Nikon D5100 Experience Manual page 57

Nikon D5100 Experience
Figure 36 – Modifying Picture Controls Menu
Here are some of the changes to the Standard setting you may wish to experiment with: digital
images typically require some Sharpening to look their best, so increase the sharpening but don't
over-do it to where the image looks unusual. And be aware that for portraits, a softer, less
sharpened image may look better. Contrast also makes images "pop" and help them appear
sharper, so experiment with that, but beware that more contrast will tend to cause bright areas to
be more easily overexposed. A little bit of Brightness often helps an image look better without
affecting the overall exposure. Saturation, too, really brings images to life, especially ones that
emphasize color, so this should generally be slightly increased. Hue tends to noticeably change
skin tones so it is typically best to leave this alone. Don't hesitate to increase the others beyond
the defaults, but be sure not to over-do it to the point where the adjustments looks obvious or
unreal (unless that is your intention).
If you are shooting in RAW, the Picture Control you set applies to the images you see on the rear
LCD Monitor even though you are shooting in only RAW. So it is somewhat important that you
leave this set at Standard (or Neutral) if you shoot RAW. Otherwise if you set, for example, a
Picture Control with high contrast, the image you review on the LCD Monitor may show blown-
out highlights, but in reality, the RAW file will be properly exposed. Also choose Standard or
Neutral Picture Control if you shoot JPEGs but plan to edit in Photoshop later.
You can also select the Monochrome Picture Control to shoot black and white images. With
Monochrome you can choose from different color filters to achieve the look of lens filters
traditionally used with black and white film. Yellow, Orange, and Red will increase contrast and
darken the sky – Yellow a little bit, Red a lot, and Orange in between. These create more
dramatic looking skies especially if there are clouds, which will stand out nicely against the
darkened sky. Green is used to soften skin tones, such as for portraits. With the Monochrome
setting, you can also apply Toning, or a colored tint including Sepia, blue Cyanotype, and various
other colors. However, it is generally better to take all your images in color and convert to black
and white in post-processing. This way you still have the color image plus you have much more
control over the conversions, tones, and filters in Photoshop or Lightroom.
You can save the custom Picture Controls you have created in the Manage Picture Control item
of the Shooting Menu. Access this menu item, select Save/edit, select the desired Picture
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