Understanding Exposure Part IV: Is Shooting Flat Better? | Master Your Craft

[@louisburley1597]

I wish I could show Pye photos from my most recent shoot after doing this from the last video. It is absolutely unreal how much better my photographs are. As a hobbyist this is huge because now I feel like I've made progress in the direction of becoming a professional. Thank you Pye and Adorama for this aeries.

[@oluobasanu4299]

Please share your flat settings with me

[@boahandarrowsproductions4326]

Wow, that's great to hear. I'm about to give it a go after watching his other two videos on SLR Lounge. Good work.

[@MikeWeeks]

so I know that the monitor shows a preview JPEG and as you say that is an in camera conversion of the RAW using whatever profile chose - you say shooting flat will give a better final image but do not give an explanation for that

[@kevindahlen]

I think he means the camera screen and histogram are more accurate to the actual picture being taken. So you can shoot RAW with a true reference point. Later to be editied as would be your normal workflow. The preview image/histogram is less missleading.

[@francescotagarelli5377]

@@kevindahlen but in lightroom which color profile to use? Adobe standard, color, neutral?

[@seamusmcquaid1316]

Pye please do more of these type of videos explaining some of the fundamental aspects, I found them very helpful and love you communication style, natural and relaxed

[@bobsanghera1144]

Pye, You are awesome no BS just very good useful information

[@ba553y]

Wow! I've always wondered the importance of picture profile when I shoot raw. Then I also wonder about the difference with the image in post. This clears the air. Thanks Pye...again!!

[@francescotagarelli5377]

but in lightroom which color profile to use? Adobe standard, color, neutral?

[@JacopoDani]

I was starting to think that I was the only one doing this. And I feared it was also stupid and unnecessarily complex. Thank you! :)

[@Johnnyboy_584]

Great tip! Always learning a bunch in your videos.

[@pictureeyecandy]

So true when shooting RAW! Shotting RAW is the best way to go But certain shoot you need to shoot JPEG because you are handing off your images as fast as you can for publication so @Pye what is the best Picture Style for shooting in JPEG. When I shoot it's mostly RAW, Now when I shoot in B&W & RAW I bump up my contrast up to max so I can see about how my RAW file will look based on how I process the file.

[@eoslove2022]

What a revelation! Thank you for this!!!!!

[@oo0RECON0oo]

Instead of shooting flat and missing out on customized JPEG ‘s, why don’t you Calibrate an external incident metre to your camera and then take an incident reading and calibrate your camera to that meter reading? Then all of your camera Reflective readings are shifted to incident readings For proper exposure. This will give you proper exposure with JPEG’s and raw. My Z6 was one stop to dark from the factory

[@panh141298]

One big addition is that for mirrorless shooters, the jpeg preview IS your view, since the viewfinder is electronic. So this becomes almost necessary on those systems just for being able to see things you wouldn't with higher contrast profiles.

[@Moriningland]

That’s good to know

[@sfacchin]

What do you mean by shooting flat? I have a Canon and I'd like to setup a picture profile like you did at the video. Which parameters should I change? Thanks!

[@pattyhertogh9294]

Great info on shooting flat. Thanks for sharing!!

[@ravenchaos9216]

Dude, thank you so much. I'm very grateful I came across your series

[@asheeshkchopra]

Thanks Pye. I wish you could have gone in a little more detail on how to setup the perfect flat profile.

[@oluobasanu4299]

Hello Pye, you are doing a great job, mind sharing your flat setting with me.

[@angryoaf]

Love your videos. Your practical approach to sharing knowledge is so meaningful.

[@michaelbassett497]

Lovely video, thank you so much. Please do you use this same settings for your wedding pictures ???

[@billlafever6086]

Is there a way to title your new custom style to FLAT? I am using Canon 5D mark II and 6D mark II. Thanks for all your great tips.

[@francescotagarelli5377]

when i import my raw file to lightroom i see the color photo. How can I do to see it in neutral with your settings?

[@jtwolfstories]

Wow that makes so much sense. Great idea. I wonder if this is the case when tethering.

[@joem4866]

Wow! That was really great! I had absolutely no idea. What this tells me, besides the value of this video, is that you are even more of a fanatic than I. (LOL). I can't thank you enough for this video. It really made my day. I'll be changing the Picture Style in my Canon bodies ASAP. You have helped me advance in my "Never ending quest for knowledge".

[@wilbmoore]

Pye when you first introduced exposing to the left it made so much sense. My images are really popping now. And with the Modern presets from DVLOP it makes since to use a preset pretty much with a neutral flat image.

[@ghairobin]

Thank you, Pye Paahji. This is enlightening!

[@carmengalasso3918]

It sounds like what you are saying is that no matter how the profile is set, the RAW image will be the same when compared to each profile. Therefore, to make decisions at the time of shooting, what you view should be as close to the RAW image as possible. Is that correct?

[@adictcreativephotography5267]

Carmen Galasso Yes, it’s all for guide purposes. And if it helps, in camera flat shooting also helps with the shadows as you do not add any contrast to the reference image on the back of your camera. Some folks still think that the histogram and image they see on the back of the camera is an actual RAW file.

[@francescotagarelli5377]

@@adictcreativephotography5267 but in lightroom which color profile to use? Adobe standard, color, neutral?

[@dmphotography.prints]

Ty for the suggestion... I’m going to try this!

[@i18nGuy]

Great info. thanks.

[@TheTMONSTAH]

Wow!! Lightbulb 💡 👏🏼😊 Thank you!!!’n

[@ricktwice2205]

Thankyou Pie!

[@andrejgelenberg6340]

Damn amazing tip. I already came to the point of shooting B/W mode, but the didn't think about turning contrast down to have a better overexposure view.

[@kamanemuse709]

Thank you for the video. Your explanations are great and easy to understand.

[@simonhill7121]

Pye, I have one question. If I shoot raw, I get it that the picture profile is applied after I take the shot and view it on the camera. Are you saying that if I use live view (and I am shooting mirrorless) that the profile is used before I take the shot, and that the histogram is not right?

[@Reddepex]

In a Fuji camera there is an option " Natural Live View", which, as I understand, mimics the "raw exposure".

[@filmicowls129]

What about..Exposure meters spot avg center metering etc

[@moidutoiphotography8427]

Genius!

[@chuckdevlin6143]

I shoot RAW. I use to shoot Flat, then changed to Standard. I like the initial image in both camera and Lightroom with Standard as opposed to Flat. I like my starting point in Lightroom editing with Standard. If you disagree with me please respond why. Thanks.

[@nobody6056]

Shoot "flat" in camera to ensure the best exposure detail. Set LR to automatically apply the "Standard" profile on import. It only takes a minute to set LR to do this, and you get the best of both worlds.

[@noyb154]

I hope Canon is watching.

[@wildbill4680]

Great explanation. 👍

[@petegerardini2455]

So this then begs the question, how would one get a histogram & blinkies of the RAW data not of the processed jpeg?

[@nobody6056]

You can’t. That’s why the picture profile needs to be “flat”. Raw data isn’t a picture, it’s data that must be decoded into an image from which histograms are computed, either within camera or by a raw converter (ACR ect). If you shoot raw, all histograms, all “blinkies”, all zebra strips in camera or on a computer screen are computed from a decoded raw file, no exceptions. So it follows that, if you use the in camera histogram to judge exposure, you don’t want the histogram to be based on a tweaked image; “no tweaking!”, you literally want that curve we so love to adjust in post to an “S” shape, to be “flat” in camera. Think of it this way, the purpose of a histogram in camera is to achieve the the maximum possible dynamic range by nailing our exposure. The purpose of a histogram in post however, is to alter the mapping of each pixels brightness to achieve the look you want. Two completely different uses for the histogram. Sorry for the verbose response...

[@Bad_Wolf_Media]

I use the Cinestyle profile from Technicolor to get a flat image in camera, and then I've configured a preset in my editor (for me, I use Corel's Aftershot Pro 3) to emulate that Cinestyle look. I apply that as a first step in my processing flow so that i'm starting from that flat look and then I can adjust from there. It's not flawless, but it works more often than not.

[@sexysilversurfer]

Shooting like how Pye says is dependent on having a good RAW converter, however not everyone uses LR or Capture 1. Anyone else should be more conservative to protect the highlights if that’s what you want.