Colors

[Tanya]

I find many people post pictures with beautiful colors (vivid and deep). Meanwhile none of my photos have that vividness).

Any suggestions on the cause? Oh and the photos are not over-exposed.

Is it the camera (nikon D70s)? the lense? the photographer (hehe)? The software?

[m771401]

Not the camera but Probably a combination of settings on the camera.

On my D80 I generally shoot in Aperture Priority and adjust the ISO and White Balance depending on lighting. I still have a lot to learn and most certainly don't always get it right. A lot of times I forget to change one setting over the other etc.

What has helped me is a book on exposure and the Magic Lantern Guide for my camera.

[imported_Jimbo]

I find many people post pictures with beautiful colors (vivid and deep). Meanwhile none of my photos have that vividness).

Any suggestions on the cause? Oh and the photos are not over-exposed.

Is it the camera (nikon D70s)? the lense? the photographer (hehe)? The software?

It might be helpful if you posted some examples with the EXIF info...

Also, Understanding Exposure by Brian Peterson is a great book.

I always shoot RAW and try to get the correct exposure out of the camera. Then I process the images with Adobe Lightroom and may adjust the hue/saturation, brightness and contrast to give my photos a little punch...

[3TailsWaggin]

You siggy picture looks good, nice vivid colors.

FWIW, Nikon is notorious for not producing nice deep crisp red, but on the flip side blues and greens are generally really vivid.

Learn to use some of the Photo Shop tools such as Curves and Levels, these help alot to salvage photos that aren't perfect out of the camera.

Although, one does strive to get it as perfect as one can right out of the camera

Practice and practice and practice some more.

[Tanya]

Maybe i'm just too picky on my own photos

I've taken some shots of flowers that turned out well (color wize). Clearly shots I take in sunlight are going to be tougher (colors are washed out). Maybe I need to change when I head out to take photos

about as good as my colors have come out:

Exposure time 1/3200
Apert: f/7.1
focal lenght 220mm

i'm terrible at photo editing (and also hate doing it...or maybe it's my lack of knowledge that makes me terrible that makes me hate it!). I've gotten abit better after doing all the wedding photos but still - i need to learn (take a class).

this is probably a good example of what i don't like. The photo is fine (considering where I am in my experience that is) but the colors are less than exiting. Then again - those are the colors that were there!

Exposure Time 0.0166s (1/60)
Aperture f/4.2
Focal Length 34mm (51mm 35mm)
Photo Dimensions 3008 x 2000
File Name DSC_0147.JPG
File Size 2.91 MB

[Buddysmom]

I think you're being too hard on yourself. Your siggy is great. It has green grass and a deep vivid chocolate on the dog. The tulip has rich reds/orange/purples. The background DOF mutes some of the background colors. In the last picture. I think the colors are fine. If you want richer colors, try increasing the contrast or saturation. Play with both and see which you like. It's my thought that the colors in the last shot aren't that vivid in that scene.

[imported_Jimbo]

Post processing sucks but sometimes it's needed. Both of your photos are slightly underexposed which can easily be fixed very quickly by boosting the brightness and contrast. Most photo editing programs have auto tools (white balance, levels, contrast, colors etc) that will fix most photos.

As for camera settings, whenever it's dark or cloudy outside, I use my Speedlite flash and review the histogram to make sure the photos exposed correctly. I also increase the ISO especially when I'm shooting in Av mode to give me a faster shutter speed to avoid camera shake. The sky in the 2nd picture is blown out which I have trouble with at times. The book Understanding Exposure has some great information and technique for overcoming this.

I also recommend reading this lesson on Exposure by Monnie that's very informative...
http://www.justlabradors.com/forum/i...c,36181.0.html

[Baloo317]

Have you tried playing with the exposure settings on the nikon? I find those make all the difference for me. lighter----------darker...... know what I mean?

[imported_Jimbo]

Have you tried playing with the exposure settings on the nikon? I find those make all the difference for me. lighter----------darker...... know what I mean?

Sounds like you're talking about the Exposure Compensation (+/-) button...

[Baloo317]

Have you tried playing with the exposure settings on the nikon? I find those make all the difference for me. lighter----------darker...... know what I mean?

Sounds like you're talking about the Exposure Compensation (+/-) button...

Yes!