Picture Styles which do you use and why?

[Carl in Louisiana]

Well I just wanted to see what most folks are letting the camera do and how much you are doing in PP.

The settings in camera I am referring to are the Standard, Landscape, Neutral, ect and under each setting the sharpness, contrast, saturation, color tone is set to different levels. Faithful, is the one I use, has no settings and I assume that means all the PP is done on the PC/Mac.

Which do you use and why?

Thanks in advance!
Carl

[Boatman]

I shoot exclusively in RAW format and allow my camera to do nothing but capture the image. All enhancement is done in post and I have no rules for how much or how little. Whatever it takes to get the image right to my preference.

[Manfred M]

I always shoot jpeg + RAW. For casual shooting I dump the images right out of raw onto a non-photo website and only go through the PP steps for for those few percent of images that are worthy of the extra effort using the RAW captures.

I don't always have a laptop with PP software on it for uploads, so "getting it right" in the camera works fine for me for the images I post for friends and family.

[Geoff F]

Exactly the same as Homer. On the rare occasions when I shoot Jpeg I turn off all the 'enhancements'.

These auto default camera settings are fine when you are first starting out with photography and lack experience but I would recommend moving away from them as soon as you are able.

[tclune]

The settings in camera I am referring to are the Standard, Landscape, Neutral, ect and under each setting the sharpness, contrast, saturation, color tone is set to different levels. Faithful, is the one I use, has no settings and I assume that means all the PP is done on the PC/Mac.

"Faithful?" What a charming notion! I rather expect that it does as much processing as any other setting, though. Sand doesn't have a well-developed sense of fidelity to much of anything AFAICS.

[RustBeltRaw]

I rather expect that it does as much processing as any other setting, though.

Might want to compare a JPEG taken on Faithful to a RAW before you get too far into that comparison. The Faithful settings generally produces color results closest to the matching RAW file (note that bit depth is reduced, but gamut is not).

On the rare instances where I use JPEGs, I keep the camera on Faithful with Strong noise reduction. I find that the camera's built-in noise reduction is quite good, easily comparable to ACR. But no JPEG color setting works best for all situations. Some photos look best with additional saturation, some prefer B&W. I haven't done a rigorous study, but Faithful probably reduces one's chances of blowing individual color channels. If I was posting straight from my camera, I'd probably jimmy the settings to get a more or less saturated image depending on the subject.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Carl,

Are you a Nikon shooter? (I am)
Do you shoot RAW? (I do)
What software do you use to PP? (I use ACR in CS5/6 and very occasionally ViewNX from Nikon)

Your answers to these will allow a more meaningful answer to your question, otherwise we're just guessing - and what we do may not be relevant (at all) to what you do.

Best regards,

[dje]

Carl as others have said, if you shoot RAW the camera settings you mention don't affect the RAW image. However when shooting RAW, the camera also produces a jpeg for in-camera preview and also for embedding in the RAW file. These Picture settings do affect this preview jpeg and also the histogram displayed in-camera. It was pointed out to me in a previous thread that this can lead to inaccurate highlight clipping info in-camera (including where the "blinkies" appear). In particular, for the more marginal cases, the camera can display clipping but when the raw file is processed it does not. After a couple of simple tests with my Canon 600D (T3i), I found that I got the most reliable higlight clipping indication in-camera with a neutral picture setting but with Contrast set to -4.

Dave

[Vrgl]

Welll-- I shoot in RAW, aperture priority, set my WB, use lowest ISO possible 98% of the time with the effort of not having to do much PP ( try to get it correct in the camera) but am striving to shoot in manual more. The software I use is Aperature 3.-mary

[Carl in Louisiana]

Hi Carl,

Are you a Nikon shooter? (I am)
Do you shoot RAW? (I do)
What software do you use to PP? (I use ACR in CS5/6 and very occasionally ViewNX from Nikon)

Your answers to these will allow a more meaningful answer to your question, otherwise we're just guessing - and what we do may not be relevant (at all) to what you do.

Best regards,

Hey Dave,
1. Canon
2. RAW
3.LR4
Thanks

[xpatUSA]

Well I just wanted to see what most folks are letting the camera do and how much you are doing in PP.

Which do you use and why?

Carl

Sigma SD9 & SD10 can only shoot RAW and have no scene modes at all

I shoot in full manual and ISO 100 whenever possible. Over 200 I don't take the shot.

The Panasonic is my point-and-shoot. Modes are set to as neutral as possible - sharpening to -2 (minimum) - and I use the EVF which has a live histogram and aperture priority. Lenses are image stabilized which helps.

[allenlennon]

carl, i shoot raw, camera set to neutral, and mostly manual all the way. Sometimes aperture mode when i cant be bothered setting every thing. I use PP CS5 for my editing. As for editing my photos, it depends on what i wanted to do, but alot of time i just edit in camera raw through CS5 changing the exposure, contrast, clarity(i love my clarity in alot of my photos), use local adjustment brush. And also some spot healing/cloning of the image.

[William W]

Well I just wanted to see what most folks are letting the camera do and how much you are doing in PP.
The settings in camera I am referring to are the Standard, Landscape, Neutral, ect and under each setting the sharpness, contrast, saturation, color tone is set to different levels. Faithful, is the one I use, has no settings and I assume that means all the PP is done on the PC/Mac.
Which do you use and why?

The Canon nomenclature for this function in later model EOS DSLRs is: “Picture Style”

Picture Style (as already mentioned, 'dje') affect ONLY the JPEG FILE - AND - the file's preview and data, as seen in the camera's LCD. These two facts are important, especially if one places decision making emphasis on the Histogram, Blinkies or LCD preview -

As Dave Ellis (correctly) and articulately notes:
even IF you are ONLY shooting raw, the choice of Picture Style may indeed affect your photography.

Each Picture Style can be CUSTOMIZED by the user: i.e. the user can change ‘Sharpness’; ‘Contrast’; ‘Color Saturation’ and ‘Color Tone’.

“Faithful” does have one FUNCTIONALITY, which as I understand CANNOT be changed in CUSTOMIZATION, by the user. This non-changeable function is related the colour temperature of the scene and the subsequent JPEG as produced by the camera. The comments above by Lex, 'RustBeltRaw', also allude to this non changeable functionality of Picture Style, "Faithful".

As Lex mentions / implies, this NON CHANEGABLE functionality of "Faithful" is quite useful / important: especially if one makes use of and places a lot of credence in the Image Preview Functions (Image and Histogram) when using Canon DLSRs, even if one is only shooting raw.


*


Faithful is the Picture Style you use:

The “Faithful” default settings is: ‘Sharpness’; ‘Contrast’; ‘Color Saturation’ and ‘Color Tone’ to the ‘0’ (zero) position. This is the same as Picture Style “Neutral” – but ‘Neutral’ does not have the Colour Temperature attribute which “Faithfull” does have and which I briefly mentioned above.

YES the camera is still processing the JPEG image (and previews) even though the ‘settings’ are in the zero position.

*

What do I use and why?

I use Canon DSLRs and capture ‘raw + JPEG(L)’. Because sometimes I use the JPEG image with minimal Post Production, I set the Picture Style to suit the JPEG output that I require. I have made several (arduous) tests and I now have a set of general lighting scenarios which will then determine what Picture Style I will choose to use.

*

Hey Dave,
1. Canon
2. RAW
3.LR4

If this answer means that you shoot raw ONLY: then, it is reasonable just to leave the “Picture Style” set to 'Faithful', if you are happy with the preview information it is providing you and don’t concern yourself any further about it.

However: I'll reiterate that these Picture Style Functions should not just be dismissed as functions for the beginner only.

I would, caution you about dismissing them and moving on without understanding what they actually do and how they might affect your Photography.

Especially understanding Picture Styles is important, if you use the Camera's previews functions to assist you to make technical appraisals and choices: as one example - using the Blinkies or the Histogram information, to subsequently Chimp.

WW

[Donald]

Just a passing comment (given that the responses above are excellent and provide all the information you need in order to think about what you want/need to do). Given that I shoot almost exclusively for B & W, I have the 'Picture Style' on my Canon set to 'Monochrome'. That then gives me a B & W view on the back screen that I can check to see if my 'vision' before firing the shutter was in the right ballpark or, indeed, gives me a B & W view using the screen (Liveview) whilst composing the image.

I shoot exclusively in RAW and when I load up the file from the card the colour information is still all there. I get rid of that when I put the file into Nik's Silver Efex Pro 2 for the B & W conversion. But, of course, it stays there in the RAW file.

When I very occasionally dip my toe into the world of making a colour image, I change to 'Faithful'. I find the discipline of actually switching from Mono to Faithful and back helps me get into the right mental frame of mind in terms of knowing I am shooting to make a colour image or a B & W image. I suppose it's a throwback to knowing I've either got colour or B & W film in the old Canon AV1.

I ignore all the other in-camera settings such as WB, sharpening etc etc, because I am shooting RAW.

[William W]

. . . I shoot almost exclusively for B & W, I have the 'Picture Style' on my Canon set to 'Monochrome'. That then gives me a B & W view on the back screen . . . [etc, goes on to explain functionality and uses]

Hi,

You've made your methodology known before.

I have thought previously to ask, but for one reason or another it has escaped me, so I'll ask now:

Do you use the Monochrome Filters.

If 'yes', why and how?

Thanks,

Bill

[Donald]

Do you use the Monochrome Filters.

If 'yes', why and how?

Bill

No I don't.

Why not?

I suppose I'm thinking that what I want to see at the time of shooting is, as I wrote above, that I'm in the right ballpark so far as my judgement on tonal range/variation is concerned. I like to think I'm pretty good at 'seeing' that tonal range/variation (the 'seeing in B & W' thing) by looking at the scene in front of me, but I use the back screen as a 'comfort blanket' to counter my own insecurities about my judgement.

I find/feel I don't need to introduce any of the in-camera filter effects into what I see on the back screen to help me. I think I have a reasonably sound ability to envisage (again that 'seeing' thing) what the application of red, yellow, etc filter effect in post processing will achieve and have an idea of whether I will want to use that when I get to the PP stage.

[William W]

OK.

Understood: completely.

Thank you.

Bill

[Carl in Louisiana]

The Canon nomenclature for this function in later model EOS DSLRs is: “Picture Style”

Picture Style (as already mentioned, 'dje') affect ONLY the JPEG FILE - AND - the file's preview and data, as seen in the camera's LCD. These two facts are important, especially if one places decision making emphasis on the Histogram, Blinkies or LCD preview -

As Dave Ellis (correctly) and articulately notes:
even IF you are ONLY shooting raw, the choice of Picture Style may indeed affect your photography.

Each Picture Style can be CUSTOMIZED by the user: i.e. the user can change ‘Sharpness’; ‘Contrast’; ‘Color Saturation’ and ‘Color Tone’.

“Faithful” does have one FUNCTIONALITY, which as I understand CANNOT be changed in CUSTOMIZATION, by the user. This non-changeable function is related the colour temperature of the scene and the subsequent JPEG as produced by the camera. The comments above by Lex, 'RustBeltRaw', also allude to this non changeable functionality of Picture Style, "Faithful".

As Lex mentions / implies, this NON CHANEGABLE functionality of "Faithful" is quite useful / important: especially if one makes use of and places a lot of credence in the Image Preview Functions (Image and Histogram) when using Canon DLSRs, even if one is only shooting raw.


*


Faithful is the Picture Style you use:

The “Faithful” default settings is: ‘Sharpness’; ‘Contrast’; ‘Color Saturation’ and ‘Color Tone’ to the ‘0’ (zero) position. This is the same as Picture Style “Neutral” – but ‘Neutral’ does not have the Colour Temperature attribute which “Faithfull” does have and which I briefly mentioned above.

YES the camera is still processing the JPEG image (and previews) even though the ‘settings’ are in the zero position.

*

What do I use and why?

I use Canon DSLRs and capture ‘raw + JPEG(L)’. Because sometimes I use the JPEG image with minimal Post Production, I set the Picture Style to suit the JPEG output that I require. I have made several (arduous) tests and I now have a set of general lighting scenarios which will then determine what Picture Style I will choose to use.

*



If this answer means that you shoot raw ONLY: then, it is reasonable just to leave the “Picture Style” set to 'Faithful', if you are happy with the preview information it is providing you and don’t concern yourself any further about it.

However: I'll reiterate that these Picture Style Functions should not just be dismissed as functions for the beginner only.

I would, caution you about dismissing them and moving on without understanding what they actually do and how they might affect your Photography.

Especially understanding Picture Styles is important, if you use the Camera's previews functions to assist you to make technical appraisals and choices: as one example - using the Blinkies or the Histogram information, to subsequently Chimp.

WW

Thanks Bill,

I need to look into each of these picture styles then and do some experimenting with each.

I do use the camera's previews-using Blinkies and the histogram info to Chimp. With that said which picture style would be the best?

I did use the wrong title to this thread and should have used "Picture Styles which do you use and why?" Maybe a moderator will change the title for me.

I have just started to using different picture styles and will now dig deeper into the uses of each. Thanks to everyone that has responded it has indeed been a learning experience.

[Donald]

I did use the wrong title to this thread and should have used "Picture Styles which do you use and why?" Maybe a moderator will change the title for me.

First and last (as above) post titles changed. All subsequent replies should pick up the new title.

[Mike Buckley]

I shoot RAW using a standard style but with the sharpening increased almost to the highest value that is allowed. That makes it easy to critique sharpness when blowing up the image to 100% in the camera's LCD. The first step in my post-processing is to eliminate that sharpening.