As I'm preparing my presentation for my workshop in Morgantown, WV in less than 3 weeks, I'm going through some of my images from the start of my career and was reminded that so many of them are shot in Jpeg, no raws...thanks to the crappy advice of "big name" photographers that I had met at the time. I actually started shooting in Raw from the start but I was very impressionable at the time. I was told that it was a waste of time and should ONLY shoot in jpeg. So I changed for some amount of time and as a result I have a good amount of my early work that's only done in jpeg, which is a shame.
I paid good money to go to workshops only to receive unsound advice. Keep in mind that this was 2007-2008 when resolution with digital cameras isn't nearly as good as it is today. I've walked through the Trade Show at major photo conventions and heard speakers say stupid stuff like, "Shooting in Raw is only for those that don't know how to shoot." I know some of these guys and when I've pressed them privately they've said that they still shoot in Raw but that in "theory" what they're saying is true. I then tell them that they're, "full of crap."
Why would you purposely shoot in a lower quality? What good excuse do you have for your clients as to why they are being subjected to an inferior product? I get so tired of the lame reasons people give for giving people bad advice. I do believe there are many out there who simply want to mislead those who are beneath them...and that's pretty sad. At best you could say they are simply uneducated on the topic and misinformed. If that's the case then they shouldn't give advice as an authority figure in the industry. I certainly don't know everything, and when I don't know enough about something to give a credible opinion, I keep my mouth shut.
I went to a very well known photographer's workshop about 4 years ago and the Photoshop advice he gave us was complete garbage. I didn't know it at the time, but as I improved my skills I realized what I had been taught was completely wrong. And judging by this photogapher's beautiful editing prowess, it was clear that he KNEW the right way to do it, but just didn't want to teach it to any of us. I don't mind if someone doesn't want to share all their secrets, etc., but if you're going to give advice...make sure it is good!
