Hey! I wanted to talk about something that comes up all the time, especially when you’re learning: RAW vs JPEG. Most people either feel like they “should” shoot RAW because that’s what professionals do, or they stick to JPEG because it feels simpler and less intimidating. Both are valid, but it just depends on what you’re shooting and what you want out of your images. RAW is basically your camera capturing as much information as possible. It’s not meant to look perfect straight out of camera, because it’s not fully processed yet. The benefit is that when you edit, you have more flexibility. If your photo is a bit underexposed, if the white balance is off, or if skin tones need work, RAW usually gives you more room to fix things without the file falling apart. If you use Lightroom and you care about consistent colour and clean edits, RAW will make your life easier. JPEG is the opposite approach. Your camera processes the photo for you, compresses it, and gives you a finished-looking file right away. That can be great if you don’t want to spend time editing, or if you’re shooting something fast-paced and you just want images that are ready to share. JPEG isn’t “bad” or “lazy.” Just a different workflow, and plenty of photographers use it on purpose. If you’re not sure what to choose, RAW + JPEG can be a really nice middle ground. You get a ready-to-share JPEG, but you still have the RAW file if you ever want to do a stronger edit later. The only downside is it takes more storage space. So here’s my general suggestion: if you’re learning and you want control, try RAW. If you want simple and fast, JPEG is completely fine. The best format is the one that matches your actual life and how you shoot. I’m curious — what do you shoot right now: RAW, JPEG, or RAW+JPEG?

Hi! In this video, I’m showing my simple workflow for editing an image in Lightroom. The biggest reason I love Lightroom is consistency. Once I edit one image, I can copy/paste my settings (or sync them) across the rest of the gallery, then it’s just a quick check to make sure everything looks good from photo to photo. In this edit, I walk through my basics: exposure correction, a small boost to vibrance/saturation, spot healing, and light skin smoothing. Clean, natural, and fast. When you edit a session, what do you focus on most?

I just published a new course in the Classroom: Exposure Triangle (Made Simple). It breaks down shutter speed, aperture, and ISO in plain English, with quick lessons you can read in a few minutes. There’s also one practice video where I demo everything step by step so you can see how the settings actually change the image. If you’ve ever felt stuck between “too dark / too blurry / too noisy,” start here. You’ll find it in the Classroom now.