Why I Stopped Shooting RAW for Sports (And Why You Should Too)
- Jace Medina
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
If you spend enough time in photography forums or talking to purists, you’ll hear a common piece of conventional wisdom: always shoot RAW. They’ll tell you it holds more data, gives you more dynamic range, and allows you to "save" an image in post-production.
For a long time, I bought into that. But then I got a piece of advice from a seasoned professional named Ross Dettman—a guy who has shot for the MLB, NBA, NHL, and just about every other major league you can think of. His advice was simple, but it completely changed my workflow: If you’re a sports photographer, shoot JPEG.
It might sound sacrilegious to the gear purists, but it’s the absolute truth. While RAW definitely has its place, shooting live sports isn't it. Here is why you need to switch your camera over to JPEG for your next game.
1. The Megapixel Monster
Modern cameras are absolute beasts. Most of us are walking around with bodies shooting 45 megapixels or more. While that resolution is incredible, it comes with a massive cost: file size.
When you shoot a fast-paced game, you are rattling off hundreds, if not thousands, of frames. If you are shooting all of those in RAW, you are creating massive, bloated files that eat up your SD cards and take up a ridiculous amount of space on your hard drives. It makes your camera buffer slower and forces your computer to work twice as hard just to load the previews. There is simply no need for it.
2. The Need for Speed
In the sports media industry, speed is the name of the game. Clients, teams, and athletes don't just want good photos; they want them now.
Shooting JPEG allows for significantly faster file transfers and easier file handling. You get post-ready quality straight out of the camera. When the final whistle blows, you can dump those files, do a quick cull, and deliver them while the game is still trending. If you are bogged down trying to process hundreds of massive RAW files, you've already lost the race.
3. The Social Media Reality
Let's be brutally honest about where these photos are ending up. 99% of the time, the images you shoot on the field are going straight to Instagram, X, or a team website.
All of these major social media platforms aggressively compress the heck out of your images anyway. You could spend hours agonizing over the color grade of a massive RAW file, and Instagram will still compress it to a fraction of its size. Shooting JPEG gives you the exact quality you need for the medium you are delivering to.
4. The Mark of a True Photographer
A huge argument for RAW is that it "holds more data so you can edit it more." But here is the hard truth: if you are actually a good photographer, you shouldn't need much post-processing.
I consider someone a true photographer when they don't need to edit their photos to "make them look good". If you understand your lighting, your exposure triangle, and your composition, you can snap a fantastic, properly exposed frame straight to JPEG. You shouldn't be relying on RAW to fix your mistakes in post.
The Exception to the Rule
Does this mean you should never shoot RAW? Of course not. There is a time and a place for everything. RAW is absolutely the best choice for artists who plan on printing large-scale, fine-art prints or photographers taking high-end studio portraits for commercial clients. But if you are on the field, on the court, or running the sidelines? Do yourself a favor and shoot JPEG.
Ready to Master Your Camera?
If you are relying on RAW files to fix your exposure, or letting your camera do all the thinking for you, it’s time to take control.
This is exactly the kind of practical, real-world workflow I teach in my upcoming class, Ditch Auto Mode. If you are in Orange County, I’m teaching this class in person at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton. The first class kicks off the first week of April.
Stop letting your camera make the decisions, and start shooting like a pro.
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