Answer for a question please

1ibandit

I was wondering if a wedding should be shot in RAW mode and then proccessed later? I have a shoot for a friends wedding coming up and was woundering if it should be shot that way. I do have the software to do it after..

Thanks any help works for me...
Just helping a friend

Agnieszka

I'd say go and try shooting both and see what works better for you!

I am pretty sure all the pros shoot RAW. But that is really only worth doing if you KNOW what you are doing and how to handle the files later. There is definitely a WHOLE more information saved on a RAW file, so you might be able to fix any mistakes easier, BUT do try to shoot both and get your own experience ... you'll see ... you'll learn a LOT!

tenoverthenose

Memory is cheap, RAW files have more information. It's pretty quick and easy to process RAW files today (many workflow options). But shooting in RAW is never an excuse to be sloppy with your camera.

1ibandit

Thanks I sort of figured to use RAW, but I wanted to make sure... I will set up the cam to do both at the same time....

Art Scott

tenoverthenose wrote: »

Memory is cheap, RAW files have more information. It's pretty quick and easy to process RAW files today (many workflow options). But shooting in RAW is never an excuse to be sloppy with your camera.

Exactly correct.....get the exposure and all nailed so that processing is easy..........I shoot raw all the time but then I shot film until a few years ago....actually I still shoot film from time to time.......so I shoot my digital just like I would with film......with film you can't shoot and chimp, try to correct and shoot and chimp again....if you get into the practice of shooting digital as if it were film, your life will be 1000% better, as you will not stress out over shots nearly as much..........If you have the mempory cards to shoot in both raw and jpg go for it......I do at times and I do get acceptable jpgs but I take every shot as if it is the only chance I have (as if shooting film).....and I do not chimp.....that is a lot of time used and making the client wait to get the next image taken.......

Good Luck.....

Quincy T

tenoverthenose wrote: »

Memory is cheap, RAW files have more information. It's pretty quick and easy to process RAW files today (many workflow options). But shooting in RAW is never an excuse to be sloppy with your camera.

No one will say it any better.

Matthew Saville

*pulls hair out*

No offense, at least not to your artistic abilities as a photographer, but if you're asking this question in the first place, you probably aren't ready to be the MAIN photographer at a wedding. You might want to consider getting a more experienced professional to at least 2nd shoot with you, just so that they can "do what they do", and at least take a little bit of the pressure off.

(EDIT) It might seem nearly impossible, finding a "pro" who will be willing to tag along with you on your first gig. But in many communities such as this one here, and also on one of my other favorites- the school, ...you can definitely find willing photographers who might also be quite new, but have at least shot a dozen or so weddings and know what to expect.

...It also might seem impossible to get the client to pay an extra $250 or so to have a 2nd shooter, especially if you originally offered to shoot the wedding for cheap, or for free, etc. But I still highly recommend at least seeing what is possible. Really, it's not THAT much and it could make a world of difference to the couple.
(/EDIT)


I don't know, maybe you're a very experienced photographer who has simply been shooting JPG for years and years, which is perfectly fine and honestly I could rock a wedding in either JPG or RAW, it doesn't matter very much to me. So, don't be offended if I've got you all wrong here. I'm just a little scared whenever an "amateur" photographer changes the way they shoot RIGHT before a wedding, just based on the advice of others. I've heard too many stories of new photographers going out and renting lenses, or buying new cameras altogether, just one week before their first or second wedding, and the lens is malfunctioning or the camera body simply has too many new options, and they mess up a critical moment.

Again, if this isn't YOU, then just pretend I'm saying this to everyone ELSE who DOES fit the description. But if it does sound like you, then I hope you can learn from my own experience and common sense advice...

1.) Learn it before it becomes mission-critical. RAW is not a cushion pillow to fall back on in difficult lighting conditions, in fact RAW noise can be WORSE than JPG noise depending on how you handle it. In low light, I'd rather have a properly exposed JPG file than an under-exposed RAW file any day of the week...

2.) Count on GOBBLING up your memory cards, if you're used to shooting JPG and you're switching to RAW+JPG. Especially on a Canon, which may or may not force you to use lossless compression and 14-bits. (Compared to Nikon which allows you to compress RAW files and also select 12-bits, thus making a lone RAW file no more than 10-30% larger than the highest quality JPG file...)

3.) Have a backup. Whatever format you decide to shoot, having a backup camera and a backup methodology in general is a must. It is simply not acceptable to walk into a wedding with just one camera body, for example, because cameras DO fail. I actually had a total camera failure just this past weekend at a wedding, at a semi-critical moment... (The first failure in quite a few years, thankfully) But my 2nd camera was right there over my other shoulder; so I calmly switched lenses and kept on shooting.

4.) Get to know the post-processing, and make sure you have the time, ability, and computing power to deliver a RAW wedding in a timely manner. Otherwise, RAW processing can be a daunting task at first, and you might not get the couple's wedding photos delivered for months, at which point you'll probably be loathing the images because they took you so long to process. Just trust me on this one, it's not a good position to be in.

Anyways, good luck to anyone out there who is in this situation!
=Matt=

Sam

Couldn't say it better than Matt.

Sam

Shima

Yup, another +1 for Matt's post (Google Plus on the mind, heh). Well said.

mmmatt

I agree, but will say that I think RAW is a pretty nice safety net. If you are a veteran jpg shooter then by all means shoot raw plus jpg, but if you are anywhere newish shoot raw and don't take the gig unless you have a good 20-30 hrs time to invest in post production. Matt makes a very good point there!! Personally, I wouldn't even consider shooting just jpg for a wedding if for no other reason than white balance adjustments, but in general, lighting scenarios are endless and ever changing ...indoors, outdoors, sun in your face, sun over your shoulder, sun pops over a tree, clouds, no clouds, shine off a building, lights get dropped half way through the first dance,
Someone opens a curtain for sun set through the window, DJ adjusts his lights blah blah blah... if you aren't used to lighting mayhem, then think real hard if you want to do this at all. Sometimes things just work out and they are easy, but that is only sometimes. Even some really good shooters struggle with their first weddings for may reasons.

Good luck, and if you aren't an experienced shooter you would be smart to have another shooter along even if they are only about as good as you to lessen the chances of missing anything.