Picture Preset Modes Vivid vs Standard (Set Picture Control)

Years ago I read articles to shoot everything in raw. Raw gives you 100% of the information from the photo and allows you to ultimately give you the most editing flexibility. While this is still true, I’m tired of spending hours editing every photo I take, most of which are just casual shots of travels or for the family.

I decided to play with picture presets on my Nikon Z6. For Nikon you can find them under the Shooting Menu > Set Picture Control.  I’ve toyed with these before on my other Nikon cameras but typically just shoot everything in Standard.

Nikon gives you the options of:

A - Auto
ST - Standard
NL - Neutral

VI - Vivid

MC - Monochrome

PT - Portrait

LS - Landscape

I’m sure Cannon and Sony have Similar presets for this.

On my Nikon Z6 I set User 1 to be for things and have set Picture Preset to Vivid. I set User 2 to be for people and have that picture preset to Standard. This way I can quickly go between things and people. I have other settings also preset to go with the two types of shooting.

I’ve chosen to use Vivid for things, just makes everything pop. One thing you’ll need to be cautious of is blue sky, it can look real blue and a little unnatural. Here are a couple sample shots:

bird on pond alligator palm trees

I’m hoping these make a difference and reduce the amount of editing I need to do.

Return to User Preset U1 U2 U3 [LinkL]

Return to Photography 

How to Manage Your Passwords

The internet, apps, website, everything and every place requires a password to login. Today each person has hundreds of logins where they need a passwords. Think about it, every app on your phone, your financial accounts, your emails, retailers, utilities and the list goes on. The prediction is that we will all need double the logins and passwords as we move forward.

Things to avoid when managing you password

Let’s put some rules in place, I’m sure you have heard these before. Don’t use simple passwords like “password” or "12345678. Don’t use the same password for multiple accounts. Don’t use short passwords. How about them pesky special characters.

Google and Facebook have made it easy, or have they? Many sites let you login using your Google or Facebook account. At first this seems like the easy thing to do but frankly I think it should be avoided. What happens if you choose to change or cancel your facebook or Google accounts, or maybe they are compromised, a hacker would have access to all of your accounts and logins. Better to use a secure email account as your login. One that has a very strong password.

Don’t store your passwords on your computer in a document or note! If a hacker finds there way into your computer, they have access to everything in your life!

Best Practice for managing your passwords

• Use a different strong password for every account. Don’t ever reuse a password!
• Change to a random generated set of numbers and letters. Best to use a password manager for this (see below)
• It’s OK to reset you password, do it often if you need to just follow the link and make sure you email password is very protected.
• Make sure you have an emergency contact who knows how and where you passwords are stored.

Use a Password Manager

I few years back I’ve resorted to a password manager. Because I was going between a Mac and Windows computer, iPhone and iPad I wanted something that worked in all browsers as well as on my portable devices, so I chose LastPass, mainly because they have a free version that worked everywhere. They also have Chrome and Safari add ins that automatically pull in my passwords. Others you may consider are McAfee, Keeper or if you are in the Apple ecosystem and only use apple products, think about just using the Apple Password Manager.

You can use the password manager built into Chrome, the problem I have with that is isn’t not transportable and requires the browser.

Writing this post has motivated me to change all my passwords to really long phrases like the lyrics to songs sprinkled with special characters $#@… I’m not ready for the full on random ones yet, maybe next year.

Use a Notebook for Passwords

If your not tech savvy, use a password notebook that you keep in a very secure place in your house. I wouldn’t carry it around with you and I wouldn’t use a notebook if you have visitors to your house. This should be a last resort.

--> Keep your computer secure

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Find a Healthier Bread

Breaking bread is not always what it’s made out to be. You need to make sure to read the food label on bread to make sure that it’s packing the grains and lower calories. Just because it’s brown doesn’t necessarily mean it healthier for your. Some break companies actually die their bread brown spoof you into thinking it’s healthier. Wheat doesn’t necessarily mean it’s whole grain. Look for better descriptors like 100% whole wheat or 100% whole grain. Multigrain like 7 or 12 grain doesn’t mean 100%. Could be they are using just different kind of refined grains.

Most people don’t know this but some of the healthiest breads are actually in the freezer section of your grocery store. Typically the are made without preservatives and so need to be frozen to maintain shelf life. Keep them in the freezer when you get home.

So check the label for Total Carbohydrates and Dietary Fiber. There should be at least 1 g of Dietary Fiber for every 10 g of Carbohydrates.

Quick Tip for a Healthier Bread

Less than 80 calories and at least 2 grams of dietary fiber per slice. Remember you normally eat two slices so you need to double your ingredients.

Be Fit Exercise and Diet