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eNoBlog wrote:
It seems every time a VSCO thread comes along, some of the same "objections" and "rebuttals" appear. To summarize:
1. Film is film and digital is digital. If you want to be satisfied with VSCO, you'll accept that VSCO gives you an approximation or emulation that may or may not look like the film -- and that whether you accept it matches the film is a highly subjective determination. (Funny how absolute claims that VSCO subjectively matched the film stock can be!)
2. Comparisons against non-preset solutions miss the value of being able to apply a consistent look across large sets of photos en-batch. You can do some wonderful things in Photoshop with SilverEfex (which I also use for my fine art B&W work), but that works best on a 1-by-1 shot basis. Get into large batches of photos, and it's time for a Lightroom + preset solution.
3. Most people who love VSCO didn't just click-and-BOOM! to get what they wanted. They took a VSCO preset and tweaked it to match their desired look. Some did more than tweak. If you think you could do the same on your own without VSCO, great, but mind the next point...
4. Camera profiles are where VSCO really stands out. Ever tried to match the output of a Canon 5D-something to a Nikon D-whatever? Even matching output of cameras from the same manufacturer can give you fits. The solution is to normalize with calibrated Camera profiles. If you think this is trivial, quick-and-easy work, give it a whirl with a color chart and DNG Profile Editor. I did just that, fed my profiles into LR, then tried to derive presets I was happy with. Let me tell you that the time I spent to reach a somewhat disatisfactory outcome more than pays for all 4 VSCO packs.
5. VSCO won't save a bad shot any more than any other PP technique. That's rather obvious to most people around here, I know, but it deserves repetition. Moreover, and perhaps not as appreciated, VSCO presets (just like their film inspirations) will work best when matched against good lighting, specific lighting that works best for that look, and optimized white balance (which results from that lighting). Again, click-and-BOOM! will only work when you're extremely lucky.
6. Finally, I often detect an underlying preconception that VSCO is for those that don't want to work very hard, or who just want the easy way out. As some of the points above illustrate VSCO is rather a tool used purposefully and intelligently to arrive at a desired outcome. If it's not for you, okay. But don't take it out on those who advocate for VSCO precisely because they have put in the elbow grease required to get optimum results.
For me the real value in VSCO is to get away from what I now consider rather bland and pedestrian look that the "standard" camera presets (Nikon for me) give me and to let me match camera output in those situations where I (and/or my teammates) shoot with different camera models and/or brands....Show more →
This is the best summary of VSCO I've seen on any forum. I agree with all of your points, especially 3 & 4 (I've also tried my hand at camera profiles).
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