“Colour is one of the most important ways in which we perceive the world,” says professional colour-grader Veres Deni Alex, “and that’s why it’s so vital in photography and filmmaking. Colour activates emotions and reactions, driving home narrative and meaning. It can make you happy or sad, peaceful or energised, attract you or make you feel apprehensive… and with my Sony camera it’s something I’ve been able to use more and more effectively.”

Colour grading and colour effects have never been more popular, or easier to achieve. There are courses and presets aplenty online, and they can be added via RAW processing, or through quick and easy in-camera settings. So how did Veres get into it, and what appeals to him about doing it with his Sony kit?

“I’m a very visual person,” he explains, “and was captivated by colours from the start of my photography journey. Sony cameras enable me to materialize my vision thanks to their versatility, allowing me to push the parameters to see how it reacted. That fascination was deepened by watching movies and noticing how colour choices are central to helping tell the story. That’s what led me to work as a studio colourist. And my job fuelled my passion.”

As well as working with colour-grading software, in his spare time Veres started to experiment with what he could achieve on his Sony cameras, including effects and his own ‘recipes’. And the results, both in terms of imagery and creativity, have been brilliant. “What attracted me to setting up my own Picture Profiles was the immediacy of it and the positive effect it has on shooting,” he explains.

“The brilliant thing about Sony’s in-camera features is how much more inspiring and immediate they make my photography at the point of capture,” says Veres. “I can transform a picture’s mood in an instant, which improves the creative flow in the present moment. For example, models feel better when the image already looks great out of camera, and it boosts their confidence and trust in the artist's process – while also stimulating the creativity and shooting experience of the creator. And if I shoot RAW + JPEG, I can take advantage of the full capabilities when needed.”

“Sony has two main ways of adding creative colour effects in camera,” he continues, “and they’re both very powerful in their own ways. Creative Looks are the simpler route, mainly designed for stills, and giving an immediate creative lift. For instance, there are pre-loaded effects like ‘IN’, which reduces contrast and saturation for a flat look, or ‘SH’ which gives a brightening push that’s soft and gentle. Those Looks can then be fine-tuned in terms of contrast, highlights, shadows, fading, saturation, sharpness and clarity, saved and reused.”

“The Picture Profile menu is more designed for filmmaking, but it can be used on stills, too. In this menu you have advanced settings for gamma curves, colour, detail, black point, and more. It’s more powerful than the Creative Looks, and that gives you the option of cooking up your own recipes completely from scratch.”

Inspired by the versatility of those options, Veres began making his own creative colour effects, particularly concentrating on traditional film stocks, and sharing them with other Sony users. One of the most successful has been his Gold recipe. “One of my inspirations in becoming a colour grader were the looks of different films,” he explains, “and colour negative was one I enjoyed shooting. It has lovely delicate yellow, amber golden skin tones that are very attractive, and a magical golden finish that’s nostalgic and inviting.”

“Making the effect took months,” he remembers “and there was a lot of experimentation along the way. I checked lots of colour negative samples from the internet using analysis software and this showed how the colours shifted away from a ‘natural’ image. It’s important to check a wide range because film can be volatile and unpredictable. Eventually I got an average that represented the film best, and then applied it within the Picture Profile menu. Thousands of people have downloaded it, so the effort really paid off.”

The process has taught Veres a lot, but most importantly it’s confirmed the ability of colour to affect emotion and inspire. “I continue to tinker with my effects to make them better, as well as creating new ones that aren’t based on anything other than what I like,” he concludes. “The creative aspect is really important to me, and that’s why I don’t think Picture Profiles like this should be used prescriptively. There’s no ‘best way’ to colour your portrait, just ‘your way.’ And Sony’s creative controls make that really easy.”