| Author |
My photos are lacking "warmth" |
davidmorgan
Joined:
23-11-2006
Messages: 1599
from The New Forest
 OFF-Line
|  Posted 25-09-2012 at 23:02
They all seem to be too "white", not enough warm red/yellow in them.
Should I be adjusting the white balance on my DSLR (I think it's on automatic)? Or maybe get a UV filter? Maybe both?
 Profile
 Reply
|
PeteG
Joined:
21-11-2002
Messages: 287
from Avebury
OFF-Line
| Posted 25-09-2012 at 23:08
David,
try adjusting the contrast and colour balance in photoshop.
PeteG
Profile
Reply
|
kelpie
Joined:
15-02-2001
Messages: 283
from Pickering, North Yorks
OFF-Line
| Posted 25-09-2012 at 23:12
I wouldn't bother with a UV filter but tweaking the white balance with software as Pete suggests will work. Alternatively, set your WB on your DSLR to the appropriate setting before taking each shot.
Profile
Reply
|
davidmorgan
Joined:
23-11-2006
Messages: 1599
from The New Forest
OFF-Line
| Posted 25-09-2012 at 23:26
Cheers, guys. I think I might be able to use the what I call HDR setting (3 photos with different shutter speeds) but have the white balance adjusted instead of the shutter speed. I'll try to give that a go and see what happens. Obviously needs a bit of experimentation - in camera, in my view, not post production (and please don't taket me down the RAW path, I can't be bothered!).
It's a bummer when you get back from hols and you think "oh dear, I could have done that better".
Although, I think you're right, I could probably fiddle around with them in software.
[ This message was edited by: davidmorgan on 2012-09-25 23:32 ]
Profile
Reply
|
PeteG
Joined:
21-11-2002
Messages: 287
from Avebury
OFF-Line
| Posted 25-09-2012 at 23:29
in the old days of film when you took your roll to a lab to be developed it was put into a minilab which would colour analyse the first frame and set filters accordingly. Every frame on the roll would be processed with that setting. This is why some prints look great and others taken on a different day with different lighting would be flat.
With digital the CCD captures an image which will need some processing to make it look right to the eye. Newer cameras like the Pentax K-R can take HDR images in camera which result in images much more like what your eye sees.
Here's one of your images I tweaked to show you what I mean
PeteG
Profile
Reply
|
Sunny100
Joined:
20-03-2010
Messages: 216
from Near Nelson, Lancashire
OFF-Line
| Posted 25-09-2012 at 23:30
Perhaps try menu setting on your camera. It is a problem I get with too much whiteness/brightness on photos. You should be able to darken photos a little with the camera settings - but not too dark - as then you would have to brighten.
Profile
Reply
|
davidmorgan
Joined:
23-11-2006
Messages: 1599
from The New Forest
OFF-Line
| Posted 25-09-2012 at 23:39
I see PeteG. That one was with a film camera in '93. I've found that a little contrast enhancement always works with them (and sharpen sometimes) - although what you've done there makes it better.
I still doubt if I'll ever win one of the monthly best pic awards  I'll give it a go, though, because it's good to create a nice image.
I also think it has something to do with my computer screens - my laptop appears to be "colder" than my desktop (neither CRT, by the way). Goodness, so many adjustments on so many devices to made, nowadays.
[ This message was edited by: davidmorgan on 2012-09-25 23:44 ]
Profile
Reply
|
PeteG
Joined:
21-11-2002
Messages: 287
from Avebury
OFF-Line
| Posted 25-09-2012 at 23:43
David,
the trick with post processing is to use it sparingly. Too many people overcook their images in photoshop.
I find dropping the exposure by half a stop in camera gives good daylight images that need very little processing.
PeteG
Profile
Reply
|
davidmorgan
Joined:
23-11-2006
Messages: 1599
from The New Forest
OFF-Line
| Posted 25-09-2012 at 23:48
Re: "overcooking" - this one was just for a laugh!
Profile
Reply
|
PeteG
Joined:
21-11-2002
Messages: 287
from Avebury
OFF-Line
| Posted 25-09-2012 at 23:52
Ouch! I remember a solstice at Stonehenge looking like that during the 1970's!
PeteG
[ This message was edited by: PeteG on 2012-09-25 23:52 ]
Profile
Reply
|
sem
Joined:
12-11-2003
Messages: 1704
from Bridgend,S.Wales
OFF-Line
| Posted 26-09-2012 at 00:08
Hi David
The most common problem with any digital camera is a tendency to over-expose. Anything that is white (or close to it) stays white, but there are many different different shades of "black".
As a quick solution on a DSLR, try using a minus exposure compensation (1 stop or more) and then correcting in any photo-manipulation program you use. The auto levels in Photoshop then normally solves most problems.
Just had a quick browse through your last 100pics and most are in very bright settings with plain skies. Here a gradauted filter might be a good choice (as well as using the above method).
Hope this helps.
Sem
Profile
Reply
|
sem
Joined:
12-11-2003
Messages: 1704
from Bridgend,S.Wales
OFF-Line
| Posted 26-09-2012 at 00:26
Quote:
|
On 2012-09-25 23:39, davidmorgan wrote:
I see PeteG. That one was with a film camera in '93. I've found that a little contrast enhancement always works with them (and sharpen sometimes) - although what you've done there makes it better.
I still doubt if I'll ever win one of the monthly best pic awards I'll give it a go, though, because it's good to create a nice image.
I also think it has something to do with my computer screens - my laptop appears to be "colder" than my desktop (neither CRT, by the way). Goodness, so many adjustments on so many devices to made, nowadays.
[ This message was edited by: davidmorgan on 2012-09-25 23:44 ]
|
|
As Pete says later, dropping exposure compensation might have stopped the wall in the foreground "whiting out"- or maybe it was the scan of the photograph that caused it?
Sorry David, but yes there are so many adjustments on so many devices - and just when you think you've got it right, your screen packs in and you've got to start the colour-correction all over again. Welcome to the over-50's world of slow information intake.
Profile
Reply
|
cerrig
Joined:
25-09-2009
Messages: 907
from Brecon Beacons
OFF-Line
| Posted 26-09-2012 at 06:18
David, if you set your white balance to "cloudy" it will automatically warm up your photo's, even on a sunny day, although a very bright sky can overpower it.
Cerrig
Profile
Reply
|
guile
Joined:
22-03-2010
Messages: 9
from y fêl ynys
OFF-Line
| Posted 26-09-2012 at 19:12
i too am disappointed with my pictures, they often look muddy and dull. i have an i-phone, an i-pad and a digital camera. the i-pad ones actually look great on the machine but not all that on the computer, the i-phone4 is new to me so the jury is out, but the i-phone 3gs was terrible, and the digital camera hardly ever comes out with me any more, and often just sits in the bottom of the bag. e-bay is in its near future.
i suspect my pc has a rubbish graphic card and possibly the monitor is dreadful too.
*sigh*
Profile
Reply
|
PeteG
Joined:
21-11-2002
Messages: 287
from Avebury
OFF-Line
| Posted 26-09-2012 at 19:20
most of the time photographs can be improved by over 50% by using a tripod and setting the timer to take the photo to avoid any camera shake.
If you haven't got Photoshop this works just as well.
http://pixlr.com/editor/
PeteG
Profile
Reply
|
Feanor
Joined:
11-05-2011
Messages: 316
from Cape Cod Massachusetts, US
OFF-Line
| Posted 27-09-2012 at 23:43
I would never take another digital picture without my Photoshop for post!
I use Nikon, and as lovely as the glass is, by the nature of either the old CCD or CMOS, things get cloudy.
Yes - white balance is a toughy - but caution should be used when adjusting it in a shot unless you have experience with what it actually does.
Histogram is another one that will either fix the white or totally butch a photograph.
The beauty of Photoshop is that it's Black-Based Zoned, ala film.
Auto-Set exposure value to 'Cloudy' for outdoor warmth. (As also suggested by others)
guile: What you're experiencing is the drastic color-conversion from a Mac-Based delivery system to PC Gamma. These are factory settings that no one ever pays attention to, but is a common issue with huge visual implications.
In addition, if you post-process in Photoshop, set the Image-Preview at "Let Photoshop Determine Colors", rather than the printer-settings.
Alternately, go into your computer's VGA Gamma setting and convert it to either the Adobe 1998 values (Standard for digital), or (I believe) the 2003/4 Mac values.
FYI: All this stuff was developed by Adobe in 88/89 when Mac was King. When PC overtook Mac, the 1998 settings were a successful attempt at correcting the vast difference between the two systems.
(For all you HDR buffs out there, always use CMYK settings in PS rather than the regular RGB, indexed at 16-bit if your system has the muscle)
Neil
Profile
 Email
Reply
|
sem
Joined:
12-11-2003
Messages: 1704
from Bridgend,S.Wales
OFF-Line
| Posted 28-09-2012 at 00:15
Aaah Neil, now you're getting technical - I've still got proof prints of CMY&K for a printer I disposed of years ago, and only because HP didn't provide drivers on Vista for one of their £350 printers!
I think the main thing is to sort your monitor and printer out. The only system I've used is Adobe Gamma (comes with Photoshop) and having just reinstalled my OS I am on a relearning curve here.
Another problem is "translating " a 10+mb file (this seems to be the standard camera picture-size) into a 300kb web-sized file.
Aah well!?!
Profile
Reply
|
Feanor
Joined:
11-05-2011
Messages: 316
from Cape Cod Massachusetts, US
OFF-Line
| Posted 28-09-2012 at 02:30
Hi Sem
I never used either Vista or even Seven. Still on trusty old XP. (Waiting to see what becomes of Eight, coming next month.)
HP as well as several other 3rd-parties failed in providing Drivers for Vista. BIG disappointment for printer-owners everywhere! (Now everything's retro'd, so no worries there.)
Anyway, I didn't intend to get 'Technical' - just a few observations after many years of dealing with the pros & cons of both systems.
I do a lot of image restoration these days so I've had my toes wet for a while.
Profile
Email
Reply
|
Main News