Jpeg vs Raw for sports/action

[SteveF]

if I want to really live out on the edge, twice.

Love that!

[SteveF]

I initially took up photographing cycling sport as a promotional exercise with the sole intention of including every single rider which other photographers didn't. I found other photographers either captured just the winners or their friends/relations in the race. So in this respect you'll find in my galleries every one that participated.

I only show the cycling ones on the web as the others are always either contracted in and they are responsible for distribution or printed as they show scantily clad girls as young as 3-4 yrs old in ballet kit which only go to the dance schools. It's a shame really that I cannot show some but I am known for my confidential approach which is why I'm trusted by the parents to do these jobs.

The dance show last Friday was, in total two and half hours long and I was shooting in one shot mode with silent shutter selected. As there was a cast of 30 and they appear onstage in different outfits at different times it's easy to run up 600+ shots.

Now if I'd shot that dance show in raw I'd be editing every image to perfection which would take over my life for about the next week! Unfortunately I would sit there and wonder 'should I change the white balance yet again tonight?' Thankfully I did look at the histogram and move from evaluative metering to partial after the fifth frame. A'hem ... nearly goofed there

[kris]

The dance show last Friday was, in total two and half hours long and I was shooting in one shot mode with silent shutter selected. As there was a cast of 30 and they appear onstage in different outfits at different times it's easy to run up 600+ shots.

Now if I'd shot that dance show in raw I'd be editing every image to perfection which would take over my life for about the next week! Unfortunately I would sit there and wonder 'should I change the white balance yet again tonight?'

Dear Steve,

I had a similar problem when my daughter was younger and the number of girls in the competitions was large. Now, she is older, the number is reduced an I have more experience. So I can "stand around looking at the tree waiting for it falling down to take one, or to live out on the edge, two.

Here are a couple of (RAW) shoots I took. They are both single shoot. I only passed into Lightroom to straightened a bit and apply a default WB setting.





Cheers
Andrea

[SteveF]

Hi Andrea,

Nicely captured.

Do you or have you considered shooting a white balance file when at these events? If you haven't you might like to give it a try. Even shooting raw it means you don't even have to judge wb settings during processing.

The reason I say this is because I don't calibrate my screens which might seem lazy (it is!! ) as when other folk from a non-photographic background view it on their screen theirs won't be calibrated anyway.

[Brev00]

Dear Andrea,

Yes, I agree with your discussion of our style. One word we left out though was 'anticipation.' I get a vicarious thrill of the sport I am watching when I am anticipating the next 'right moment.' One cannot passively wait for these moments to occur. At the skating events, it all starts with my choice of seat: getting close but not right on top of the skaters; trying to find unoccupied seats or aisles in front so I can get a clear view. Most parents sit together in some mezzanine location. I try to convince one or two to follow me close to the action. Anyway, I feel connected to the athletes and absorbed in my guess as to what will happen next. I think I feel like a 1,000 hitter when I get a terrific shot and know that was my one and only go at that moment and I got it.

Larry

[jcuknz]

I get rather annoyed with the 'experts' who pronounce that you need to shoot RAW if you wish to post process...I do a lot of PP on my jpg files and have yet to feel I am missing anything. With burst there seems with some cameras a restriction on resolution when shooting burst which is a far more important aspect than the RAW v. JPG debate which goes on endlessly to no great point. Perhaps I am unusual that I rate resolution considerably more important than slight colour errors that 99.9 % will not notice.

[oldgreygary]

Yes, I agree with your discussion of our style. One word we left out though was 'anticipation.' I get a vicarious thrill of the sport I am watching when I am anticipating the next 'right moment.' One cannot passively wait for these moments to occur. At the skating events, it all starts with my choice of seat: getting close but not right on top of the skaters; trying to find unoccupied seats or aisles in front so I can get a clear view. Most parents sit together in some mezzanine location. I try to convince one or two to follow me close to the action. Anyway, I feel connected to the athletes and absorbed in my guess as to what will happen next. I think I feel like a 1,000 hitter when I get a terrific shot and know that was my one and only go at that moment and I got it.

Larry

Larry, that sums up really nicely why sports photography is so exciting!

Cheers for now

Gary

[kris]

Larry, that sums up really nicely why sports photography is so exciting!

Cheers for now

Gary

I agree!

Cheers
Andrea

[kris]

Hi Andrea,

Nicely captured.

Do you or have you considered shooting a white balance file when at these events? If you haven't you might like to give it a try. Even shooting raw it means you don't even have to judge wb settings during processing.

The reason I say this is because I don't calibrate my screens which might seem lazy (it is!! ) as when other folk from a non-photographic background view it on their screen theirs won't be calibrated anyway.

Dear Steve,

this is indeed what I do. I set WB to daylight on my camera, to have the same temperature for all shoots. Then I take a shoot(s) with a neutral grey reference object in it. If I cannot find anything in place I use one of those neutral grey lens cleaning cloths you can easily put in your pocket.

In PP I use this shot as reference to fix the correct WB. With Lightroom you can easily do for a set of images at once.

Beside I have another use of these reference shoots. If someone, parents, friends, etc., is complaining on how the images appears on their monitor, I send them the reference shoot asking for the color cast they see. Usually even people from a non-photographic background are able to give you enough info to produce an image that appears pleasant on their monitor.

Andrea

[xpatUSA]

... I'm a 100% RAW shooter

Me too (check my gear)

[SteveF]

Dear Steve,

this is indeed what I do. I set WB to daylight on my camera, to have the same temperature for all shoots. Then I take a shoot(s) with a neutral grey reference object in it. If I cannot find anything in place I use one of those neutral grey lens cleaning cloths you can easily put in your pocket.

In PP I use this shot as reference to fix the correct WB. With Lightroom you can easily do for a set of images at once.

Beside I have another use of these reference shoots. If someone, parents, friends, etc., is complaining on how the images appears on their monitor, I send them the reference shoot asking for the color cast they see. Usually even people from a non-photographic background are able to give you enough info to produce an image that appears pleasant on their monitor.

Andrea

Hi Andrea,

I don't think I explained myself quite right. What I should have said is that I shoot a file to obtain a Custom White Balance in the camera therefore taking it off any other white balance setting. This, for me, mostly eliminates any PP work on the colour balance in these situations.

Regards.

[kris]

Dear Steve,

no, I did not. Mainly because using one (or two if lighting conditions are changing) extra shoot(s) to set WB it does not require heavy PP. It comes (almost) at the same cost as selection. With Lightroom once I have selected the shoots I want to keep, I can apply the WB setting to the whole set in just few clicks.

Regards
Andrea