoot landscapes, I use my 1Ds Mk II (16.7 MP) and shoot RAW because the dynamic range is larger, but with the flash required for wedding coverage, the JPG format poses no dynamic range limitation IMHO.

[daydreamsart]

I'm in the process of switching to mostly (if not all) RAW capture for weddings as a result of the many discussions on this topic on PN. I've been a die hard jpegest, but I've finally been convinced. Yes, jpeg will do good, but RAW will do better, easier. With CS2, once you know how, the post work can be faster than with jpegs. And the finished quality is at least a step above jpegs.

[lex_jenkins]

With my D2H I almost always shoot NEF/JPEG-Fine (maximum rez) simultaneously for important events.

 

I try to shoot JPEGs so they're ready to print right out of the camera. If I'm only printing to a size appropriate for the unmanipulated file (no upsizing) JPEGs are more than good enough. That covers prints up to 8x10 from the D2H.

 

The RAW files are for backup, in case a JPEG didn't turn out right but the photo is salvageable. Since I often shoot without flash at or near ISO 1600 I occasionally need the finesse a RAW file offers. Occasionally artificial light with weird color temperatures can create odd gradation in JPEGs. NEFs to the rescue.

 

With a camera having a smaller buffer or slower in-camera processing speed I might shoot only JPEG or only RAW, depending on the situation. But the D2H is so fast it costs only space on the media card and there's plenty of space for 4 mp photos on a 1 GB card. D2H NEFs average 6 MB and max rez JPEGs about 2 MB.

 

I'm not sure whether the D70s is capable of shooting maximum rez JPEGs along with NEFs. I know the D50 can't. I'm not sure I'd bother with NEFs and JPEGs simultaneously unless I wanted smaller, lower rez JPEGs straight out of the camera to upload to a website or e-mail. I suppose they might also be useful for burning CDs on the spot for proofs.

[Jenifer Selwa Photography]

Bill, what lab do you use, if you don't mind my asking? The color-correct with RAW for 20 cents an image - is that printed 4x6 also? Sounds like a great deal!

[bill_clark___minnetonka_mi]

I use a company located in Torrance California called Pictage.

 

URL is:

 

http://www.pictage.com

 

Here is some words I snagged for you as I believe you need to have an account established with them to get to some of this information.

 

"RAW Conversion - Digital (includes exposure, color balance and conversion for Canon and Nikon digital cameras only); additional $0.20 per image."

 

Hope this helps.

 

Best to you with your business.