Which Format? RAW or JPEG.

Adobe's Photoshop Lightroom RAW image editor.

Lots of people ask me this question; which format should I use when taking photos? And the answer is pretty simple; if you are shooting a wedding, or any important event, then you should only be shooting in the RAW format.

Apple's Aperture RAW image editor.

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If you are a keen photographer, and have been shooting lots of photos, and you may have already been asked to shoot a wedding for a friend. The question is, which format to use. Using the RAW format can be more than a little daunting. Most people have never really had anything to do with this format, because the smaller consumer digital cameras generally do not have this option. Most will have JPEG at various resolutions, and some may have a Tiff option, but few have a RAW option. RAW is usually the domain of the DSLR or high end consumer cameras. The other caveat is that most computer software is only designed to process JPEG images. However, when you are shooting something as important as a wedding, then you need the flexibility that the RAW option gives you.

There are many benefits to shooting RAW.
Firstly, ALL the scene information is captured, unlike the JPEG format. Even in the highest resolution setting, JPEG format still is deleting some of the file information in order to allow more images to be captured on the memory card by creating a smaller file. This can make image editing a more difficult process later.
Secondly, the range of manipulations available with RAW image software, is far and away greater than with standard image editors. If you do not shoot in the RAW format, you will lose the ability to be able to use the many RAW specific adjustments available for this format, which can literally be in the hundreds of adjustments.

Two of the most popular RAW programs today, are Apple's Aperture and Adobe's Photoshop Lightroom. Aperture is Macintosh, so if you are a Mac user, like me, then you can use Aperture. Lightroom, on the other hand, is available on both the Mac and the PC. Both are extremely good at editing RAW files, and the latest iterations of these programs are introducing filters as add ons. So they will become even more capable.

Make Money with your Digital Camera shooting weddings

Wedding photography can be a very lucrative part time of full time option. In the United State alone, wedding photography accounts for approx. $5 Billion per year. That's a sizable market. And with some know how and a decent digital camera, you can be a part of this industry. I have designed a course that includes everything you need, including business forms, technical discussions, sample ads and business and even tips on using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Apple's Aperture. You can see more information and order at www.howtoshootweddings.net.

One of the first questions I am asked when shooting with a digital camera (after the "which camera do you use, question), is, what format should I shoot? Tiff, High Res JPEG, RAW etc. And the answer is very simple. RAW! There is NO other option. And you need to make sure that you are using the highest resolution (megapixels) available on your camera.

You should only be using a digital SLR (DSLR) camera, with the most powerful (expensive) flash available for your system. When you shoot a wedding, you will need to use flash for basically every shot you take. Indoors and out, even in bright sunlight. The flash will light dark subjects inside and when you are outside, it will fill in the shadows of your subject, and make the resulting photos look their best.

A very important point to remember when you photograph the bride, is to make sure that there is lots of detail in the brides dress. With digital cameras, the sensor cannot record as wide a range of light to dark as with film, and whites in particular, can be very challenging to record with detail. This is where you need to be able to balance the flash with the available light to get acceptable results. Otherwise, you may have some angry people calling you after the event. And you cannot arrange a do-over for a wedding, it is a one shot deal. So, make sure you do lots of practice before your first real, paying event. A good way to practice is to have you wife/girlfriend/kids dress up in white clothes and take lots of shots and note the settings you need to get detail in the dress, and good skin tones on the brides face.


Whenever possible, set up the kids in the bridal party by themselves. These kinds of photos will sell to the parents, the bride and groom and many other family members, especially the grandparents. Part of your job is to not just take good photos, but to take photos that will sell and keep you in a job and allow you to buy more equipment as you need it. You should always take individual shots of each kid and have the parents help to get them comfortable so you can get some good shots. Always try to choose an interesting background where possible. In order to focus attention on the kids and not the background, I have made a selection around the kids in Adobe Photoshop, and darkened the background a little, so the kids will stand out and be the attention of the photo.