If you google JPEGS vs RAW, you will quickly learn that this question had been raised thousands of times. But what does it really mean to you? If you only shoot the occasional family gathering and vacation photos, then shooting JPEG's is perfect for you.
On the other hand, If you're in the market for a wedding photographer, you may want to read on.
Here are the main differences between the two:
JPEG's are image files that your camera has adjusted based on your settings for white balance, color, saturation, contrast, etc.
RAW files have no camera adjustments, but contain ALL the RAW data.
JPEGS contain 256 color tones.
RAW files contain 16,000, over 62 times more color information than the JPEG
The average JPEG file size for my cameras is 5.7 megabytes.
The average RAW file size for my cameras is 16.3 megabytes, about three times as large.
Now that we have seen some key differences, it's clear that the RAW file contains a lot more information. But why bother with these huge files when the JPEG's look fine? After years of shooting weddings, here is my personal answer.
When I first started shooting weddings I shot JPEG's and that worked great! Then I started using two camera bodies with pro lenses instead of only on camera body and zoom lens. I quickly noticed that even though my cameras were set exactly the same way, the JPEG files looked slightly different on by big computer screen.
Why? Because every camera and lens is not exactly the same and there will be slight variations in the images. That's probably ok for your family vacation photos, but not for a client that just paid you to shoot their wedding.
Once I started shooting RAW, I quickly noticed how much more information was in the files. The colors were richer and deeper than the JPEG's. BUT, I needed to process EVERY file because it is raw with no adjustments for white balance, color saturation, etc. Processing the files for a wedding took many hours more than it did with JPEG's but the end result was stunning!
Think of it this way:
The JPEG is a premixed "cake in the box" with 256 ingredients that you really can't change much. The RAW file is 16,000 ingredients made in a well equipped kitchen and baked by a great chef. Which cake would you rather eat?
We use three cameras for many of the weddings we shoot, sometimes four. With RAW files our clients get images that are extremely consistent and portray their wedding with the beauty it deserves.
So if you are looking for a wedding photographer, ask how many cameras they use and if they shoot RAW. If they are only using one camera, do they have a backup camera in case of a malfunction?
The choice to shoot JPEG's vs RAW files is also one of the differences between a $500 wedding photographer and a $2000 plus wedding photographer. And I'll bet that the $2000 and up photographer uses two professional camera bodies and lenses, and not a consumer grade camera and lens.
Just like JPEG's and RAW files, photographers are NOT the same.
I hope you have found this information helpful.
