RAW or JPEG? Best prints?

**bluemtnrunner** · 09-13-2011, 08:03 PM

So now I have my Nikon camera and I love to take a photograph... I love it love it and really love not burning through film like crazy. So now my questions are, RAW or JPEG? If RAW, best programs for processing the photos.
AND, best place to get prints. I have used shutterfly in the past.

I'll upload some pics I have been taking.

**Beach Runner** · 09-13-2011, 08:41 PM

I'll ask our daughter who is a professional photographer and get back to you. She shoots in raw and edits before sending the photos to her customers, but I don't remember what software she uses. Of course, it takes a fast processor to process raw unless you want to claw your eyeballs out while waiting.

She lives in Atlanta, but has been hired to shoot a wedding this weekend in Philadelphia. Hopefully she'll answer me before she leaves.

EDIT: Here's what she said. (Sorry, she was in a grumpy mood yesterday. Not looking forward to driving to Philly. Can't fly because Delta flies a small plane there and won't let her take her equipment on. When she did a wedding in Cleveland, Delta forced her and everyone else with more than a purse to do a gate check, they damaged some of her equipment, and they refused to reimburse her.).

for prints, whcc is the best. however you have to have a business to set up with it. all of the print places are like that, or at least all of the decent ones. shutterfly is crap.

need lightroom regardless, but it is a must have if shooting raw. every single raw image must be processed on the computer because the camera isn't doing the processing for you.

http://www.digital-photography-school.com/raw-vs-jpeg

there's one of about a million articles.

also, it depends on what kind of camera they're using and how much they know about photography. also, if they shoot in raw, they'll burn through CF cards in about 2 seconds. that's why i carry hundreds of gb of space with me.

there are just a lot of factors that make this an impossible question to answer not knowing anything about the person and their history. given the fact that they're asking, they should probably just shoot jpeg and do more research.

**Will B** · 09-15-2011, 03:17 PM

Reader's Digest version...

Raw = Professional's medium. There is no compression of the file. Downside is that the files are huger than huge.

JPEG = Layman's medium. If you are going do a lot of large printing, select the highest resolution. If they are just for viewing on a computer or laptop, a smaller size is fine.

It would take a trained prefessional's eye to look at an image and tell the difference, and they may not even be able to without some sort of magnification to look at the pixels.

I'm sure Kurt would be a good info source on this!

**Beach Runner** · 09-15-2011, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by Will B

Reader's Digest version...

Raw = Professional's medium. There is no compression of the file. Downside is that the files are huger than huge.

JPEG = Layman's medium. If you are going do a lot of large printing, select the highest resolution. If they are just for viewing on a computer or laptop, a smaller size is fine.

It would take a trained prefessional's eye to look at an image and tell the difference, and they may not even be able to without some sort of magnification to look at the pixels.

I'm sure Kurt would be a good info source on this!

Well said!

**tailwagger** · 09-17-2011, 07:19 AM

Originally Posted by bluemtnrunner

So now I have my Nikon camera and I love to take a photograph... I love it love it and really love not burning through film like crazy. So now my questions are, RAW or JPEG? If RAW, best programs for processing the photos.
AND, best place to get prints. I have used shutterfly in the past.

I'll upload some pics I have been taking.

Stick with jpeg. Nikons are good cameras. But you'll want to try different settings to get the look you want. If color is a little flat you can set to vivid or whatever, boost contrast, etc.

**Beach Runner** · 09-17-2011, 08:23 AM

Right. Just don't shoot in auto with a nice camera. The good thing about a digital is that it's free to play around with the settings.

**Abby Prentiss** · 09-17-2011, 08:38 AM

I get awesome pics on auto.

**Murray Balkcom** · 09-17-2011, 08:59 AM

all above is well said. RAW keeps the raw image, without processing. All of the processing is up to you. That way, you are not having to correct the camera's processing. If you don't know much about processing, don't bother with raw. Photography is one thing and processing is something else, even more complex. Your Nikon will do a great job on auto and you will be able to go manual and get some creative and more advanced shots. Go jpeg. Join a couple of online photography sites where they have weekly photo challenges. It will be very helpful to be selective of how many frames you shoot.

**Beach Runner** · 09-17-2011, 09:04 AM

Originally Posted by Abby

I get awesome pics on auto.

But with the depth of field you get on auto, it makes your photos look like they came from a mommy-cam.

**Murray Balkcom** · 09-17-2011, 09:06 AM

not necessarily. Depth of field can depend on the lens and focal length.

**Abby Prentiss** · 09-17-2011, 10:15 AM

Originally Posted by Beach Runner

But with the depth of field you get on auto, it makes your photos look like they came from a mommy-cam.

Whats a mommy cam?

**Beach Runner** · 09-17-2011, 11:22 AM

Originally Posted by Murray Balkcom

not necessarily. Depth of field can depend on the lens and focal length.

I'll keep quiet on this. I'm no expert. I'm just going by what I've our daughter say which I'm sure I've misunderstood

Originally Posted by Abby

Whats a mommy cam?

Snapshots without taking advantage of the features of a nice camera, according to our daughter. She's always fussing at cnestg8r about this.

**Murray Balkcom** · 09-18-2011, 08:28 AM

Snapshots without taking advantage of the features of a nice camera, according to our daughter. She's always fussing at cnestg8r about this.

I get it, but if your really think more about this statement, one of the features of the nice camera is that it has auto, which can produce some quality shots for anyone. Auto feature is quick, so that you get the shot, without having to set aperture. Ask your daughter if she uses auto focus. 8)

**Beach Runner** · 09-18-2011, 09:40 AM

Originally Posted by Murray Balkcom

I get it, but if your really think more about this statement, one of the features of the nice camera is that it has auto, which can produce some quality shots for anyone. Auto feature is quick, so that you get the shot, without having to set aperture. Ask your daughter if she uses auto focus. 8)

She doesn't. Somewhat of a camera snob, and she flaunts the fact that she is a super genius (but she is). She got a 7D, didn't like it, and bought a 5D. So the 7D is her backup camera. Good idea because if you shoot mostly weddings, you can't risk any equipment failures. Re-do's are impossible, so there needs to be some redundancy.

**bluemtnrunner** · 09-18-2011, 01:04 PM

I logged so many darkroom hours that I nearly went bankrupt. Digital is a different animal but as I'm playing with it, I'm learning that it is very much like darkroom with a lot more ways to adjust things.! I love how instantaneous the results are, sort of, but I miss the happy accidents and a good ole burn and dodge! I'm shooting raw and jpeg. I'll use the manual or semi auto setting but I like to throw some auto in there just to see what the camera "thinks " about the shot. Now I need a Mac and 50" monitor for "developing". Big thing is getting some prints done. I have friends asking for matted and framed prints.

**Beach Runner** · 09-18-2011, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by bluemtnrunner

I logged so many darkroom hours that I nearly went bankrupt. Digital is a different animal but as I'm playing with it, I'm learning that it is very much like darkroom with a lot more ways to adjust things.! I love how instantaneous the results are, sort of, but I miss the happy accidents and a good ole burn and dodge! I'm shooting raw and jpeg. I'll use the manual or semi auto setting but I like to throw some auto in there just to see what the camera "thinks " about the shot. Now I need a Mac and 50" monitor for "developing". Big thing is getting some prints done. I have friends asking for matted and framed prints.

Good for you! I am just thankful to have being exposed to art that requires a knowledge of technology! I have a minor in art history from Tulane. How can one not get interested in that while living in New Orleans?

Surprising to me, having no knowledge in this area, is that black-and-white photos which are so in vogue are so hard to get printed. Of course, I'm sure our daughter will disagree.

**Murray Balkcom** · 09-18-2011, 09:29 PM

Dodge and burn are in photoshop and you can still have "accidents." You now just have control/command Z to get you out of them if necessary.

**Beach Runner** · 09-18-2011, 09:47 PM

I just got CS5.5. Not many differences but still there are differences. Owed it to my students to give them the latest version, as advised by our daughter. She's right.

**bluemtnrunner** · 09-20-2011, 06:39 AM

I'm dodging a burning but it is different. I do take my computer into the closet and turn off all the lights, lay the monitor flat on the table. :p.
My question about raw/jpeg was more of a "do you shoot raw exclusively or shoot jpeg some and then switch" question. I use jpeg for football games and for setting shots or playing with ideas and, of course, any snapshot type pics. I use raw when I am serious.