“The effect of one-step processing on both amateur and professional creative photography has been revolutionary.”
—Ansel Adams, Polaroid Land Camera
I woke up this morning unsure what to write about. It just so happened that I had a handful of exposures I captured yesterday evening still sitting on the SD Card in my Fujifilm X-T5. Using Fujifilm’s Cam Remote App, I transferred the pictures from the camera to my iPhone, cropped and straightened a few of them, and uploaded the images to cloud storage. It took maybe 10 minutes tops start-to-finish, and I don’t even think it was that long. One-step photography, which removes the second-step (the editing step), is truly revolutionary, just as Ansel Adams stated. Of course he was talking about instant film—something he was a big fan of—and we’re talking about straight-out-of-camera JPEGs, something that I’m a big fan of. Now I know what to write about today!
Why is shooting straight-out-of-camera (SOOC) JPEGs revolutionary?
First, it allows for a faster, more streamlined workflow. When you use Fujifilm cameras and Film Simulation Recipes, the camera does all the post-processing work for you. You don’t have to spend hours and hours sitting in front of a computer fiddling with images. This can save you an extensive amount of time and effort, which can significantly increase your productivity, plus make photography more enjoyable. It’s not only a faster workflow, but an easier workflow. Achieving a desired aesthetic is as simple as programming the correct recipe into your camera.
Next, SOOC JPEGs allow you to be more consistent. Because the camera is applying the recipes, the photographer doesn’t have to worry about inconsistencies in their editing process. This makes achieving cohesive results for a photo series or project much easier.
Also, JPEGs are more efficient than RAW in terms of storage space. You don’t need to buy a larger SD Card or external hard drive or pay for more cloud storage nearly as quickly. Upload and download times are faster. You have a ready-to-share photo the moment that it’s captured—you don’t have to wait for a program to process it first.
Finally, SOOC JPEGs might be considered more authentic. Film Simulation Recipes often replicate the look and feel of classic film stocks and processes, and seem less digital-like in their rendering. There is a growing sentiment among photography consumers (not photographers, but those who view pictures) that “Photoshop” is bad, and picture manipulation equals people manipulation; however, unedited images don’t carry that stigma, and can come across as more authentic.
All of this and more are why there is a revolution in photography right now. More and more photographers—from first-camera beginners to experienced pros with recognizable names—are using Film Simulation Recipes and shooting SOOC JPEGs. It’s a growing trend, and I believe it will become much bigger in the coming years. I’m truly honored to be a part of it, and I’m glad that you’ve come along for the ride.
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Fujifilm X-T5 in black: Amazon B&H Moment
Fujifilm X-T5 in silver: Amazon B&H Moment
Fujinon 35mm in black: Amazon B&H Moment
Fujinon 35mm in silver: Amazon B&H Moment
Find this Film Simulation Recipe and over 250 more on the Fuji X Weekly — Film Recipes App!
Amen. Ever since I’ve been taking pictures, I’m astonished that some “photographers” become popular/successful with photos that are so obviously edited. Maybe because I’m oldish and started with film; but I believe the right. settings combined with gear will enable one to create the moment in time they are trying to create or document. A lot of modern day photography “professionals” literally are spraying and praying while letting computer programs fill in for their inadequacies
I was astonished by a local photographer who seems to be quite successful and in-demand who has horribly over-edited pictures as their portfolio images! I wish them well and success, but I think the trend is moving away from that (thank goodness!).
Wonderful. Can this recipe be adapted to etherna? Can similar colors be created with eterna? I am wondering what is your idea.
https://fujixweekly.com/2020/12/13/quick-eterna-bleach-bypass-experiments/
I think the issue will be you’d need -11 Blue (which isn’t an option), but it might be possible to get somewhat close.
This is an informative post that is definitely worth a try. Thank you!
The revolution is not photography in JPG format, not even SOOC but to take a properly exposed image, because only this guarantees no rework.
Cheers Torsten
I agree, but I think the need for properly exposed images is a fruit of SOOC JPEGs… kind of like slide film, you have to get it right when you take the picture. Thankfully, modern cameras are good at getting it right (as long as the photographer takes a little care), and provides you with some tools to help.
Of course you are absolutely right, I was already busy getting a balanced exposure before the first Fuji X camera appeared. My RAW and JPG images looked identical side by side in LR, I photographed with a Canon 5D at the time. I want to say that SOOC has always existed when you wanted to. Lucy Lumen also confirms this with her videos on very old digicams, for example the Canon G2 😉
JPEGs have been around since the early 1990’s, but there is definitely a growing trend. Even over the last six months, the number of photographers shooting SOOC JPEGs has grown significantly, including by some surprising names (a Hollywood cinematography/director, a brand ambassador for a Canikony brand, and a highly acclaimed wildlife photographer, to name a few), who are using Film Simulation Recipes on their Fujifilm cameras.
I have watched a few of her videos, including one with that Canon. If I understand well she is not saying that in the time these cameras were produced people wouldn’t edit their photos, she is saying that shooting them today gives you a digicam look that looks vintage in its way enough to be an alternative to analog film.
Personally I see more of an hype with those compact cameras and CCD sensors. I adore my HP R607 of the time, but still if there were RAW option I would take it because noise reduction could be a bit too crude, and some colors like the sky and red flowers were to easy to have overblown highlights due to the naturally limited dynamic range.
Hi, I really like your site and thank you for creating these many simulations. Well done! Do you have plans to create a simulation in this style? https://www.instagram.com/joshkjack?
At a cursory glance, I think Kodachrome 64 and Nostalgic Negative (X-Trans IV recipe) have some similarities. It appears that he does some significant editing, and he has a number of different aesthetics (no consistency to his approach), so that would make it more difficult. Are there specific images of his that you have in mind?
It is fantastic the difference between Fujifilm own “toy camera” mode, which is meant to resemble the popular Holga cameras, and your “Aged Color” recipe. With the former photos can look quite beautiful in a very limited set of circumstances, and indeed looks like a gimmicky curtain covering the photo; I use Aged Color and the photos look like photos, very honest and representative of what I feel sometimes in silent afternoons.
You are indeed mentioned a lot, at first I would tell you when there was a mention but now it is too many creators on YouTube mentioning you that it is not practical anymore. Congratulations for the exposure for your amazing work, Ritchie : )
Thanks so much! It’s still quite shocking to me, I never imagined that this would grow so much. I’m really honored and happy to be helpful to so many people and their photography.