You’ve likely heard a million times that you should forget about Jpegs and always shoot in the Raw file format. But is this really true? According to this tutorial from the Photography Explained YouTube channel, the answer isn’t is clear or definitive as you’ve been led to believe.

This quick tutorial from an unnamed British photographer discusses what he says is “the truth about Raw vs. Jpeg that no one talks about.” He says that after checking with pros in his orbit and conducting numerous experiments himself he’s comes to a few conclusions about this ongoing debate.

Today’s primer is geared toward amateur shooters so they can understand which format to use when. The ultimate choice is determined by your post-processing skills, the types of photos you shoot, and how you intend to display or share them. By understanding these variables you may decide that Jpeg photography is just fine for your specific needs.

In basic terms, “a Raw file is the unprocessed data captured by your camera’s sensor.” In other words, it’s like the equivalent of a film negative that hasn’t been manipulated in the darkroom. This means you have to jump through a few processing hoops with a Raw converter to achieve the exact look you desire.

A Jpeg image to the contrary is compressed sharpened, manipulated, and color-balanced so it can be shared or viewed straight out of the camera. These files can be further enhanced with simple adjustments in Lightroom, Photoshop, or whatever other post-processing software you use.

Here’s an interesting analogy: “Think of a Jpeg image as a ready-made meal that’s been prepared for you, while a Raw file contains all the ingredients that are waiting for you to put them together to create a custom dish.” So if Jpegs are so easy to deal with, what’s the point of shooting in Raw?

You’ll learn the answer to this common question in the next 10 minutes. Then you can decide which format works best for you under specific circumstances and conditions. Once the video concludes take a look at the Photography Explained YouTube channel for more quick advice on common photography concepts.

We also suggest watching the tutorial we shared recently from another popular instructor who demonstrates how to master color selection creatively by isolating and transforming the tones in your photographs.

We’ve all seen amazing photos of nature reflected by a single raindrop, and today you’re learn how easy it is to make attention-grabbing images like the one you see above. It’s all about understanding why raindrops are “natures miniature lenses” and the simple technique for leveraging their magic.

Instructor Polak puts it like this: “Raindrops aren’t just water, they are tiny lenses into another word.” Today she demonstrates how these oft-ignored little miracles of nature can transform your outdoor photography by turning  a simple scene into an unexpected masterpiece.

Polak is a highly acclaimed impressionist photographer based in New Zealand whose unique tutorials will guide you through capturing the beauty of fleeting moments “where every frame tells a story.” In this quick episode you’ll learn how to photograph raindrops while uncovering hidden details, vibrant textures and other compelling close-up elements.

Raindrops also provide a great opportunity for capturing mesmerizing refraction and inverted- reflection effects that excite the imagination, and Polak explains everything you need to know in barely eight minutes. It’s easier to grasp the essence of this concept by thinking of these tiny water globes as near-spherical lenses with very short focal lengths.

This unique optical property either magnifies the scene behind them or condenses and inverts a raindrop “just like a miniature fisheye lens for a surreal and unexpected perspective.” Polak also demonstrates how to take advantage of the fact that a raindrop bends the light as it passes through.

Do it right and the reflected image will be crystal clear and brilliantly sharp—offering a microscopic view into the leaf texture that lays below. It’s important to experiment with different angles relative to the sun and the vantage point (high or low) from which you shoot. Polak provides stunning examples of how a quick shift  in perspective can make a big difference in your results.

There are a few more things to consider for taking advantage of this awe-inspiring subset of macro photography, one of which is that the reflections you see don’t actually form within the raindrop, but rather just in front of it, and how this affects the manner in which you proceed.

Once you get the hang of this, and it doesn’t take long, your repertoire will expand just like the elements in the raindrops you shoot. Polak’s popular YouTube channel features many more instructional videos for stepping outside the box.

We also recommend watching the earlier tutorial we featured, demonstrates six game-changing techniques from an accomplished British pro for capturing outstanding nature and landscape photos in the camera.