leftj Loc: Texas

Yep. That's what I meant. Thanks for the correction.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

We would have to define "untouched product." Even with films we had different films from different manufacturers for different purposes. Kodak was different from Fujifilm. Back in the film days we photographers would ask each other, "What film did you use?"

leftj Loc: Texas

Don't think that's what the op meant.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

SOOC? Who cares?

Even if you intend to do extensive PP, you should be trying to get the best that can be gotten in the camera. Every photo that comes out of the camera has a SOOC moment, but it is just a point in the process. Some people choose to stop at SOOC, some do not.

Bill_de Loc: US

Any image we see has been processed either in the camera or out. RAW data does not show as an image.

Most (if not all) JPG's are processed in camera. Even if you don't make use of the in camera controls, it just means they are processed to the cameras default settings. Some cameras today allow for in camera RAW processing/adjustments.

The subject makes for an interesting discussion, especially for us retired folks with lots of free time on our hands. :)

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DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

SOOC is edited through the camera's settings. Usually, photo journalists, documentary photographers, and some sports photographers naturally shoot SOOC. People who make snapshots shoot SOOC. Then you have the advanced photographers who are software challenged or for some other reason shoot SOOC. It's all a choice and doesn't mean anything in the real world.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Yes, all of those camera presets are going to produce an SOOC image - but it may not be the same as "getting it right in the camera" which can easily mean something totally different.

The topic of getting it right means different things to different people. and is very subject-dependent. Under controlled lighting, there is no excuse for getting it perfect in the camera, with the exception of editing to smooth skin texture, deal with flaws, adding sharpening and more saturation and contrast to eyes and mouth, and dealing with flyaway hair. It looks very good SOOC, but will almost always require some editing.

For landscape, getting it right means getting all the data possible so that you can edit the image to your needs. It typically looks pretty awful SOOC, and will always require some adjustment to get the best out of the image. High contrast images and challenging lighting conditions, shooting wildlife, stage productions, etc will require cropping and tonal adjustment at the very least.

For journalists and other situations where only jpegs are accepted, there is no choice but to shoot jpeg and provide SOOC images - it is required by the client.

I never post anything that is SOOC. Ever.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Where one draws the line!

There was once a style of "art photography" training that insisted students grind out the edges of their enlargers' negative carriers, so you could print full frame and PROVE that you composed the image in the viewfinder, including everything you wanted the viewer to see. The idea was to make a straight print, relying solely on your skills at the camera to create the image.

I always thought that was a load of fertilizer... It introduced flare from the light flooding around the exposed area through the clear film base!

Here's how I see it. If you "get it right" at the camera, it is correctly exposed for the scene, the white balance is perfect, the framing is close to what you intended, and any special effects the camera processes for you are to your creative satisfaction. AND, it was conceived to be a JPEG, even if you recorded a raw file.

Whether I work in raw or JPEG mode, I tend to work the same way, if the environment allows. That minimizes my post-processing efforts for raw files, and gives me JPEGs I can use immediately when the situation calls for it.

As in so much of photography, workflows are highly personal (or institutionalized, as in the mass portrait industry). So make up your own definition of SOOC as it works for you!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

You can't print a raw file. You can print the unmodified jpeg preview of a raw file.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

In my opinion... SOOC straight use is for some professionals* or for ninnies who do not understand what they can do to enhance their captures using simple manipulations.

Just my opinion of course. After all why lose time in PP to achieve the full potential of an image in order to make it a photograph? SOOC capture is only part of a process to create a photograph, even if you shoot with the antiquated JPG file format.

SOOC equates with GES in my opinion - again -.

As to 'This guy did that' or 'this other guy did no do it'... Really? SOOC existed only when using slides films and Polaroids once upon a time but then again, when a slide was used to create prints the SOOC 'part' went out of the window.

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* Or, sadly, a requirement by some agencies, same a JPG format use.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

No it isn't.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

Sonetimes it helps a readers learning to know the basic camera settings used for an image. Camera make and lens specs are less important, except for the owners of such pairs. It would seem to me that the two most difficult items would be camera selection of White Balance and ISO. Each camera's internal software makes those choices based on sensor data and could well be different between camera makers.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

According to Canon you can print a raw file by connecting the camera directly to a Canon printer, clearly the raw file is transformed into a bit map that is processed by the printer, but it doesn't have to be a JPEG, at least as far as Canon is concerned.

bennydnut Loc: Phila, Pa.

Ditto here, even with DSLR (D7200 & D750, Nikon 28-300 f3.8), try to make all pictures counts, and do as little PP as possible; using in camera meter, gray card and compost carefully! Don't want to spent weeks at the PP after my vacations which average between 2,000 to 3,000 shots each, my keeping rate usually at 80 to 90 percents.