julesannb

Thank you Jules.

julesannb

R.G. Thank you. Your answer about “circumstances” makes a lot of sense. I once stopped on the side of the road to check a tire and I looked down this driveway and was drawn to the quiet beauty of the green grass and trees. Summer in Florida! But later, when looking at the JPEG image in Google Photos, I wasn’t seeing the greens as vivid as I had remembered seeing them. So I boosted the color saturation. I was going to post the photo but haven’t yet figured out how to do that in the reply area.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

Post processing on a PC is a 'new' thing in photography - you used to either send off your images to be printed, and learned that Kodak gave great colours red and yellow or Fugi gave better greens and blues...or learned how to use a dark room and could alter your images. The vast majority of people simply put their film in the post. Altering images was for the few who were 'serious' photographers.

Adobe Photoshop allowed journalists to send their scanned images to the publisher to meet deadlines - it was a very expensive program but it allowed a lot of snap happy people to get pictures of people in a 'certain' pose if they wished. It also allowed them to play with the background and 'improve' ladies looks. It opened up photography for the 'serious' photographer and the richer amateurs.

Digital gave the great unwashed the same 'ability'. The internet will show you 'how to' create an image - with or without a camera.....

And there lies the rub....Publishers and art houses had standards (as such) The images they wanted had to abide by their rules. They had to be able to by cropped around the printed article or showed a 'Political' person in a good or bad light. They followed trends such as advertising train trips to the sea-side or mountains. You trained as a photograher....and pretty much produced what you were told.

A basic digital camera far outshines the professional cameras of the past.....! at a fraction of the cost in real terms. Today newspapers and the TV publish cell phone coverage of events..much of TV documentaries are 'filmed' using a medium priced digital camera.
There are several million images posted daily......So you will now see a huge variety of photographs as well as a huge amount that you do not think are particularly well made.

People of all ages 'think' that they can interpret the post processing visually....usually to how they 'like' it. Where once you would study a certain Genre and how others did it successfully - now you just post it and see how many 'likes' you get.

It is called either progress or the destruction of 'values'.

Conversely it allows Joe Public to become more artistic....There are some incredible images out there. You can now afford to 'take' a thousand images on the off chance that ONE will come out fantastic. You can take your snap shot and recreate it in as many ways as your imagination will lead you. There is greater interest in 'taking photo's' and money to be made teaching or blogging.

Photography has moved from the rich and famous, The trained Photographer, the nerdy amateur, to the 'everyday'. Better than a diary.....we have facebook.

As a beginner - where do you want to take your camera and how do you want to view and document your world.

Have fun

srt101fan

No, Linda, I don't think they are exaggerated colors (in a negative sense). I see it as an abstract in which the bold colors are the subject. To me that's different from taking a landscape and cranking up the colors just because that's the current style. I was going to post an example but the discussion here has taken a new turn and I think it's time for me to step aside!

bleirer

When you start this or that-ing it turns out that there is no such thing as straight out of the camera. Even a jpeg with the camera set to standard or neutral applies a curve and a variety of settings and sharpening to the Image. We are just not privy or in control of the process. Really the closest you could get to sooc would be to shoot raw and hit the reset button in Lightroom with the curve set to linear, white balance to as shot and the profile to camera standard, and all the sliders at zero. No one would call that a pretty picture. From there it becomes an artistic decision of how far to push the limits for it to match your personal vision.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

The simple answer, because they can.
Personally, I wouldn't say the "exaggerated colors" issue is as prevalent as the OP may believe it is. Sure, I've seen lots of images that are more vivid than one would have expected but for the most part it is the exception and not the rule. I feel that lots of people make adjustments to make their photos look like they were shot with ideal lighting and atmospheric conditions. Plus, one must keep in mind that not every eye sees exactly as every other. There will always be minor variations to contend with.
Also, as I mentioned in my earlier response, I adjusted the colors because that's what the recipients wanted.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Straight out of the camera is pretty straight forward. It means what it implies. As the image appears straight from the camera, no post processing done. What goes on inside the camera is irrelevant because it is going on in the camera. Sure, people adjust the in camera parameters all the time to fine tune their images to their liking. But as far as straight out of the camera goes, those adjustments are irrelevant because they are applied at the time the image is recorded by the camera. You can use factory default settings and get quite acceptable images, or you can tweak the camera to your own personal preference, but , if not processing is done outside the camera, the images are straight out of the camera.
As far as your description of SOOC, how do Lightroom settings, a post processing program, at all apply to Straight Out Of the Camera?!

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

So if I set the camera to do a lot of what I might do in post, the result is SOOC?
Cool!

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Yes indeed it is, because you told the camera what you want it to do. The more control you have over the camera, the better.
Besides, these machines are our servants and they need us to tell them how to serve us. The more work you can have the camera do, the more time you have to use the camera.

10MPlayer Loc: California

The Bing browser puts up an interesting image on their home page every day. Today's looked overcooked a bit to me but I liked it anyway. This is a thumbnail but the original one is stunning.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The grass is always greener when captured with a mirrorless camera.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Sure it's not Astro Turf?

cameranut Loc: North Carolina

I hear you loud and clear. I also prefer a more natural, realistic looking photo. Many will take a slow shutter speed photo of water to make it appear as milk flowing over rocks. I have yet to see that in nature, but to each his own. If, however, you are ever going to sell any prints, you will have to go with the masses or majority instead of what you like. Many photos can use a little help, however. Sometimes the conditions, lighting, etc. are not ideal and can benefit from some pp. I will often times sharpen a photo and reduce some highlights. Depending on the scene or subject, I will usually do some cropping. The operative word is "little". I try to be light handed. If my shots need more than that I will delete and start over.

bleirer

I recently asked a family member which version of an image I was working on they liked better. They kept asking me which one was the original. I couldn't answer, because they were both the original. Just different sliders, curves, levels, etc. What the sensor records isn't even an image until processing occurs. If in camera 'vivid' is sooc, can in camera 'neutral' also be sooc? My camera has in camera processing if I shoot raw so I could pick any or make up a user defined set of adjustments. Are they all sooc, or none? Or is there no such thing?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I suppose if you made the slider adjustments after the camera took the image, it's not SOOC.
But having the camera do the slider adjustments when it captured the image is SOOC?
(I don't do SOOC......)