Poll: Do you shoot your weddings in RAW or JPEG

[johnmottershaw]

"Colors from ACR are bad" - really is not recognizable to those of who get beautiful results from it.

[trebor_navilluso]

Good consistent lighting and you know you can nail it, JPEG. Questionable lighting RAW.

[KenPapai]

It seems rather settled then: we have exactly one person who specifically likes raw, but only shoots it rarely, primarily because of the "bad [red] colors" in ACR.

 

All the rest of us thus are handicapped if we do use the industry standard raw processer widely used by professionals, semi-pros, and top amateurs the world over.

 

But again, whatever works best for your business model and ultimate output, then go with it, but just learn along the way as the digital field is still rapidly advancing. Seems like 3-4 years ago it was 50-50 split, now raw predominates for good reason (primarily meaning you have TOTAL CONTROL over all aspects of your images that JPG takes from you).

 

This is a vaulable thread.

[gregory_c]

JPEG, shot both, both look the same. I knnow someone who shoots 40+ schools per year, 500+ students in each, all shot JPEG

[evanroboldphotography]

Really bad analogy of the day:

 

I think when you cook fish, you lose all the flavor. I like sushi!

[conraderb]

>JPEG requires less work in post processing (considering everything is >exposed properly)

 

that should read "ONLY if exposed properly".

 

if you have a JPG file that was not correctly exposed, it is a LOT more work than a raw file.

 

if you are in controlled lighting situations, like a studio, or if you have very good exposure control, shoot JPG.

 

otherwise, most pros would benefit to shoot raw, IMHO. YMMV.

 

in the end, it is the results that matter. if JPG works for you, great. raw works for me.

[russ_konrad]

<b>"...otherwise, most pros would benefit to shoot raw, IMHO. YMMV...."</b>

<p>

Actually - most pros DO benefit from shooting RAW! As this thread and many other similar threads on different forums have shown. Here is just one for your reading enjoyment!

<p>

<a href=http://www.flickr.com/groups/weddingphoto/discuss/72157602684631471/>RAW or JPEG</a>

<p>

[arran_mitchell]

The answer is.......what do you want to do with the image? If you shoot for web, then RAW is overkill. If the biggest picture you put in a weding album is 10x8, then JPG shot correctly will be fine. Your intended audience will also influence whether you need to suck every byte/bit of info from the capture data. I shoot JPG 99% of the time but will use RAW if the job demands it but I am of the opinion that when exposed correctly, it is very difficult to see the difference at small sizes, (remember that the viewing distance should be 2 x the diagonal so fine detail you won't notice if you are standing 2 metres from a big enlargement).

Hope this helps?

Arran

[johnmottershaw]

Yes Arran, but WHY? Why shoot jpeg if raw doesn't really require any more work?

[arran_mitchell]

I don't need RAW, I have confidence in my ability and in my equipment to get quality JPG images, it slows up my camera, and it's a redundant step in the process from shutter release to viewing. My Nikons allow me to capture RAW and JPG at the same time but then I have to seperate them into different folders. The right or wrong answer depends entirely on what you want to do with the images. If it's right to shoot RAW, then use RAW and vice versa. I still use a 5x4 monorail for rectified building photography. It's the right tool.

All the best

Arran

[ilkka_nissila]

Allan, what do you do if you use natural light e.g. during the ceremony and the lighting in the scene is highly uneven? Beams of sunlight hitting individual people and not others. If you shoot RAW, you get a greater dynamic range and you can correct the people in the shadows with a better end result. With JPG you can also do corrections but the result will be visibly inferior in many cases. Also, the color balance is different at different points in the church due to the variable lighting. Correcting WB in post is easier with RAW.

[ilkka_nissila]

I apologize for typing your name incorrectly, Arran.