Why In-Camera Presets Aren't Cheating
Why do photographers feel guilty about presets?
Harris is honest about the charge against presets, because he partly shares it. They can stop you finding your own editing style, make everyone's work look similar, and let you skip learning to edit. His counter is disarming: the same could be said of film. Beyond a little darkroom trickery, Kodak Portra 400 looks like Portra 400, and nobody called shooting Portra cheating. There is far more to an image than its tones.
What do presets teach you that RAW forgives?
Presets are applied to JPEGs, and JPEGs have limited wiggle room. That is a feature. Pliable RAW files breed a particular laziness: exposure a little off, and you quietly rely on the edit to fix it. A preset removes the safety net and rewards getting it right in the camera. Harris also names the quieter benefit: presets remove editing anxiety. The pressure to make a perfect edit every time drives overediting, the endless sliders that bury a good photo. A preset you trust hands the decision back to the moment of shooting.
What makes film simulations and recipes different?
Fujifilm's Film Simulations are the famous example, many modeled on classic film stocks. OM System and Nikon go further: their filters can be edited into recipes, starting from a base look and tweaking contrast and saturation until you have a personal, repeatable look. Either way, the mirrorless EVF changes the game, because you see the finished look live as you compose. That feedback loop is a teacher: you learn what the preset wants before you press the shutter. Harris suggests shooting RAW plus JPEG: commit to the preset's look, keep the RAWs as backup.
Why it matters for you
The real argument for presets is time. Every hour you are not hunting through sliders is an hour you could be shooting. For learners, the discipline is the point: a preset that punishes sloppy exposure teaches the exposure triangle faster than any tutorial, because the feedback is immediate and the photo looks finished on the spot. Harris's verdict: recipes are a middle ground that builds confidence and, more importantly, keeps you taking photos. That was never cheating.