The statement that you should only ever shoot in RAW is another one of those photography dogmas that will set you up for feeling inadequate as a novice. Yes, capturing your images in this format gives you more dynamic range and helps in retrieving detail from highlights, shadows or adjusting colours. But it’s only ever useful if you know how to use editing software and seasoned enough to know what you can potentially get out of your image.
YouTuber Tom Calton highlights the “cost of shooting RAW” in his latest video. He argues that you pay a high price when switching to this much recommended format, as you divide your attention by adding editing in the learning mix instead of focusing on how to take better photos.
Advantages of shooting in JPEG:
- See finished results straight away, instead of half-baked RAW files
- Smaller files – less storage required
- Built-in filters – like the ones in Fujifilm cameras – make JPEGs look professionally edited
Watch Tom’s full video below for more on this topic, and let us know if you agree that shooting JPEGs shouldn’t have such a stigma. Intrigued? Read what our Technical Editor Andy Westlake considers to be the biggest photography myths , and why a lot of photography advice is wrong. And check out why you should forget about ISO, as noise doesn’t really matter anymore, according to Emily Lowrey.
