Pop0904 Loc: Jacksonville, Fl

I always heard that you should shot in the highest resolution that your camera will allow.

Is it necessary to shoot in RAW at weddings? Or because of the time it takes to write to the card, is another mode acceptable that would allow me to capture more special moments?

ronz Loc: Florida

No it is not necessary. You have options of shooting in raw and not raw at the same time or one or the other. Not sure what your camera is but check your menu and also look at your manual under setting or just shooting Raw. If you shoot in both modes it eats up much more space on your card. Raw gives you more things you can do in post processing but if you are shooting weddings it should not be necessary based on your ability.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

It's not necessary though folks do because of the flexibility it affords; you can rescue a once-in-a-lifetime-shot easier and with better results in post with a RAW file.

Also...are you having problems with write speed using RAW?

I only notice an issue when I use the "continuous" shooting feature (4 frames per second.)

designpro

I agree with you!.

Weddings are such fast paced events and even the best shooter can come up with bloopers.

Ever though I know my equipment well and have shot countless weddings myself, RAW is like having an insurance policy.

At weddings I tend to shoot (1) stop under exposed do to some of the DJ's strobes flashing about and the many other cameras in the room from the guests flashing away with their cameras. Shooting (1) stop under exposed affords me the luxury that I will not have highlights blown out due to this activity all around me...

I may spend a little more time in post production using this method but I like having the control and it has saved my butt on occasions.

Erv Loc: Medina Ohio

If your camera has 2 slots for cards you can do both. That is what I do. Makes PP a little easier if you get the jpg right. But shooting in Raw will save you if you goof up.
Erv

steve_stoneblossom Loc: Rhode Island, USA

Your advice also echoes a 'wedding shooter' adage once shared with me, "Better to lose the tux than the gown".

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

If you have a top quality camera -- Nikon 300 & up, or Canon 7D & up they will handle noise very well at 800 ISO. By using that speed it will give you much better battery life on your flash. Also, just because your camera will sync at 160, 200, or even 250, think about using a shutter speed of 25. By doing this you will pick up some ambient light and your photos will not look like you cut your subjects out and pasted them on a black background. Just be careful doing this -- if there are windows in the church or reception hall that allows much light at all to come in you can get "ghosting" which is caused by one image of the subject being created with the ambient light while a perfectly "frozen" image will be made by the flash. As for RAW vs. JPEG, I prefer RAW for all the reasons others have listed but when I shoot an event with a friend, and it's his event, we use JPEG which he likes working in. To help with the write speed, make sure your media is class 10. Stamped on the label of SDHC cards are numbers 4, 6, 8, or 10 with 10 being the fastest.

The Watcher

It would depend on what camera you are using and how large of a file you would receive with JPEG at its highest settings. With my Cameras, I would use JPEG for most of the shots. But for shots of the bride and groom only, or others shots that I think the family may want a large print; I would switch to Raw. Back in the days of film, I was a wedding photographer and often did two wedding on the same day. I also had a color darkroom and did custom printing. Most of the print requests were 8x10 or smaller. There were times when the family would request a large print; usually one of the bride. That was no problem for me because I had shot the wedding with a medium format camera. However, many of the shots could of been done on 35mm and printed just fine. Also consider shooting for large images that require less cropping.

designpro

Jumping in here...
I totally agree, always be ready for what the unexpected may bring...$$