A: What are picture profiles/styles in cameras?

Picture profiles are used to give more choices when it comes to adjusting the photos/videos coming straight out of your camera. There are many parameters that can be adjusted, but they can be grouped into the following 4:

• Contrast
• Color tone
• Saturation
• Sharpness

The goal is to get a certain look right in camera. If you shoot RAW, picture profiles don't affect your RAW photos, but if you shoot video, profile you selected is baked to your clips and that look is what you get to work in post processing.

Most cameras have some picture profiles installed. Most common are Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome. You can also make your own by changing the parameters or you could download picture profiles for your camera and instal them.

• How to instal Picture profiles/styles on Canon DSLR cameras?

You will need:

• Canon EOS Utility (you can download it from HERE)
• Cable to connect your camera to the PC usb port (you probably got it with your camera)
• Picture profile file (you can find a lot of them on the web, one that is popular is Cinestyle and you can download it for free HERE)

When you instal EOS Utility, start the program and connect your camera to the computer and turn it on. This screen will appear. Chose Camera Settings

On the next screen chose Register Picture Style File (Important: camera can't be in video mode, if it is you will not be able to click on that option)

Chose in which slot you want to instal it (User def. 1, User def. 2, User def. 3) and click on the folder icon.

Find picture profile file on your computer and choose which profile you want to instal.

Disconnect your camera and go to the menu and select picture style

Select picture style that you want to use.

Mono-Adams (more contrast and sharpness)

Vivid skin color (more contrast and saturation)

C-Log (flat image)

• Why would you use picture profiles, which one and where?

If you shoot RAW photos picture profile only affects what you see on the back of your camera. Files are not affected. If you shoot JPG or record a video, profile that you set up will be recorded on your file.
If you want to do a quick video, or maybe a live stream, where you don't want to spend time in post production color correcting you could do a profile with a bit more sharpness, contrast and saturation.
If you want to have more choices for color correction in later post production you should record a flatter image with less sharpness and contrast. You do this because flat profiles tend to rise the shadows and lower the highlights so the histogram is more in the middle with less chance to "burn" a part of the image and more opportunity to work in post.

• Also one of the reasons when using picture profiles (especially flat (c-log)) is when you record with 2 or more different types of cameras. It is much easier to match colors if you use the same profile on all of them.

• Some testing

Some high end Canon cameras have C-Log option but mine 80D does not. But you can find some third party picture profiles that try to do what canons C-log does, so that is how i ended up getting EOSHD Picture Profiles

So here are some shots taken with different picture profiles provided in EOSHD Picture Profiles

C-Log shot from the camera and edited. From the first impression i think i like what i could get in later color correction.

Most of the info is here in the photo above but if you want to see some babeling, struggling and overall wirednes you can check out the video by clicking on the photo below :)

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