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The Sony Setting I Should Have Used Sooner..

distantlately.

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I’m testing a custom creative look on the Sony A7IV to see if JPEG'S using Sony creative Looks can actually replace RAW files. This POV photography session explores how to get better straight-out-of-camera JPEGs using settings like FL (Film) and DRO to skip the Lightroom editing process.

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Shooting JPEG with film simulations or different looks baked in, is arguably the biggest trend in photography right now. Photographers are ditching the edit and sharing photos straight from the camera.
The last time I seriously shot JPEG was over 10 years ago, but with this trend exploding, even for Sony users which is the camp I currently fall under, I had to know: are the files actually any good, are we wasting hours in Lightroom and is it more fun to shoot this way?

In this video I’m out with my A7IV, I’m ignoring the RAW files, and using a custom Creative Look on the JPEGS, which is what you'll be seeing on screen, I’ll share that look and how I set up my camera later on in the video, and I’ll also share some adjustments that I feel I still had to make, along with some raw comparisons.
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20 Comments

@distantlately Creator 9 months ago (edited) Pinned

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@davidlandrum 6 months ago

When clients are calling for photos before you even get home, Creative Looks are the secret sauce. FL, IN and SH are my favorites.

@Echobase71 7 months ago

Sony’s color science has improved dramatically in their latest cameras

@JustcallmeSandoMX 3 months ago

05:02 good boy!

@chrisjdubs 9 months ago

This is rad. I had never thought to shoot raw/jpeg with a creative look on the jpeg. Definitely going to play around with this. Thanks for the idea!

@fabianrusuro 6 months ago

We want the double exposure option on Sony cameras.

@maximoplf 8 months ago

I thought I already knew everything about the Creative Looks but yet I learned a lot. Thank you so much!

@wunderduc 1 month ago

Thank you very much. Your very nicely made video, especially your thoughts on time-sensitive RAW-postproduction „versus“ quicker jpeg-out-of-cam-workstyle was very nice and helpful for me to see. As Sony-photographer with my most recent RX10V I start my first steps with these brand-specific picture-profiles (which my older RX100 / RX100IV /RX0II and A6500 do not have). I copied your nicely suggested FL profile and now am looking forward how it accelerates and flavours my everyday shooting. Similar to your approach, I am the kind of guy that somehow likes it more to be out and shooting than sitting in front of any screen, editing photos more than 1 minute each. Nevertheless, I know and love friends who appreciate this aspect of a cup of tea with two photos a night. :-) So, thank you!

@wadimrybalchenko2034 9 months ago

Very cool video. Thank you! Please continue this train of thought in future videos.

@adrianfaulkner1353 9 months ago (edited)

I truly believe Sony is losing a certain type of photographer by not innovating something new in this area, I would love to see the idea of maybe being able to import your favourite preset into your camera and have it applied to the jpegs, Sony could design a editing suit that allows presets to be imported to and tweaked kinda of like a Lightroom imitation just for this purpose and a community for people to share these presets....

@stuartsilverman3797 9 months ago

Very well done and interesting. Please continue this train of thought in future videos.

@AnthonyJohnson1 9 months ago

Nice idea Greg. I like to do similar with my Fuji cameras and some of the JPEG recipes work very well in certain conditions like sunny days for example. What I have found particularly useful is doing what you had done there by creating presets that closely mirror the JPEG look. I must admit that I don’t like to spend too much time editing these days and those presets have been a massive time saver.

@renethorsted 9 months ago

I tried to dive into these JPEGs in the beginning of 2025. Bottomline is it takes way more (time, focus) from me to dial in the settings (WB, D-Range, Exp.) than making a RAW look nice. I had so many photo that had "wrong" settings and I got punished for that while collecting family shots for a calendar. The photos simply looked too different and editing was so hard. So while you actually a can get decent JPEGs from Sony, RAWs are simply just so convenient.

Followed your videos for a while. Great content. But. So nice to see how your photography improved!

@Bruno_Polity 9 months ago

You can set the kelvin option to that d-pad wheel, that way you can control your white balance exactly.

@sonofoneintheuniverse 9 months ago

Did work profesionally in color for years. Do shoot mainly JPGs. RAW only when needed.
Output determines input and in my case JPGs do the job. That's all.

@RickSchrader-p5w 3 weeks ago

Excellent recipe dude

@LeagueOfEditz 6 months ago

Loved this!!

@phileagle8432 1 month ago

Thx for this video! I have started to play with Creative Looks and agree they can be fun. I do plan to get into editing at some point but this is a great way of getting to know the kind of parameters and things you might want to start engaging with when you start siting. The whole editing idea is a bit overwhelming for me as a newbie - what can I change, why?, what effect does it have - I’ve absolutely no idea about any of this but using creative looks has started me thinking about how I want it photos to look and the kind of variables that can help with that. Thanks for featuring that website with some CL’s on - there are some great ones to try there. Are they are replacement for RAW shooting and post processing? No of course not but they can be fun and I think do have a role. With the way Fujifilm cameras have gone viral from the uptake in using custom recipes, this would also be a way to entice new customers away from their phones and onto mainstream Sony cameras.

@90sStarterJacket 9 months ago

Thanks for the video; I enjoy your work! This is kind of an analogous to sending the roll of film away to be developed or spending time in a darkroom developing it yourself.

Personally, with RAWs I worry less about having the correct menu settings ahead of time, and I can just prioritize the uncorrectable settings like aperture and shutter speed while working out white balance, color, exposure and contrast in post. Most edits, including slapping on a LUT and calling it a day, can be done easily enough in post, or even in-camera after the shot.

@Mrjoejoebeanstravels 9 months ago

I think photos straight from the camera show what you’re seeing while editing shows what you’re feeling. As someone who really uses their iPhone and the ace pro 2 recently I’m trying to add some touches to my raw pics. Ace pro 2’s leica presets do a lot of heavy lifting but sometimes some warmth or shadows help with the feel!! Love the vid, I’m pulling the trigger on a a6400 as my fist real camera😂