Video A-Z

Video A-Z

Video intended for professional use will almost always need some post-production editing work, so you need to shoot it in such a way that you've got some 'headroom' to work with.

Most cameras have picture styles, or equivalents, which offer 'vivid', 'natural', 'flat' color renditions, and you should choose the 'flattest' you can. This will reduce the risk of blown highlights or oversaturated or distorted colours. You can increase contrast and saturation later, but reducing it is not so easy.

If you can, turn off the in-camera sharpening. You'll want to choose your own sharpening method, not leave it to the camera. At best, in-camera sharpening is a relatively crude 'one size fits all approach'; at worst, it adds edge effects and artefacts you can't get rid of.

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Rod Lawton
Freelance contributor

Rod is an independent photographer and photography journalist with more than 30 years' experience. He's previously worked as Head of Testing for Future’s photography magazines, including Digital Camera, N-Photo, PhotoPlus, Professional Photography, Photography Week and Practical Photoshop, and as Reviews Editor on Digital Camera World.