CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

Yes and no. Both jpeg and raw produce photo files. Both can produce wonderful or terrible photographs technically. If things are in focus and the exposure is right, both can be blown up to amazing sizes and still look good. It's when things aren't perfect or you think those files could look better that RAW comes to the rescue.
...Cam

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

It is the relatively rare digital image SOOC that can't benefit from being shot in raw with judicious adjustments applied in post processing. As a result I shoot in raw 100% of the time to take advantage of the increased latitude that format provides in post.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

I totally agree and only shoot raw myself. I just think that if you aren't into PP you're better with jpeg and camera settings. The OP was wondering about shooting Auto. I think Auto and jpeg sort of go together. I don't use either.
...Cam

kdogg Loc: Gallipolis Ferry WV

I shoot Raw plus Jpeg mostly because my family is spread over 5 states and the jpeg is easy and fast for sharing photos with them over the internet. Raw is for me only.

Bill_de Loc: US

Shouldn't that have a qualifier? something like, 'relatively rare among the people whose pictures and process you are privy to".

It reminds me of statements we see and hear all the time similar to, most professionals do this, or few professional do that, and the list goes on.

Our judgement calls for the most part are nothing more than opinions based on a very small , very narrow sampling of data.

One truth ... Santa has started his round the world trip. I got a message from a high ranking Elf.

Merry Christmas!

--

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

Santa better not get to close to Gatwick. They are feeling a little sensitive right now.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Nope. I meant relatively rare. It wasn't just a judgement call, although I'm sure some would disagree. Merry Christmas to you too.

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

In the words of the great Tina Turner; What's age got to do with it? I don't care how old you are, Do what you like, Enjoy what you Do, Repeat! That's how I do it, and it keeps me going! No animals, people, aliens, Kaiju, or any others were harmed in the making of this post.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Yes that is true! Else Santa will have an uninvited chat a with RAF personal.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Post-processing vs. Pre-processing...

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Are you using "Auto" or are you using "auto"?

What I mean is that to make best use of post-processing, you should be shooting RAW files. Those have a lot more latitude for post-process adjustments.

Most cameras today have an "Auto" mode.... which might be better called "super auto" since it automates far more than just exposure. It also dictates how your autofocus works, whether or not the flash will fire, makes you use Auto White Balance, and even limits what type file you can save.... JPEGS only (in all cameras I'm aware of).

That "super auto" mode is different from "auto exposure". "Super auto" is sort of a "point n shoot" or "camera phone" mode. It's there for folks who can't be bothered to learn how their camera works and have no desire to control it or to do any post processing of their images. (Some cameras also have "scene" modes.... similar to "super auto", but a little more specific.... for sports, portraits, scenic shots, etc. These also automate a lot more than just exposure.)

Your camera also has several "auto exposure" modes: aperture priority (A or Av), shutter priority (S or Tv) and program (P). If it's a fairly recent model it probably has Auto ISO, too, which can be used in conjunction with Manual mode (M) to give you a fourth form of auto exposure.

All these modes can be used to deal with variable lighting conditions or just because you aren't sure yet how to calculate an accurate exposure (AE). Aperture priority lets you select the aperture (and the ISO), so that you can decide if depth of field is going to be shallow or deep... and the camera selects an appropriate shutter speed. In shutter priority mode you select the shutter speed (and the ISO) that will render movement either sharply freezing it with a fast shutter speed or letting it blur a bit with a slower one.... and the camera chooses an appropriate aperture. In program mode you only select the ISO (lower makes for better images, but it needs to be high enough to give adequate shutter speed and/or the size aperture you want to use). Auto ISO with M is a new type of AE.... where you select both the shutter speed and the aperture, but leave it to the camera to choose what ISO to use.

All these modes leave it to you to set the white balance and your auto focus as you see fit.... and they allow you to save either JPEG or RAW files... or both.

You also get Exposure Compensation (E.C.) in these modes... which allows you to override the exposure the camera is choosing, to adjust for unusually light or dark situations. For example, if you are photographing a bride in a white wedding gown in a snow storm, the camera will want to underexpose... so you can dial in some plus E.C. But if you are shooting a black bear in a coal mine, the camera is going to try to overexpose, so some minus E.C. is needed. You can't do any of this "fine tuning on the fly" when using "super auto" mode.

In contrast to all of those, there's also M or manual mode.... where you set everything (no Auto ISO either). It's nice when you can use this because you can lock down your exposures and not have them skewed by the camera's metering system. Some people might try to tell you this is the ONLY mode REAL photographers use... but nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, there are situations where lighting is variable and you simply can't use M... where you must use one of the AE modes to get a good exposure.

I don't know what camera you are using... but some have built in guides to learn to use the various settings. Many Canon, for example, have a "CA" or "creative auto" mode that gives "wizards" on the rear screen to help with the settings. I bet other manufacturers have similar.

So, which are you using? "Auto" or "auto"? If you are currently using "Auto", I'd suggest you try "P" instead, and set the camera to save RAW for post-processing .... Or set to save RAW + JPEGs if you have plenty of memory cards and hard drive space. This can be helpful when learning to post-process.... giving you both an in-camera "developed" JPEG and a RAW file that you can develop as you wish using the post-processing software.

And with P you can choose to use Auto WB or not (custom WB are most accurate, when you have time to do them and set them correctly)... set auto focus as you see fit... use different metering patterns on many cameras (matrix/evaluative, center-weighted, partial, spot).... take charge of things with Exposure Compenstion... decide whether or not to use flash... and more.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

I agree. There are reasons to shoot raw but poor exposure skills are not one of them. If you can't nail a JPEG exposure, you can't nail raw.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

True.

What I’m really referring to, though, is that camera menus are FULL of choices that affect JPEG processing —

Picture Style
Contrast
Color Tone
Hue
Saturation
Sharpness
Dynamic Range Control
Monochrome modes
“Art” modes
Film simulations

These are rather coarse controls, but they work quite well if you test them ahead and know when to use them. Of course, exposure and white balance are critical for in-camera JPEG capture, too.

The latitude of raw files is much more forgiving, just as color negative latitude is more forgiving than slide film latitude.

All of this is to say that with proper planning, discipline, testing and experience, we can make great JPEGs with no post-processing. Many professionals do it all the time, just as we did when transparency (slide) films were the necessary choice. We know when we cannot, however, and use raw workflow (or parallel raw + JPEG workflow) then.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

OK - but YOU are not the Original Poster - But take umbrage if you like. I am 63, I know my eyes are shit - so does my optician.....Reality is that Good Photography kinda needs good vision at every stage....If you are lucky enough ....good for you!

Sorry if I touched a nerve....but I was not posting a reply to you

have fun

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

You can take a photograph in any way you want to, of course, and hopefully you are happy with your results. If you choose to shoot in the Auto mode, though, there are some images that may not turn out the way you had envisioned (assuming you have some sort of vision). For example, the Auto mode may not compensate for a too dark or too light scene very well. It also will not know that you might want the background blurred out and the foreground sharp and it might not know where you wanted the primary focus point to be. You'll have to be the judge of the experience based on the results and if they meet your expectations and needs. One of the great things that I love best about photography is that I get to do it my way, it's not a group adventure! This applies to all of us.