True colours or your own colour palette?

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

When you take a photo, the colours are determined by what is there. But the camera also renders colours in its own way. The final result comes with the editing. How realistically do you render your colours?

Colours are rarely rendered perfectly. A camera does not just record them, all the hardware and software determine how those colours are rendered in a photo. You have the final say in this.
If you photograph in jpeg, the colours are determined by the chosen camera profile. This amounts to processing programmed into the camera by the manufacturer. 

The raw photographer has control over the colours that appear in the photo. With editing, you have control over colour temperature and saturation. Camera profiles can also be selected.

Every setting can and will affect the colour in the photo. The extent to which this happens depends on your preferences. Among other things, it gives you the option of matching reality as closely as possible.

It soon becomes clear that this is subject to your memory of the moment. That memory is coloured, in the literal sense. But it is also a matter of taste.

Do you keep the colours as close as possible to what you remember? Or do you manipulate the colours to give the photo its own atmosphere or appearance? Will you start using colour grading?

Colour grading means giving the highlights, shadows and midtones their own 'colour cast'. It is popular in video and films. You also see it a lot in photography.

You can create your own colour grading, or use presets. Hundreds are available to download. Many programmes already include plenty of them, such as Luminar, Photoshop and DXO FilmPack.

Do you prefer to see colours that match reality, as you remember the moment? Or do you appreciate an atmospheric colour palette? Let us know in a comment below this post.

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