Is it always better to shoot flat?

A

analog_addict

Well-known member
I've just started shooting all my 550D work with a really flat picture style. I then add contrast in post and any other colour correction needed.

I mostly only colour correct scenes that are a little messed up and usually only add contrast (between 20 and 30 in PP CS5).

Is it better to shoot with a contrasty picture style or add it in post like I'm doing now?

Is there any good reason not to shoot flat? It seems to give an easier image to work with in post and saves your blacks from being destroyed.

Thanks!
 
If you are going to be correcting in post, then yes, it's better to leave some room for adjustment.

However if you need a really fast workflow it's better to shoot with a bit more contrast baked in, as that will save a lot of time in CC & rendering. It depends on whether you'd prefer speed or perfection for the particular project you are doing.
 
Reasons off the top of my head not to shoot flat:

- Fast turnaround, let the camera AWB and a more standard color profile so you can quickly deliver.
- You are not going for a specific look or something, standard settings will mimic real life decently enough if that is all you want.
- You suck at grading, simply put, avoid doing it, or practice and get better.

So if you have the time, budget, and talent, my vote it start with a flat picture style and grade it manually so you can get the exact style you want.
 
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Better to use the new Cinestyle profile from Technicolor than a superflat in any case. Sharpness and contrast turned all the way down. Even if you don't do any color correction at all, simply loading the accompanying LUT from Technicolor into Apple Color and roundtripping it back into Final Cut will give you back the normal contrast PLUS virtually an extra stop of information in the shadows.
 
I fell in love with the Technicolor picture style when it came out, then abandoned it a few days later, as I had done with all the previous ultra flat picture styles

the reason for shooting flat is having a lot of room to decide how you want the image to look like in post; this may be mandatory if at the time of shooting you still don't know how the footage will end up looking like (because you still haven't made up your mind, or because you're not the one to decide: there's a client, or a colorist)

but if you're your own client (as is my case) I find it's best to try to get the image relatively close to the target in-camera: leave some room for adjustments in post, but not too much

because even if you're a great colorist (which is, by far, not my case), the image quality gets worse the more you push and pull, as noise and codec artifacts get blown up and color gradients become less smooth: check out the histograms at the end of my technicolor tests:
http://www.similaar.com/foto/picturestyles/picturestyles.html

sometimes you just need the DR, and for that it's handy to have technicolor loaded on your camera; but I avoid using it unless I really need all that DR
 
My original answer was based on a possibly flawed interpretation of the original question! I thought the OP was asking about dialling contrast down as opposed to shooting with the "superflat" or other similar picture styles.

So here's my updated answer:

No, it's not a good idea to shoot everything with a superflat profile, because even though you get more exposure lattitude you lose quality in post. Skin tones can appear very flat and plasticky with some styles, and you can also lose image quality and introduce alot of noise when you have to push the image too far in post when grading. You need to be wary of what subjects you are shooting with each particular picture style to avoid the weaknesses of that individual profile.

Having said that, it is almost always a good idea to dial the contrast down from the default setting in the pre-installed picture profiles.
 
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