Sunday, October 04, 2020

The Camera Always Lies

In this post I attempt to write about how the camera sees differently than we do
 and sometimes over-dramatizes scenes. But my attempt to explain
it might be difficult for you and perhaps tedious.


I recall once upon a time, taking a landscape photo, looking at the camera screen, and thinking that what I saw on the screen wasn't quite what I was seeing with my eyes. I made adjustments to my settings, but the next result still wasn't quite right on. If memory serves, I made five different takes, and none were exactly what I saw. Not one.

That was a few years ago, but the reality really impressed itself on me once again on Friday. I had dropped Sue off for a coffee with the ladies and decided to spend the next hour or so driving hither and thither to explore for a picture or three. It was spitting a bit when I stopped at a local park, but when I was finished with that venue, I drove out of town along a rural road.

By this time it was pouring, but I hopped out of the car a few times to take some very quick pics of the autumn colour. This (below) was taken on one of those quick stops. I should clarify and write that this is my interpretation of what the camera showed me on the LCD screen. I can't show you exactly because, I shoot in RAW, which means that the image that I get on the computer is much less developed than the temporary image that the camera shows me.

This is close to the camera version, but possibly a little duller and less contrasty

In the title, I wrote that The Camera Always Lies, and this is a good example, for the day was dull, but the image (above) looks bright. I would say that what I actually saw looked more like this next version (below), which I toned down in post to represent the actual scene as closely as possible.

The scene may not have been quite this dull, but I think this is close

The discrepancy between eyes and cameras isn't always this great, but on a dull day the camera will try to average the light. It assumes normal exposure and therefore brightens the scene. On a very bright day, the camera would try to darken the result as best it could.

Even more stunning is that I had already overridden the camera to some degree and asked it to underexpose from what it interpreted. However, I still got the result in the first photo of the post.

Even in RAW form, the processing software has to give me a starting point, and this (below) is the initial image that I got on the computer. It is somewhat brighter than what I actually saw that day but certainly not as developed as the camera's original interpretation. You can see that it is somewhat between the two version that I have posted above: brighter that what I think I saw but very toned down from the camera's version.

I would be tempted to process the photo like this (below) -- brighter than what I saw but not as bright and vivid as what the camera imagined and what I would have gotten on the computer if I didn't shoot in RAW mode but accepted the camera's interpretation without question.

Every photo is a processed and interpreted view of reality, either by the camera or by the photographer in post. Sometimes, the photographer's processing is truer to reality than the SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) version.



12 comments:

  1. We both were talking about what cameras do today...mine with just one color, and I'm using a phone camera to see reds varieties. But when I use the Nikon the same thing happens. I don't have all the settings your camera has though...so I love hearing the different kinds of difficulties a pro has...unfortunately. I do love hearing about and seeing the different "ways" that you come up with your final pictures.

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  2. I feel like my photos come out darker and less bright than what I've seen. I often will lighten them to get a better picture. The colors I'm seeing this fall aren't not being captured by my camera. It's the camera's fault of course.

    I wouldn't have know your picture was taken on a rainy day.

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  3. It's not just your eyes, but your brain and how it processes what the eyes see. Also, you might need to have your vision checked, eh? Haha

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  4. Nice explanation. Thanks. My small Nikon, for carrying with me, processes differently than the Nikon90. May be my settings, since the 90 has a light edit wheel on the top of the camera where I remember to set it much more so than the other.
    I must try taking RAW and processing. Lazy, I guess.
    I am looking at rain at the moment, and this is annoying as I would like to do some laundry that requires line drying. We have had a very rainy run of weather, and more on the way.

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  5. The camera lies but so do the eyes. When I take a picture of Mt.Rainier, it is always way smaller in the photo than it is in my view of it. Optical illusion?Cameras are incredible these days, even the ones in cell phones. ;)

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  6. Fascinating information. I really love the first and last photos, especially the last one. My pictures NEVER look like I remember them. :-)

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  7. It is your photo, to be processed as you please.

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  8. We use three different cameras my husband and I and each one takes a slightly different look of a scene. I never change settings. That just me though. Everything automatic.

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  9. Aaahhh, okay . . . if you say so. Maybe I should say, "since you say so". You're the photographer, I just point and snap. That's it. I never thought much about the difference in what I saw versus what the camera produced. Thank you for the insights, gives me something to think about.

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  10. Well done. I fiddle around with mine in iPhotos. Those dark days are frustrating!

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  11. Just as fiction is sometimes truer than reality.

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  12. Yes, I know the camera lies. I remember my Canon just couldn’t capture a certain kind of blue or was it purple? Anyway, I was at an orchid show and I saw that the lady taking photos with her cellphone was getting truer colors. I couldn’t believe it! I now use only my cellphone for photos now. Unless I need the zoom. Then I have to use the long lens on my Canon.

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