# Editing JPG's rather than RAW files



## oneshotBeary (Sep 17, 2015)

Hi, 

I'm shooting a lot of JPG's at the moment rather than RAW as i'm shooting sports. I'm just wondering if a properly exposed JPG straight out of a camera need the same sort of processing as a RAW file? Would the presets i've previously created for RAW files be overkill on a JPG? Should i creating new presets specifically for JPG files? 

I use presets like the standard Lightroom General presets quite a bit but i'm presuming they are designed for RAW files rather than JPG's .... Even the Sharpening (Scenic) one? 

Thanks in advance
Tom


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## Hal P Anderson (Sep 17, 2015)

LR does a fine job on JPGs. They inherently don't have as much editing latitude as raw files do, but if they come out of the camera pretty close to what you want, they can be fine. 

As to how you'll like what presets do to JPGs, only you can answer that question. You'll need to experiment and see how you like the results.


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## Johan Elzenga (Sep 17, 2015)

oneshotBeary said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm shooting a lot of JPG's at the moment rather than RAW as i'm shooting sports. I'm just wondering if a properly exposed JPG straight out of a camera need the same sort of processing as a RAW file? Would the presets i've previously created for RAW files be overkill on a JPG? Should i creating new presets specifically for JPG files?
> 
> I use presets like the standard Lightroom General presets quite a bit but i'm presuming they are designed for RAW files rather than JPG's .... Even the Sharpening (Scenic) one?



JPG's are processed in the camera, so a certain amount of sharpening is already applied. The same goes for things like vibrance and contrast. So yes, you can expect that your presets for RAW are overkill, but ultimately you are the judge of that.


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## tspear (Sep 18, 2015)

Just curious why sports requires jpegs versus raw.

Tim


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## Hal P Anderson (Sep 18, 2015)

Tim,

My guess is that you can shoot longer strings of continuous shots with JPG than raw. This might be important in capturing the "right" instant in a play.


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## tspear (Sep 18, 2015)

Hal P Anderson said:


> Tim,
> 
> My guess is that you can shoot longer strings of continuous shots with JPG than raw. This might be important in capturing the "right" instant in a play.



Interesting point, I have never taken enough shots to fill the buffer with my current camera; even with raw. I know that was an issue with with my older Canon 20D; but that was over six years ago and did not think about it. 

Tim


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## Tony Jay (Sep 18, 2015)

Apart from the issues already mentioned perhaps the most limiting aspect of editing JPEGS's is the fact that the white balance is burnt into the image.
So there is no way to readily correct white balance issues with JPEG's.

Tony Jay


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## Ian.B (Sep 18, 2015)

I would suggest setting the camera scene mode to a neutral/standard/normal/ or even the softer portrait setting as it can hard to soften or tone down some landscape/vibrant images. You may need a preset or two to adjust the files as required; maybe some individual editing will be require. As Tony said you need to watch WB; and blown out whites. 


IMO we can get a bit uptight about jpeg files when many happy snappers don't have the knowledge _or time_ to edit photos when all they a want are good basic photos. Not everyone can actually see the difference between or even care about a blown out sky or a photo having a bit of wild colour cast or a photo being a little dark. Some happy snappers use LR only for filing.  

I have no idea where Tom (OP) fits onto the experience ladder; or the actual use of his photos


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## Johan Elzenga (Sep 18, 2015)

Hal P Anderson said:


> Tim,
> 
> My guess is that you can shoot longer strings of continuous shots with JPG than raw. This might be important in capturing the "right" instant in a play.



I think the main reason is that sport shooters don't have the time to edit raw images. The news agents and news papers are already waiting for the photos while the game is not finished yet. Often they use wifi to send images straight from the camera. And with so many competing freelance photographers, the one who delivers first gets his photo published (and is the one who gets paid!).


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## oneshotBeary (Sep 18, 2015)

yep that's it in a nutshell .... we don't have the time to be editing large RAW files in the field. We generally get exposure and WB right in-camera and use Photomechanic to import and caption the files. My own workflow is that i then drag and drop to an Auto-Import folder for Lightroom (whilst applying a pre-set). It means that i usually just have to crop,straighten and FTP from Lightroom. I can get all of this done pretty quickly in-between continuing to take pictures at a game!


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## Ian.B (Sep 19, 2015)

^^ are you selling the photos Tom


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## oneshotBeary (Sep 19, 2015)

the agency would sell them to print/online media


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## Ian.B (Sep 19, 2015)

Cheers; just only wondering what level of photography you were doing. 
Good luck with it


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