Have you ever been fascinated by how the human eye perceives the world? I was, and I wanted to capture that same natural perspective through a lens. One afternoon, while observing the new Bean Bar on campus, something caught my eye: the warm ambient light, fun doodles on the wall, and a neon sign that popped right out. It had this laid-back, cozy energy I wanted to preserve exactly as I saw it.
The human eye, with a focal length typically around 22mm, is often compared to a 50mm lens on a full-frame camera. So, to recreate that experience, I chose the Panasonic GH5S, which features a Micro Four Thirds sensor, and used the kit lens (12-60mm) but zoomed in to the 25mm mark.
To ensure that it felt as authentic as possible, I decided to use the GH5S’s Natural picture profile rather than the Standard profile. I believe this profile delivers a more accurate color, along with a balanced contrast that stays true to real life. When I adjusted the settings, I lowered the contrast to -2 to preserve both highlights and shadows, keeping the details in the scene clear. I found that reducing the sharpness all the way down to -5 created a softer quality, which perfectly complemented the natural feel I was aiming for. I kept the noise reduction at 0 to avoid any artificial smoothing and slightly reduced both saturation and hue by -1, ensuring that the colors stayed true to the scene without feeling overly processed. Adjusting the white balance to match the ambient lighting was the final touch, making sure that the colors and tones resembled what I experienced with my own eyes.
Even though the image might look slightly out of focus at first glance, it isn’t. It’s just not overly sharp — and that was intentional.
When framing the shot, I stood close to the textured wall and let the neon sign take focus, capturing the entire vibe from a natural viewing angle. It wasn’t about dramatic angles or fancy techniques — just being present, observing, and letting the environment speak for itself.
In the end, it felt like I wasn’t just filming what I saw, I was filming how I saw it.
– Kiitan Efuwape
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