Don’t get me wrong – there is a time and place for everything and I would be lying if I said I only shoot JPEG.
What I’m saying is, it’s ok if you choose JPEG over RAW and in some cases JPEG could even be the better option. If you’re wondering why anyone would even suggest shooting JPEG, here are a few ideas for you.
The camera does a good job of processing JPEG images in-camera. Each camera is optimized to produce lovely looking JPEG images. So in terms of color tone, skin tones, and contrast– generally the JPEG images look solid out-of-camera.
JPEG is easier to backup than RAW files. For example, Google Photos currently has a feature which offers free, unlimited backup of JPEG images (at a reduced size of 2000px wide, which is good enough for 4×6 prints). As our camera sensors keep getting better and having more megapixels, it is a pain in the ass having to always buy more storage (either as external hard drives, or the cloud).
Shooting JPEG is less stress. I’ve found that when shooting simple snapshots for family and other events, JPEG is always the way to go. It takes far too much time to post process tons of RAW photos, deal with color correction, skin tones, etc when it comes to simple photos to just share.
JPEG offers more creativity (by having fewer options). I’ve found that sometimes processing RAW files is stressful because there are too many options when it comes to post processing images. Sometimes I will spend too much time post processing photos, and I often end up “over processing” my images. Over processed photos are like adding too much salt to your food.
There is a wonderful sense of “finality” with a JPEG image. If you saw a scene in black and white and only shot it in black and white, you don’t need to stress whether the color version would be any better. This is the same with black and white film– you can’t convert a black and white film photo into color, nor can you convert a black and white JPEG image into color. Ironically enough, by restricting our options, we can be more creative with our work.
We also have a video from professional photographer Matt Granger who, by the way, shoots both JPEG and RAW. He is making some great points on why you shouldn’t stress over which one you are using.
GO TO THE NEXT PAGE FOR THE VIDEO
Read the full article over at DIY Photography.
Source: DIY Photography
