Newbie- raw or jpeg

I've been shooting raw but I've also been using the cs2 book for digi photographers for a guidleline in my post processing. There's a chapter on raw and he kind of explains what each tool is for and does but that's it.

When I use curves on a jpeg image I can adjust shadows, midtones and highlights. Now I'm sure there comfortable with post processing and doing it correctly or should I take the plunge and try to figure raw out?

Nevermind I just figured out curves in raw ty!!!

It never hurts to try something new. I prefer RAW myself, but there are many others who like jpeg. It's a never-ending debate on this forum and several others. You just need to decide what works best for you. .

You can still run you're curves adjustment layer after converting the raw file. You will also benefit from less destructive editing by converting the raw file to a 16-bit tif or psd file. Once editing is complete, you can finally flatten and convert to 8-bit for web/print output.

if your new, and you didnt say how new so dont be offended. After you learn to get good exposures from jpegs, then switch to raw for prefection. RAW with beginners can be used as a crutch to avoid shooting the image right the first time.

That being said, I always shoot raw.

Read this book and you'll have all the information you need to make the decision yourself.

I'm not offended at all. I don't want photoshop to become a crutch for me. I want to learn how to expose properly the first time. One of the problems is I have a house with horrible light so I"m not sure if it is possible for me to get a good exposure.

Thanks for the info on the book. I'm ordering it now.

A second on the book. It is very good. You will need to decide for yourself as to shoot JPEG or raw. I shot JPEG for 6 months after getting my 20D then switched to raw. Now (as someone in most threads on raw vs. JPEG will point out) I wish I had shot raw from the start. But I guess we all need to take baby steps when faced with something new.

Shoot outdoors?

raw just seems so intimidating because I don't know what the correct settings are. I as of right now can't look at a photo (unless it's horrible)and say that this or that specific thing is off

That takes practice, I found the best way to develop an eye for it is to have more experienced people take a look and tell you what is off about it and if they're right, you'll see it too and eventually you'll start to see things on your own.

Sounds like a plan!!!

Whether shooting RAW or Jpeg, I think, really comes down to the purpose of the shooting occassion. If I'm shooting something rather informal, and I'm pretty confident with the correct exposures, then to me there's no need to shoot such things in RAW that only takes up enormous space. The quality difference between a correctly exposed Jpeg image and a RAW image is hardly noticeable. With Jpeg images, I save them as Jpeg 2000 "lossless" that are not degradable. I just found out that my lowly PSE 3 can do that!

When I'm shooting something very important, then I'd shoot both RAW + Jpeg just to be sure.

Christi,
After I got my 20D this past summer I shot in jpeg until just this week! I felt I needed to understand not only how to get a decent shot but WHY I was getting decent shots. I knew if I "turned this knob, my photo would be lighter" but didn't know why (scary, I know). I am completely self-taught, aside from what I've learned here at POTN (which is quite a bit!), so I was a bit intimidated to shoot in RAW. But I recently did a shoot indoors w/very poor lighting and I wish I had shot in RAW. The flexibility with correcting exposures in raw w/o losing too much of the photo's resolution is a great feature. I am currently reading whatever I can get my hands on about shooting in RAW!

What I am not clear on is why shoot in both raw and jpeg, not just raw? More to learn...

kpiela wrote:
What I am not clear on is why shoot in both raw and jpeg, not just raw? More to learn...

Some would like quick access to publish the jpegs quickly, while retaining the ability to to apply a raw workflow.

When you are learning, it is easiest to master one step at a time. If you shoot JPEG you will have to learn about exposure so that you can get properly exposed shots. If you later switch to RAW, you can then learn how to improve those shots even more.

The danger in starting with RAW is that you can compensate in processing for poorly exposed shots. You can get good results, but not as good as if you had exposed properly in the first place. Since you are getting reasonable results, this can slow down your progress towards getting great results.

I recommend that you perfect your technique shooting JPEG and then switch to RAW to make further improvements.