Every time a brand new camera comes out, you have to wait for software to update and be able to process the RAW files. These digital negatives are pretty handy and much different from the JPEGs that are produced. RAWs contain a of data and are much like buying your own ingredients to make something like a cake or curry. On the other hand, the JPEG is like buying it from a restaurant and bringing it to a party. But these days, JPEG editing in apps is just so good, it’s hard to conceive whether or not we really need RAW files anymore. Sure, RAW files can make things easier; but so can in-camera presets and knowing how to light. For years, I’ve been telling photographers to do more in-camera and do less in post-production. And in 2025, I think we’ve really gotten to a place where you don’t really need post-production anymore in many cases. Even if you do, the editing that’s available for JPEG files is very, very good.
I’m a journalist for a living who tests cameras, lenses, etc. But on the side, I gain taxable income from shooting images. Typically, I shoot events. I’m very unique in that I’m legally blind and I find ways to make my images look totally different from what you’d see anyone else make. It often involves lighting, in-camera preset recipes, specific white balancing, manual exposures, lens filters, and special handholding techniques. I work really hard to make images that generative AI couldn’t make easily because there isn’t enough of the work out there that exists. I mean, how would one prompt for the type of work that I make?
Photographers all have their own unique ways of making images. Lots of it involves endless post-production, sometimes for days or much longer than it took to shoot.
These days, nearly anything that you’d want to do in Lightroom or Capture One can be done in-camera. RAW files help us out when we can’t make something happen in-camera. Today, however, nearly anything can be done in-camera with the exception of some very specific technical color changes.
RAW files are great in that way. However, most photographers don’t do insanely technical editing.
More photographers should shoot for the JPEG and only rely on RAW files when they really need to. But in most cases and situations these days, most images we see don’t require RAW files.
