I had a great time making portraits with some friends the other day, practicing some different techniques and honing some skills. My camera was set to shoot RAW+JPG so I could keep the camera’s terrific black and white jpegs and a color RAW version (here’s a little more about that idea).
The Argument to Use Camera JPEG Files
My new Panasonic GH4 makes a very good JPEG image, and lately I’ve been using the JPEGs for delivery and not touching the RAWs. This photograph is the JPEG version of the header, and it is straight out of the camera from the shutter, no changes made.
Where JPEG Fails
JPEGs have one overwhelming weakness: they simply record less information than a RAW file. And it’s not a little less info, it’s millions of times less information. Here’s what that means.
I made this picture of these two sisters, but the flash didn’t fire this time, leaving me with a very dark picture. If you’ve ever photographed babies, then you know they change expression constantly, so I just wanted to see what I missed.
That JPEG looks like a bad copy of a bad scan of tiny newspaper image. I can’t show that to anyone. The RAW image, however, could probably be salvaged if necessary. Following are the settings I applied to both the jpeg and the RAW versions in Lightroom (plus black and white for the RAW file).
If I did this same process in PhotoshopCC, I could use CameraRAW as a filter to apply these same settings again on a new layer and really get a usable image from the RAW. And this was a black exposure! It’s better not to have equipment failure, but when I do it’s nice to have a little security in the form of a RAW file.
I have one more reason to shoot RAW. I shoot a lot at night.. and you it’s not possible to get the white balance exactly right in-camera, at night, every single time. When I shoot at night I always shoot at 3300 Kelvin; that way I “know what I’m seeing” if I see lights or if I’m photographing aurora (went to Iceland recently!).. then you must fine=tune the white balance in post to get the color exactly right for what the eye sees.
or rather.. fine-tune… sorry it’s early here.
That’s a great reason, Daniel, and I think it’s my favorite reason.
I never saw it as an “either/or”. That incorrect mindset is partly why I stopped subscribing to Popular Phorography, who issue after issue screamed on the cover “Shoot RAW”. That combined with a lack of coverage for film is why I simply gave up. JPEG is great for faster frame rates for sports, and handy for events where I simply don’t feel like huddling over the computer monitor afterwards to post process. Like the tired “film vs. digital” rant, I see this as different tools for different looks and purposes.
I agree, Arthur. I certainly don’t want to live in the digital darkroom fixing mistakes I could have avoided by using what should be best practices. Also, watch for more film coverage here…not a lot, but I’m delving in more and more myself…
I have one more reason to shoot RAW. I shoot a lot at night.. and you it’s not possible to get the white balance exactly right in-camera, at night, every single time. When I shoot at night I always shoot at 3300 Kelvin; that way I “know what I’m seeing” if I see lights or if I’m photographing aurora (went to Iceland recently!).. then you must fine=tune the white balance in post to get the color exactly right for what the eye sees.
or rather.. fine-tune… sorry it’s early here.
That’s a great reason, Daniel, and I think it’s my favorite reason.
I never saw it as an “either/or”. That incorrect mindset is partly why I stopped subscribing to Popular Phorography, who issue after issue screamed on the cover “Shoot RAW”. That combined with a lack of coverage for film is why I simply gave up. JPEG is great for faster frame rates for sports, and handy for events where I simply don’t feel like huddling over the computer monitor afterwards to post process. Like the tired “film vs. digital” rant, I see this as different tools for different looks and purposes.
I agree, Arthur. I certainly don’t want to live in the digital darkroom fixing mistakes I could have avoided by using what should be best practices. Also, watch for more film coverage here…not a lot, but I’m delving in more and more myself…