SOOC = Straight Out of the Camera

Today’s Post by Mark Toal

Like LOL, K and My PEEP’s it took me while to figure out what SOOC meant—Straight Out Of The Camera. In other words, it’s shooting a JPEG file that is posted online or used without any editing. And now that news service Reuters has banned submission of RAW photos because “Our photos must reflect reality,” this sentiment seems to be growing.

At first I thought using this approach would result in some pretty dull images because I find that most every digital camera that I’ve ever used shoots an image that is a little low in contrast and cool in color for my taste. I know that all of these defincencies can be adjusted in the camera but I prefer to shoot quickly and make the adjustments later in the computer.

But now I’ve learned how to incorporate SOOC into my photography. When I’m shooting for a client I want to spend as little time processing the images as possible in order to minimize my computer time and quickly get the images to the client. Usually a photo shoot like this involves hundreds of images that need to be quickly narrowed to a select few. The kitchen photo (below) that I shot for an interior designer is a good example.

For my personal work I only shoot RAW files so I can have the most control over the final image in Adobe Lightroom. I also want to be able to apply filters or create an HDR image. I see Lightroom and Photoshop as the modern darkroom where I can burn, dodge and crop photos to my liking.

I see how SOOC has its uses but it’s not for every image.