Using Your Camera's Pointless Features To Get The Most Out Of Your Shots

Using Your Camera's Pointless Features To Get The Most Out Of Your Shots

With modern technology within Adobe Camera Raw, you're limiting yourself considerably when shooting in JPEG. However, by shooting in Raw, you're removing the purpose of many of the features within the camera. Settings such as 'Picture Style' serve no real purpose when shooting in Raw, because all the adjustments added to photos, will be stripped when put on your computer. Regardless, I shoot in monochromatic, and it has helped my work considerably.

 

Why?

When someone grabs my camera and see that my screen is black and white, many people look at me puzzled, and ask why. The idea is simple, I want to see the details on the contrast, not the colors. Nearly all of my work is in color, and with a lot of color. I've built my portfolio with a bit of a commercial flare, and I make use a lot of bold color palettes to help build my brand. So for that reason alone, the last thing I want to see while looking through my photos is the distractions in the colors.

Website-Color-Comparison

When shooting in monochromatic, I find myself looking more are my subjects expressions, the detail within the contrast, and the overall composition of the image. I do this, because it's the practices I most often neglect when culling through my images. Any color issues I have on the image, I can discover later and fix if need be, because I'm good with color.

Camera-Color-BlackWhte-Comparison

Paired with the Rate Button on most modern cameras, I'm able to go through the images while they're in black and white, and rate my favorites based on contrast and composition, not on vibrant colors. Upon loading them on my computer, they're magically color again, so I can re-investigate how they look with the color properties added.

How?

Setting this up on your camera is pretty painless. On Canon cameras, the setting is called Picture Style, on Nikon is called Picture Control. Each of these are usually programmed onto a button, or can be found in the menu system of the camera.

Picture-Style-Canon

Give it a try and see if it works for you. Sometimes, doing a simple change in your shooting process can slow you down and help you take better photos.

Zach Sutton's picture

Zach Sutton is an award-winning and internationally published commercial and headshot photographer based out of Los Angeles, CA. His work highlights environmental portraiture, blending landscapes and scenes with portrait photography. Zach writes for various publications on the topic of photography and retouching.

Log in or register to post comments
75 Comments
Previous comments

i always do this.. except on my rx1 *glares at sony*

A two edged sword.
On the one hand the editor has a point in what he states ... on the other hand a good image is based on either matching colors or color in stark contrast to each other. With the naked eye it's sometimes difficult to judge the true nature of colors while on the display it's obvious.

You must consider the point of shooting in RAW. That considered color is not an issue...

That's a great idea, sure i will try it. But i shoot RAW/ card 1+ JPEG/card 2 just for back-up and that seems to be a little problem because all my back-up could be in BW.

This is a great idea, definitely open to trying it.

If Color is not an important part of your composition shoot black and white to begin with. To many of my jobs are depend on color to chance it to black & White. I will shoot in B&W when I have planned my photos to be seen this way. I try to set my picture style to as accurately as I plan to have the final product. I recently did a food photography job on My D800E shooting RAW to the CF card and Jpeg Small to the SD and the Jpegs SOOC blew my client away. I did polish my RAW files every so slightly and retouched the images, but the Jpegs alone spoke for themselves. Since I used an Eye-Fi card. I was able to post some of the images to FB and IG before leaving the job. I would not have been able to do this if I had been shooting B&W jpegs.

This is an incredible idea! It will force me to pay more attention to the lighting which is what I have been working on.

...

I never thought of this. This is a really good idea.

Nice article, I do wish you had went through more features than just the monochromatic picture style though. Perhaps this could evolve into a series? :)

Another thing to know with some 'useless JPEG only features' is that they work with video. For example, on any Sony Alpha/NEX/A7 Dynamic Range Optimization (DRO) works with video, and this is very good at preventing macro blocking because it lifts your blacks (and is cheaper than using a Tiffen low contrast or ultra-contrast filter to do much the same). As most camera's version of this is actually the same thing (Apical Iridix), it will probably work with other camera makes as well.

... people dont already do this normally?

You made me think. Although I haven't tried this one.

Anyway correct me if I'm wrong, from what you said you can shoot in monochromatic while still shooting RAW? right?

I'm also distracted with colors most of the time and can't actually see the other details and contrast of my work until its being pointed out to me. So I guess this is a nice trick, specially in shooting fashion and portraiture.

Yes Hazel the RAW image always contains all the color information. The jpeg is produced in-camera according to whatever settings you choose -- b&w, pinhole, etc from your "art" choices or whatever your camera calls them. When you shoot RAW+jpeg you have both to work with. You'll still have the freedom of RAW to do what you want later on, and the convenience of jpeg to show your client, upload immediately to social media, etc.

A very interesting idea, however, the fact that your RAW files are stripped of the Picture Profile settings is NOT ENTIRELY TRUE. I shoot Nikon and when I do choose to shoot RAW ( usually for landscapes or shots when I need a higher dynamic range ), I always shoot in RAW + Jpg mode. After a shoot, I ALWAYS open my RAW files in Capture NX instead of Camera RAW ( either PS or LR ) exactly because Nikon's software KEEPS my in camera settings untouched for the RAW files. Of course you can manipulate with them, you can discard them if you want, but I always found that starting to work on a RAW file from the in-camera settings, it gives me better results almost every time compared to starting working in ACR hence loosing any Picture settings. No matter how hard I try in ACR, I can almost never replicate the colors and overall tonal settings of what I can get from within the camera. So I open up RAWs inside CNX - and usually what I always need to do with RAWs is increase the dynamic range, change the WB or simply change the exposure of a shot - things that are of course a lot better to handle in RAW format - after I work with RAW specific stuff, I save the file as a TIFF file and get it into PS for regular work.

Regarding this method, while I do find it interesting, I don't think color is distracting too much for me at least. As a wedding photographer, I always love shooting against the light, with shallow DOF and in a lot of these situations, the colors take some interesting tones, I constantly do test shots and this way I can just figure out what I really need and what can be obtained from that angle/situation. I don't think I could get used to seeing everything in BW but it's something I will be trying for sure just for the fun of it :)

Wow, thanks for sharing!

I shoot this way quite often to remove the "distraction" of colour. I get a lot of strange responses from photographers and subjects.. One man asked to get his picture taken, after I took it he asked if he could see it. When I showed him and he saw it was in B+W on the screen he commented on the lack of colour shrugged and left.. Very weird.

The other thing I have noticed doing this is that on occasion I'll flip between RAW and Jpeg (I only have a SLR's and sometimes RAW really isn't needed for snap shots) Then I'll forget my Camera is shooting Jpeg, go and shoot some stuff in B+W only to find its locked as Jpeg forever... Its crushed my soul a few times. I have also shot some awesome colour photos only to find out later they are Jpegs, Bummer.. haha.

I only shoot tethered.

i have been unhappy with the difference from what you get from the playback on the back of camera (nikon d700/800's) to what you start out with before editing on a computer.

I've tried to play around with the contrast and other features on the playback to get it closer to what will actually be what i start out with once i load them to my computer. i still havent found the setting im looking for. has anyone found any settings that get it close?

You know a lot of people do this in Photoshop so as not to be fooled by colors/saturation. However, this is something I would have never thought to do as I'm taking the actual pictures. Good article!

I did this today at a shoot for an author client's book jacket, which will be printed in b&w. I used an eye-fi card and sent only the jpeg's to my iPad for us to consult during and after the shoot. She was able to really visualize the final shot, and I was able to concentrate on the lighting without being distracted by colors that won't be in the final image anyway.

I'm using 7-2-1-1 at canon but it changes with sunlight. At summers I'm reducing contrast a little bit and at winters I'm increasing contrast and color a bit :)

I've been doing this on and off for a while, it's good to see it brought to light on this site.

This is indeed a great idea. I have done this for the past year and a half and the results have been awesome (I shoot mostly black and white though). I combine this with the live histogram and it gives me great results.

I've been doing this for awhile. My second shooter is also a big fan. I guess the secrets out :)