RAW or JPEG?

When I got my DSLR, I was faced with the same dilemma many new owners of cameras capable of switching between formats have encountered... should I shoot RAW or JPEG?

I will not explain what RAW or JPEG is since the web is already awash with information on the topic and there's really nothing new that I can add. Just go ahead and Google it. But I want to share my solution to the question. After a few months of playing around I decided to use both formats depending on the shooting situation.


I RESERVE SHOOTING RAW...
For photowalks or portraiture. To put it another way, I shoot RAW when I intend to use the images for my portfolio or if I shoot for someone else. I tend to shoot slower when I'm on RAW not because I'm worried about card space but because of the extra time I'm going to spend on post-processing. On a 2-hour photowalk, I would probably shoot about 60 and end up using maybe 10 or less. On a 30 minute portrait session, I'd probably shoot 30 to 40 and whittle it down to about 10 favorites or less. I only start post-processing when I've narrowed down the number of images to a great degree.

I SHOOT JPEG...
Mostly when I go to family or friends' events. I tend to shoot a lot and not worry too much about composition or white balance, etc... When I shoot JPEG, I hardly go Manual. Most of the time I'm either on Aperture or Shutter priority depending on what I'm trying to capture. Post processing is almost always done  globally and I don't spend as much time as I would with RAW images. The occasional tree growing out of someone's head is acceptable, maybe even fun to leave it in. I average about 300 to 400 exposures on a 4-hour event and end up sharing about 150. Probably still way too low compared to others, but hey, I'm part of the family or a guest and I'd like to enjoy the party too!