JPGs out of the camera are simply RAW files that have been processed according to the algorithms based on the camera's engineers and adjusted to the rules you apply with in-camera processing (Contrast, Sharpness, etc.)
JPGs out of the camera still have applications, but you must understand that they provide little opportunity for certain types of post-processing when it's needed.
As long as you understand your camera, and how it operates with regard to JPG processing, it can be perfectly appropriate to use in-camera JPG processing. It's just an option, not a dictate. RAW files are the same thing, just an option.
Life is better when we have options and when we use those options wisely.
Too true, Ziggy!
In my case, I feel like a bit of a PP holiday!:D
Also, I want the camera to do its thing and give me some surprises (other than the kind my incompetencies generate!)! The idea of "chance" (along with "choice", as you say) is stimulating!
JPGs out of the camera are simply RAW files that have been processed according to the algorithms based on the camera's engineers and adjusted to the rules you apply with in-camera processing (Contrast, Sharpness, etc.)
JPGs out of the camera still have applications, but you must understand that they provide little opportunity for certain types of post-processing when it's needed.
As long as you understand your camera, and how it operates with regard to JPG processing, it can be perfectly appropriate to use in-camera JPG processing. It's just an option, not a dictate. RAW files are the same thing, just an option.
Life is better when we have options and when we use those options wisely.
When you say it like that, Ziggy, it DOES help me realize part of the reason why I personally enjoy the challenge of SOOC shooting- As much as I can "muscle" an image in Lightroom, who am I do disqualify the hard work of innumerable Nikon engineers who probably have more PHD's and real-world experience than I could ever gain? Again, it comes back to the slide film analogy- You can play it safe and shoot a negative with tons of lattitude, or you can shoot Velvia, nail it, and have a gorgeous slideshow ready to go... I'm certainly NOT discounting the high-lattitude negative route, BTW. It has already been mentioned that many of Ansel Adam's negatives looked flat and boring, which was intentional. Sometimes, I love that. "The negative is the sheet music, the print is the performance" as Ansel used to say...
But sometimes, usually with people instead of landscapes, I *do* thoroughly enjoy the challenge of making an image look stunning without any editing whatsoever.
I guess I first caught on to this passion a few years back when I heard/saw so many wedding and portrait photographers who were using photoshop as a compensation for a lack of skill in posing, lighting, timing, or composition. (The four subjects of a lecture I sometimes give for photo groups) ...My realization was, that if a well-exposed image had those four things in it's favor, AND if you managed your in-camera settings even just a little, ...that your images SHOULD be able to impress without any "fixing". But, that's a whole different world from the Ansel Adams landscape world. Burning and dodging etc. is a way of life for certain types of photography. I only started practicing SOOC as proof to my fellow portrait / wedding shooters that you DIDN'T need to photoshop every single image for twenty minutes just to make it acceptable for the client to view.
Comments
Too true, Ziggy!
In my case, I feel like a bit of a PP holiday!:D
Also, I want the camera to do its thing and give me some surprises (other than the kind my incompetencies generate!)!
Neil
http://www.behance.net/brosepix
But sometimes, usually with people instead of landscapes, I *do* thoroughly enjoy the challenge of making an image look stunning without any editing whatsoever.
I guess I first caught on to this passion a few years back when I heard/saw so many wedding and portrait photographers who were using photoshop as a compensation for a lack of skill in posing, lighting, timing, or composition. (The four subjects of a lecture I sometimes give for photo groups) ...My realization was, that if a well-exposed image had those four things in it's favor, AND if you managed your in-camera settings even just a little, ...that your images SHOULD be able to impress without any "fixing". But, that's a whole different world from the Ansel Adams landscape world. Burning and dodging etc. is a way of life for certain types of photography. I only started practicing SOOC as proof to my fellow portrait / wedding shooters that you DIDN'T need to photoshop every single image for twenty minutes just to make it acceptable for the client to view.
=Matt=
My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum