Why you should always shoot in RAW!

A before and after edit of a photo taken in Golden Gate Canyon State Park, Colorado.

Maybe you know exactly what I’m talking about, or maybe it sounds like I’m speaking Greek, but no worries, today we’re going to break down and explain why you should always shoot in RAW and kiss JPGs goodbye. Today we’re going to talk about why you should always shoot in RAW and also breakdown the difference between RAW and JPG.

So let’s kick off by describing the difference between RAW and JPG photos. RAW and JPG both refer to file types, and most cameras are able to take photos in RAW or JPG. But like, what does that even mean? Let’s start by talking about JPGs.

A JPG is a compressed photo file. It is smaller than RAW files and takes up less space on a memory card. Almost every camera can take photos in JPG, including everything from your iPhone to pro level cameras. You can typically choose different file sizes within JPG, but they will alway be “compressed” meaning the data within the photo has been limited. While the final photo will look fine if you got your settings right, the editing capabilities are limited. They can be edited in almost any photo editing software.

RAW files on the other hand are non-compressed photo files, so they contain all of the digital information in a photo. These photos will be a larger file size, but because they are not compressed, they provide a lot more wiggle room when you are editing them.  They can only be edited in software that has the ability to edit RAW photos, like Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.

If you over-expose a JPG, you cannot darken it to make it better. You are simply stuck with that photo. If you try to darken it, you’ll find that detail is missing, and the photo will just look… off. You also have much less wiggle room for all other adjustments, including brightness, white balance, contrast, shadows… I could go on.

RAW photos, on the other hand, are much more versatile. If you over or under exposure a RAW file, you can adjust it much more easily, darkening, or lightening as needing, saving a photo that otherwise might have been ruined if shot in JPG.

Shooting in RAW doesn’t mean you can rescue all of your photos if you made a mistake, but it definitely gives you a fighting chance, where as JPGs just kinda… don’t. Shooting in RAW also allows you to have a much more detailed, dynamic editing process of your photos and will, in the end, allow you to have much better looking photos—whether they’ve been over-exposed, under-exposed, or shot just right.

Hopefully this breaks down the difference better for you, so that the next time someone’s all “I only shoot in RAW,” you are not only not confused, but you will find yourself saying the same!

What are settings you wished you knew about when you were early in your photography journey?

See my full video on this topic over on YouTube!