How do I start with in-camera JPEG settings in Lightroom?

Question

I'm a novice shooting in RAW and find that half the time my camera JPEG images come out better than my Lightroom tweaks to RAW files.So to give myself a better start I'd like to apply the JPEG settings that are applied automatically by the camera to my RAW files in Lightroom so that initially my RAW files look exactly like the JPEG files. How can I do this?

Answer 1

Camera manufacturers put a lot of effort into fine tuning their jpeg engines, and that secret sauce can be difficult to replicate.

There's not a direct way to apply the jpeg look to a raw file in Lightroom, but you may find that a combination of profiles and presets can help you get a look that you like quickly. However, they are unlikely to match, and you may find greater joy in shooting raw or jpeg. Comparing the two on a regular basis is likely to be frustrating.

I'd be happy to help you expedite your raw processing, as well as to discuss when jpegs might actually be preferable. Conventional wisdom is evolving; it doesn't have to be all raw all the time - even for serious photographers...