Photography Is Like Playing Guitar

I recently watched a video about Roy Clark discussing some of the greatest guitar players he had ever seen.

It got me thinking:

Playing guitar is a lot like photography.

At first, that may sound like an odd comparison. One is music and the other is visual art. But the more I thought about it, the more similarities I saw.

The instrument doesn't make the musician

A great guitarist can pick up an ordinary guitar and make something meaningful happen.

Give another person the same guitar and the result may be very different.

The difference isn't necessarily the instrument.

It is the person using it.

Photography is much the same.

We can spend hours discussing cameras, lenses, megapixels, autofocus systems, dynamic range, ISO performance and the latest technology. All of those things can be useful.

But none of them determines whether a photograph is meaningful.

A photographer can use a $10,000 camera and make boring photographs.

Another photographer can use a relatively inexpensive camera and make photographs that stop you.

The camera is the instrument.

The photographer is the musician.

Technique matters—but technique isn't the photograph

A great guitarist needs technique.

They have to understand chords, timing, rhythm, fingering and how to control the instrument. Years of practice allow them to do things almost instinctively.

Photography is no different.

We need to understand shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focus, exposure and composition.

But imagine listening to a guitarist whose entire goal was to demonstrate how many notes he could play per second.

Technically impressive?

Perhaps.

Interesting to listen to?

Not necessarily.

Photography can fall into exactly the same trap.

Look at my sharpness.

Look at my bokeh.

Look at my high ISO performance.

Look at my dynamic range.

Look at my 100-megapixel file.

Those things can become the photographic equivalent of playing as many notes as possible.

But the obvious question remains:

What are you trying to say?

The great players don't just play notes

What separates a great musician from someone who has simply learned to play an instrument is often difficult to describe.

There is feeling.

Timing.

Interpretation.

Knowing when to play—and when not to play.

The musician isn't thinking:

"I need to demonstrate this technique now."

They are responding to the music.

Photography works the same way.

A photographer isn't simply collecting technical achievements.

The photographer sees something.

Something catches their attention.

Maybe it is the expression on someone's face.

Maybe it is the relationship between a bird and its environment.

Maybe it is light falling across an ordinary object.

Maybe it is a moment that will never happen again.

The technical decisions should serve that observation.

Knowing when NOT to do something

This may be one of the most important similarities.

A good guitarist knows that playing another note doesn't necessarily make the music better.

A good photographer needs the same restraint.

More sharpening doesn't necessarily improve a photograph.

More contrast doesn't necessarily improve it.

More saturation doesn't necessarily improve it.

A wider aperture isn't automatically better.

A faster shutter speed isn't automatically better.

A longer lens isn't automatically better.

And filling the frame isn't automatically better.

The question isn't:

What can I do?

The question is:

What does this photograph need?

There is no single "correct" setting

This is where photography discussions sometimes get strange.

Someone asks:

"What settings should I use?"

And somebody responds:

"1/1000, f/8, ISO 400."

But settings without context don't mean much.

A guitarist doesn't have one correct setting for every song.

Photography doesn't either.

If I'm photographing a bird in flight and my intent is to show the bird isolated against a clean background, I may make very different decisions than if my intent is to show the bird within its environment.

If I'm photographing a person, my decisions may change depending upon whether I'm trying to record their appearance, their personality, their relationship with someone else, or simply a moment in their life.

The photograph determines the technique.

Not the other way around.

The best photographers develop a voice

Listen to enough great guitarists and you can sometimes identify the player without being told who is performing.

They have a sound.

Photography can work the same way.

Not necessarily because every photograph follows the same formula, but because the photographer has developed a way of seeing.

Their photographs may reveal what they find interesting.

What they notice.

What they ignore.

How they interpret light.

How they approach people, wildlife or landscapes.

Their photographs begin to say something about the photographer.

That is much more interesting to me than simply producing technically perfect files.

Practice should solve problems

A guitarist doesn't become better simply by playing scales forever.

Scales have a purpose.

They develop skills that can eventually be used when making music.

Photography practice should work the same way.

Don't just go out and take 200 photographs because someone told you that great photographers shoot thousands of frames.

Go out with a problem to solve.

How can I photograph this bird while still showing its environment?

How can I show the relationship between these two people?

How can I use the available light?

How can I make the background less distracting?

How can I show movement?

How can I make the photograph communicate what caught my attention?

Now you're practicing photography rather than simply operating a camera.

Don't confuse the instrument with the artist

This may be the biggest lesson I take from the guitar analogy.

A better guitar doesn't automatically produce better music.

A better camera doesn't automatically produce better photographs.

Better equipment can certainly remove limitations. It can make some things possible that were previously difficult or impossible.

But once the equipment is capable of doing what you need, the limiting factor often becomes something else.

What do you see?

What are you trying to accomplish?

Why are you making the photograph?

That's where photography becomes more than operating a camera.

The camera is our instrument.

The photograph is our music.

And just as I don't want to listen to a guitarist simply demonstrating what his fingers can do, I don't want to make photographs simply demonstrating what my camera can do.

I want the equipment to disappear.

I want the technique to serve the idea.

And I want the photograph to communicate why I stopped and looked in the first place.

That, to me, is the difference between taking pictures and making photographs.

I'm not a writer so I a gave this prompt to chatGPT "I believe that guitar playing is like photography. Listen or watch https://youtu.be/Ge254sHYFzc?is=rmuEqQuCIeO9uNoi to see if you agree.

If so write a Blog post write it From the point of photography." and that was I read before I used in the Blog post.

Turn Your Photos into a Learning Database

 Joe Edelman often speaks about of improving your images. Some his theme is Learning from your mistakes. It's not about the occasionali misfires, out of Focus. It's about your intent or the Why you took the photo. His articles and videos are on Intent , How to make a Visual Database , Don't be afraid to SUCK and many more.

My way is using the lightroom classic meta data to record my intent and what to do next along with all settings. To accomplish that I have used the Print module and the photo info and custom settings. A example image using my print User preset

I remembering my Visual Database is helpful but to me writing it down is an active tha improves me.

How do I do that? For Lightroom Classic there are several metadata fields can be helpful when I take the time to fill them in. Ok Larry how?

Use the Print Module and create a User Preset and print a JPG shared folder on you device. No you have a Photo Learning Database you can review and possibly share to others.

This is my print preset template 

Print Info on a photo: My One-Click Lightroom Classic Print preset

  Print Info on a photo: My One-Click Lightroom Classic Print Preset

Setting up prints in Lightroom Classic often involves jumping through the same visual hoops—dialing in margins, placing stroke borders, positioning watermarks, and ensuring your cell sizes match your paper stock. To streamline the process, I built a custom Print module preset that formats images for printing in a single click.

Here is a look at a sample print layout created directly with this preset:

This image shows the fields I used that include the Title, Caption and the camera info includes selected EXIF Data and other fields in that are available in Library Metadata.

Tokens used;  title, caption, "Camera Info:"  model exposure ISOSpeedRating focalLength meteringMode exposureProgram exposureBiasValue "Photo Intent;"  headline; "Challenges you had"  altTextAccessibility; "Next time;" extDescrAccessibility ©copyright

Please note the the " " areas are Strings in the Text Template Editor box.  Also to end the extDescrAccessiblity using space and alt+0169 to add the copyright symbol  in a Windows computer. 

Why Use a Print Preset?

Creating a consistent presentation for physical prints saves time and eliminates tedious layout tweaking. This preset automatically configures:

• Precise Cell Margins: Leaves ideal borders for handling, framing, or matting.

• Layout Dimensions: Matches standard output proportions without clipping your image boundaries.

• Stroke & Border Finish: Adds a clean finish to separate the image cleanly from the paper background.

Download & Installation

1. Download the Preset: Link to preset.

2. Open Lightroom Classic: Jump to the Print module in the top navigation bar.

3. Locate the Template Browser: On the left panel, find the Template Browser section.

4. Import: Click the + (plus) icon on the Template Browser header, select Import, and navigate to the downloaded .template or .lrtemplate file.

5. Apply: Click the newly added preset in your Template Browser to apply the exact layout to any active image in your catalog.

My Lightroom Classic Photography Workflow

My Lightroom Classic Photography Workflow

I was viewing an YouTube video about DxO. I didn't watch much and started to look at the comments. On the top was a rant about the Adobe subscription. I thought many miss what is available and how useful the ecosystem is.  I had only scratched the surface for the last 10 years I have been using it.

So I used chatGPT to discuss my limited use of how I was using the ecosystem. And after several conversations of my use. I asked chatGPT to write my way. Most of the following is our workflow. My thoughts his words. I'm still implementing the the process.

My workflow is built around intent. There is no single correct Lightroom workflow because the purpose of a photograph determines what I need to do with it.

I don't believe a Lightroom workflow should be a rigid set of rules. The workflow should support the photographer's purpose rather than dictate it. What I do with an image depends on why I made it, what I see in it, and what I ultimately want to do with it.

1. Import

I import the photographs I want to bring into Lightroom Classic and place them in an appropriate broad category folder.

An import does not necessarily represent a complete shoot. I may import an entire shoot, part of a shoot, or selected photographs. The important point is that the photographs being imported are the photographs I have decided to bring into my Lightroom Classic catalog.

Immediately after import, I begin the organizational and culling process.

2. Location Information

When the camera provides GPS information, I use that information rather than creating location keywords.

Lightroom Classic's Map module provides a useful way to work with location information. When appropriate, I use reverse geotagging to add location information based on the GPS coordinates.

If GPS information was not recorded but I know where the photographs were made, I can select the appropriate photographs and assign their location using the Map module.

This keeps location information in location metadata, rather than unnecessarily duplicating it in my keyword structure.

3. Initial Culling

My culling process is designed to separate photographs that deserve further attention from those that don't.

I use Assisted Culling as an aid, not as the final decision maker. Its purpose is to identify photographs that may have technical problems or may otherwise warrant rejection.

I review the images Assisted Culling identifies as rejects. If an image has potential despite being identified as a reject, I can promote it to the Selects for further consideration.

The important point is that the computer does not make my final artistic decisions.

4. Two-Pass Culling

After the initial culling and review, I use my two-pass culling process.

The first pass is intentionally fast. I am looking for photographs that create an emotional or visual response and avoiding the temptation to pixel-peep or analyze every technical detail.

The second pass is where I slow down and critically evaluate the photographs that survived the first pass.

I look at such things as focus, composition, exposure, distractions, timing, expressions, and similar or duplicate frames. I also consider whether another photograph better accomplishes what I intended.

The complete two-pass process is described in my article:

A Two-Pass Culling Workflow in Lightroom Classic

The purpose of the two passes is not to make perfect decisions in two seconds. The purpose is to avoid spending significant time evaluating photographs that don't deserve it while protecting the initial reaction that caused me to notice an image in the first place.

5. Ratings and Editing

Once I have identified photographs worth developing, I use star ratings to express my judgment about them.

My typical working convention is:

• 4 stars — photographs I intend to edit or develop.

• 5 stars — photographs I consider particularly strong.

• 5 stars + Green — my favorites or photographs I consider among the best.

These aren't universal rules. They are part of my system and can change when my purpose changes.

I then process the photographs in Lightroom Classic. When Lightroom doesn't provide the tools I need, I use Photoshop for more advanced editing, such as complex masking or localized adjustments.

6. Organization

I organize my physical folders using broad photographic categories such as:

• Animals

• Education

• Landscape

• and other major categories appropriate to my library.

Within Lightroom Classic, I use Collection Sets and Collections to provide another level of organization.

For example:

Animals

• Birds

• Mammals

• Other Wildlife

This is not intended to create a perfect representation of my photographs. There is no perfect photo organization.

A photograph can belong to multiple collections without creating duplicate files. That allows Collections to provide organizational views that would be impossible to reproduce with a rigid folder hierarchy.

7. Keywords

Keywords provide another layer of organization, but their purpose is different from folders and Collections.

I use keywords primarily to describe what is in the photograph.

For example:

• Birds

• Great Blue Heron

• Mammals

• White-tailed Deer

• Wildlife

• Flowers

• Architecture

Keywords allow me to find photographs across my physical folders and Collections without requiring my folder structure or Collection hierarchy to anticipate every possible future search.

I don't need to make location keywords a major part of this system because Lightroom's location metadata and Map capabilities provide a better way to handle geographic information.

8. Collections Are Flexible

Folders answer one question:

Where is the photograph physically stored?

Collections answer a different question:

How do I want to group or use these photographs?

A photograph can be in a physical folder, belong to several Collections, have multiple keywords, have a star rating, and have a color label—all without creating multiple copies of the photograph.

This is why I don't try to build a perfect folder structure.

Collections and Collection Sets solve the problem of having more than one way to organize the same photograph. Keywords provide yet another way to find it.

9. Favorites and Finding Photographs

My use of ratings and color labels gives me several ways to find photographs.

For example, I can find:

• All Green photographs

• All 5-star photographs

• 5-star Green photographs

• Photographs matching particular keywords

• Combinations of these criteria

This makes the Lightroom Classic catalog much more powerful than simply browsing folders.

I can use these searches to create Collections for particular purposes without moving or duplicating the original photographs.

10. Syncing

I do not automatically need every photograph in the Adobe cloud ecosystem.

I selectively synchronize Collections when I have a reason to make those photographs available through Lightroom Web or Lightroom Mobile.

Sometimes I may synchronize a group of photographs from a shoot because I want to work with them on another device. At other times I may synchronize only my best photographs for viewing or sharing.

The important distinction is that Sync is a purposeful action, not a backup strategy.

Lightroom Classic's synchronization makes Smart Previews available through the Adobe ecosystem rather than requiring my original RAW files to be uploaded.

This provides considerable practical value without changing Lightroom Classic's role as the hub of my local photo library.

11. Sharing and Presentation

One of the advantages of the Adobe ecosystem is that the same Lightroom Classic library can support several different purposes.

Depending on my intent, I can use:

• Lightroom Web for web-based galleries and sharing.

• Lightroom Mobile for viewing and sharing photographs from a mobile device.

• Shareable links when I want someone else to see a group of photographs.

• Adobe Portfolio when I want to present photographs as part of a website or portfolio.

The photograph doesn't have to be reorganized or duplicated simply because I want to use it for a different purpose.

12. Export

Sometimes the destination is outside Adobe.

For example, if a photography group asks me to provide photographs in a shared Google Drive folder, I can use Lightroom Classic's filtering and selection capabilities to identify the photographs I want and then export copies in the required format.

Export is therefore another purpose-driven step.

I don't export a photograph simply because Lightroom gives me an Export command. I export it because I have a reason to deliver that photograph somewhere else.

13. Backup Is Separate

Organization in Adobe and backup are separate processes.

My Lightroom Classic catalog, photographs, Collections, keywords, ratings, edits, and the Adobe ecosystem provide a system for organizing, processing, finding, presenting, and sharing my photographs.

That does not make the Adobe ecosystem my backup system.

My original photographs and catalog require a separate backup strategy designed specifically to protect them against loss.

Keeping these two functions separate makes the purpose of each system much clearer.

Why I Use This Workflow

The common thread through all of these steps is intent.

I don't ask:

What is the correct Lightroom workflow?

I ask:

Why am I doing this, and what do I want to accomplish?

That question determines whether I need to cull an image, edit it, rate it, add a keyword, put it in a Collection, synchronize it, share it, export it, or simply keep it in my library.

My system therefore isn't intended to be a universal Lightroom workflow. It is my practical workflow, developed around how I photograph, how I evaluate photographs, and how I want to use my library.

The Adobe Ecosystem Adds Value

Lightroom Classic remains the hub of my photographic library, but the value of the Adobe ecosystem goes beyond Lightroom Classic itself.

Folders provide physical organization. Collections provide flexible photographic organization. Keywords describe what is in the photograph. Ratings and labels express my judgment. Culling determines which photographs deserve further attention. Editing develops the photographs. Sync makes selected photographs available across the Adobe ecosystem. Lightroom Web and Mobile provide access and sharing. Portfolio provides presentation. Export connects my library to services outside Adobe. Backup protects the library independently of all of this.

The value isn't simply having several Adobe applications. It is the way those applications work together around the photographs I have chosen to make and the purposes for which I want to use them.

Focus Point

 I had a photo that I thought was good. But on a closes inspection, zoom 100%, the subject was a little soft, maybe more than a little. So since I hadn't cropped the image I decided to use OM Workspace to take a look. Most editing is in Lightroom/Photoshop but OM Workspace has a coupe of features that Adobe doesn't have. One is the focus point.

So where did I focus and what focus mode did I use?

Spot focus mode and something out of the DoF of the subject. This is the screenshot. 

The green dot is the focus point. So next time I give a 9x9 grid on my OM-D E-M5 iii.

What's the Characteristics of a good Photo?

Many photographers have their own view.  Many have attended classes, videos, presentations about settings, cameras, lenses, "rules". Some photos are great, some not so much. 

When a different genre isn't familiar with you? Where do you start?

Joe Edelman's video where he discussed he about a new to him genre.

Even I've taken a lot of photos I gave ask a question like "What are the characteristics to create an interesting landscape photo"

So I asked Gemini, chatGPT, and Chrome.

Similar results and things to think about.

Please use the comments area or my Skool Community.

A Two-Pass Culling Workflow in Lightroom Classic

I had done a little research that said both casual social media scan of photos averaged 1.5 to 2 seconds. Also Competation judges used the same time to get the initial possibles. Both use very critique to pause the scroll or make it as a possible.

That led my could use the technique. Following my discussion with chatGPT I asked "it" to write the steps.

I followed the steps, below, to cull 65 images from 2017. It worked for with one addition. I selected the Picks and used Assisted Culling with 80% focus, Exposure Issues and misfires. Then went through the rejected and marked those with a 77+ score as select.

Now I had 22, Pass 2, to critically review.

Below is steps that chatGBT wrote for me.

YMMV.

The idea

Don't try to make every culling decision at once.

The first pass is about your immediate response to the photograph. The second pass is where you slow down and make the more considered decisions.

Pass 1 — The Fast Cull

The goal is to quickly identify photographs that deserve a second look.

1. Open the shoot in Lightroom Classic's Library module.
2. Select the images you want to cull.
3. Switch to Loupe View.
4. Turn on Auto Advance.
5. Set yourself a very short viewing time—about 2 seconds per photograph.
6. As each photograph appears, ask only two questions:
   • Does it create an emotional connection with me?
   • Does it have any obvious major flaw?
7. If the answer is yes to the first question and no to the second, press P for Pick.
8. If it doesn't make the cut, press U to leave it unflagged.
9. Keep moving. Do not stop to inspect a Pick.

The important point is that a P is not a final keeper.

It means:

This photograph caught my attention. I want to look at it again.

You're deliberately resisting the temptation to examine focus, noise, subtle exposure problems, or other details.

Pass 2 — The Deliberate Cull

Now filter the shoot to show your Picked photographs.

This is where you slow down.

Look more carefully at:

• Focus and whether the important subject/detail is sufficiently sharp
• Composition
• Exposure
• Distracting elements
• Timing and expression
• Similar or duplicate photographs
• Whether another frame in the sequence is actually better

This is where X — Reject becomes useful.

If a photograph that initially caught your attention doesn't survive closer examination, mark it X.

You can now make comparisons that would have been counterproductive during the first pass.

The principle

The two passes serve different purposes.

Pass 1 asks:

Does this photograph make me stop emotionally, and is there no obvious reason to reject it?

Pass 2 asks:

Now that I've stopped, is this actually one of the photographs I want to keep?

The first pass protects the emotional response to the photograph.

The second pass applies the critical judgment.

And most importantly, don't let Pass 2 contaminate Pass 1. If you stop during the two-second pass to pixel-peep a photograph, you've changed the nature of the first pass.

The objective isn't to make the perfect decision in two seconds.

It's to make a good enough decision about which photographs deserve your time.

Lightroom Classic Editing?

 Should you edit in the folder or use a collection and why?

When I started using LrC in 2017 or 18 the WHY escaped me because both edited the same information. So why was I told that?

Now in 2026 I now why I should use collections. 

My choice is creating virtual copies within the collection so I have different crop ratios as well tonal adjustments depending on the output version, B&W, display, print media.

Your sensor usually is 2x3 or 3x4 so you use virtual copy to crop for your output media ratio.

Goodhart's Law

 How does Goodhart's Law apply to photo evaluation?

There’s a well-known concept in economics and management called "Goodhart’s Law": "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."

When a metrics are main goal, people start optimizing for the number/rule instead of the actual goal—and the overall quality suffers.

Think about how we evaluate photographs. Drop your thoughts and examples in the comments below.

AI? Is it Intelligent? My RANT. (UPDATE)

Artificial Intelligence.

But is it Intelligent?

The answer is NO! In my definition.

They are Large Language Models that are statical models that predict what's next.

Yes I do use Gemini, chatgpt and Claude. I follow the advice of President Reagan "Trust, but verify" and when you challenge the response it may provide results that fit your beliefs.

Use with care. Ask better questions.

Following are  two discussions, using "Is AI intelligent? It depends on the definition and the prompt." from Claude, charGPT and Gemini .

Sharing photo(s) with text

 Some would like to add select metadata fields, settings when sharing photos. Lightroom Classic, LrC, and using the library metadata fields a dedicated library folder and shared collection, Development module, Print module and, optionally Lightroom Mobile, you can do that. 

The Workflow

​Part 1: The One-Time Bridge Setup

​Sets up your hard drive and cloud connection so they talk to each other automatically.

​Create the Local Folder: On your local drive, create a folder named _To Mobile Sync.

​Link the Collection: In LrC's Folders panel, right-click that new folder and select Create Collection "_To Mobile Sync".

​Turn on Cloud Sync: In the popup box, check Sync with Lightroom and click Create.

​Set Target Collection: Right-click the newly created _To Mobile Sync Collection and select Set as Target Collection (a small + icon will appear next to it).

Part 2: The Creative, Metadata & Print Preset Setup

Step 1: Import & Culling

Library Module

Import your camera images into your main local storage directory. Rate and select the best shots you want to process.

Step 2: Post-Processing

Develop Module

Perform your standard development adjustments (exposure, cropping, masking) to get the visual look right.

Step 3: Populating Text & Metadata (Optional Fields)

Library Module (Metadata Panel)

Open the Metadata panel. You can populate any combination of optional metadata fields:

Title (Optional: Short title or identifier)

Caption (Optional: Primary description)

Headline / Instructions (Optional: Secondary text block)

Alt Text (Multi-Line Control Character): To insert a line break within a single metadata text string, add an ASCII control character (e.g., Alt + 0010 / Alt + 010 on the numeric keypad) right at the start of your text line inside the Alt Text field.

Step 4: Configure Output to JPEG

Print Module (Print Job Panel)

Scroll down to the bottom-right Print Job panel:

Change Print to: from Printer to JPEG File.

Set File Resolution (e.g., 300 ppi for maximum detail or 72 ppi for quick web rendering).

Set JPEG Quality (e.g., 80% - 100%).

Step 5: Load Matching Tokens

Print Module (Page Options Panel)

Under Page Options > Photo Info, click Edit... and build your token string using your preferred optional fields (e.g., {Title} {Caption} {Alt Text} {Shutter Speed} at {Aperture}).

Step 6: Save as a Print Preset(s)

Print Module (Template Browser)

Once your layout, margins, metadata tokens, and JPEG settings look perfect:

Go to the left-hand panel under Template Browser.

Click the + (plus icon) next to Template Browser.

Name your preset (e.g., Two-Line Mobile Export).

Click Create. (Now you can apply this entire configuration in a single click on future prints!)

Step 7: Render JPG to File

Print Module

Click Print to File... at the bottom right. Route the output destination straight into your local _To Mobile Sync folder.

Step 8: Sync & Add to Target Collection

Library Module

Return to the Library Module:

In the Folders panel, right-click _To Mobile Sync and select Synchronize Folder..., then click Synchronize.

Select the newly imported JPEG layout in the grid and press B on your keyboard to instantly send it to your Target Collection.

Part 3: Mobile Delivery & Distribution

Because the file is now in the Target Collection linked to the cloud, Lightroom automatically syncs it across your device ecosystem.

Open Lightroom Mobile on your smartphone or tablet.

Tap into the _To Mobile Sync album.

Save the final layout JPEG directly to your photo gallery or share it to your online platforms.

A few areas you should do;

In the Page Setup choose the orientation

Following are my tokens I used. Yellow highlighted items.

Once satisfied create profile(s) as needed.

You can create profiles for various uses and photo orientation.

Following are some examples;

​Stop letting your camera screen misguide you

​Stop letting your camera screen misguide you: The "Flat Profile" trick for RAW shooters

​We’ve all been there. You’re out in the field, tracking a difficult high-contrast scene, and you glance at the back of your camera. The histogram is crammed up against the right wall, and the "blinkies" are flashing furiously, warning you that your highlights are completely ruined.

​So, you dial back your exposure, wrap up the shoot, and head home. But when you open that RAW file in your development software, you get a surprise: that histogram snaps right back to the left. You actually had plenty of headroom left. The camera screen gave you a highly conservative estimate.

​Why does this happen? It comes down to a fundamental technical limitation: Your camera cannot display a RAW file directly.

​To show you an image on the LCD screen and generate that on-camera histogram, the camera’s internal processor must first convert the linear sensor data into a compressed, 8-bit JPEG proxy. It bakes in a picture profile (like "Standard" or "Landscape"), forces a white balance, and applies an aggressive contrast curve to make the image look punchy. If that temporary JPEG clips, the camera histogram flags it as clipped—even if the underlying 12-bit or 14-bit RAW data is completely safe.

​The Field Fix: Creating a "Flat Preview"

​To work around this, you have to strip away the consumer-oriented contrast curves that manufacturers bake into their default settings. On my OM-D E-M5 Mark III, I use a disciplined technique to make the LCD histogram accurately reflect the underlying data:

​Select the "Muted" or "Flat" Picture Mode.

​Go into the profile settings and drop the Contrast all the way down to -2.

​By softening the JPEG conversion map, the live histogram on the screen closely mimics the true boundaries of the sensor. The image on the LCD will look a bit dull and washed out in the field, but you aren't shooting for a pretty screen preview—you're shooting to preserve raw data.

​Is This Available on Other Cameras?

​I recently had a discussion with a fellow photographer who wondered if this technique is exclusive to Olympus/OM System gear. The answer is an absolute yes, it’s available on almost everything. The physics of data conversion are identical across brands, even if the menu names change.

​If you shoot with a different system, here is how you build your own accurate RAW-mimicking proxy:

​Sony: Don't use standard Creative Looks. Look for Picture Profiles (PP1–PP10) in the menu (the settings originally built for video). Set the Gamma to Cine2 or ITU709 and the Color Mode to Still. It creates an incredibly accurate, flat RAW baseline.

​Canon: Go to Picture Style, select Neutral or Faithful, hit the detail settings, and pull the Contrast slider down to -4.

​Nikon: Go to Set Picture Control, select Flat (or Neutral on older bodies), and drop the Contrast down to -3.

​Fujifilm: Their default film simulations are highly stylized. Go to the I.Q. menu, set the Film Simulation to PRO Neg. Std or ETERNA, and turn both Highlight Tone and Shadow Tone down to -2 (Soft).

​Trust, But Verify

​When you flatten your camera's preview, you are taking control back from the camera's internal processing engine—the one that prioritizes a punchy, high-contrast screen image over accurate data monitoring.

​No matter what development software you use—whether it is Lightroom, Capture One, DXO PhotoLab, or a local open-source raw processor—the software completely ignores that internal camera JPEG. Instead, it reads the full uncompressed sensor data and maps it out across a wide, non-destructive color space workspace.

​Try it on your own camera body. Shoot a high-contrast target with your new flat profile in RAW+JPEG mode, pull both files into your editing software, and do an A/B comparison of the histograms. You'll quickly verify exactly how much extra highlight safety net you've unlocked.

​What about you? Do you adjust your camera's internal JPEG profiles for a flatter preview, or do you rely on your RAW developer's recovery tools after the fact? Let me know in the comments below.

The Great Sharpness Lie (And Why Your Prints Don't Care)

The Great Sharpness Lie (And Why Your Prints Don't Care)

​Go to any online photography forum or gear review site, and you’ll see the exact same obsession: people zooming in to 400% on a digital monitor, hyper-ventilating over a slightly soft corner, or arguing that you must stop down one full stop to hit your lens’s clinical "sweet spot."

​I’m here to tell you that the obsession with hyper-sharpness is a trap. It’s a distraction from what actually makes an image great, and frankly, it's overrated.

​When you step away from the glowing screen and look at how photography works in the real world, the technical argument for sacrificing physical light just to chase micro-sharpness completely falls apart.

​Here is why the "sharpness lie" is ruining your peace of mind—and why you should stop worrying about it.

​1. The Monitor Trap vs. Normal Viewing Distance

​We’ve been conditioned to judge our work from six inches away from a high-resolution LED panel. But nobody looks at art that way.

​At a normal viewing distance—whether an image is framed on a wall or laid out in a book—the human eye physically cannot resolve the microscopic difference between a "tack-sharp" shot taken at a stopped-down aperture and a slightly softer shot taken wide open.

​Your viewer doesn't care about the resolving power of your glass in the extreme corners. They notice impact, emotion, light, and gesture. If a photo makes you feel something, a tiny bit of optical softness isn’t going to ruin it. If a photo is boring, making it hyper-sharp just makes it a sharp, boring photo.

​2. Print: The Great Equalizer

​The ultimate proof that sharpness is overrated happens the moment you transfer your work from the digital screen to the physical world. The printing process inherently changes the nature of image detail—and it destroys the sharpness issue entirely.

​When ink hits paper, a beautiful, natural transformation occurs:

​Dot Gain (Ink Bleed): Microscopic droplets of ink hit the paper and naturally spread into the fibers. This tiny, organic bleed instantly smooths out the harsh, clinical, jagged edges of digital pixels.

​Paper Texture: Whether you print on a heavy matte, a fine-art rag, or a textured canvas, the physical medium breaks up pixel-level micro-detail. The paper itself becomes part of the image structure, adding a painterly depth that no digital screen can replicate.

​Reflected Light: You are no longer looking at light blasting directly into your eyes from pixels. You are looking at light reflecting off a surface. This creates smoother tonal transitions and naturally masks minor optical imperfections.

​The Real Trade-Off

​Think about the physics of capture. If you stop down your lens by a stop just to chase a theoretical "sweet spot" on a chart, you are cutting the physical amount of light hitting your sensor exactly in half.

​To get that brightness back, you either have to crank your ISO at capture or drag the exposure slider up in post-processing. Both moves force a digital multiplier onto your data, amplifying the electronic noise floor and adding ugly shadow grain.

​Why sacrifice clean, physical photons and risk digital noise just to fix a "softness" that disappears the second the image is printed?

​The Bottom Line

​Keep the light. Shoot wide open if the moment or the exposure demands it. Stop pixel-peeping at 400% on a monitor, and start judging your work by how it feels when it's printed, held in your hands, or viewed from a reasonable distance.

​A technically "imperfect" image with soul will always beat a sterile, hyper-sharp test chart.