Im having a real hard time shooting the deep blues / aslo a question for the pros.

[BrokeColoReefer]

I am having a hard time shooting blue and purple corals. they come out way yellow and no deep color whatsoever. I have no problem shooting reds and greens. I will give three examples. The first one is supposed to be deep purple. The second and third are examples of green. I will attach all exif data.

These shots are for a e commerce website. They are not ment to be artistic, just to depict the coral as close as natural as i can. Can some of your pros out there give me some guidlines based on quality of work what i should be charging by the hour to take these shots for a LFS?

This entire colony is supposed to be deep purple with the exception of the lime polyps.

Camera Model Name Canon EOS 20D
Shooting Date/Time 7/18/2007 13:02:21
Tv(Shutter Speed) 5 sec
Av(Aperture Value) f32
Metering Modes -
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 100
Lens
Focal Lens 85.0 mm
Image size 2336 x 3504

this one is supposed to have deep purple tips.

File name IMG_0059.JPG
Camera Model Name Canon EOS 20D
Shooting Date/Time 7/18/2007 12:29:24
Tv(Shutter Speed) 2.5Sec.
Av(Aperture Value) f22
Metering Modes
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 100
Lens
Focal Length 38.0 mm

This one came out just the way i wanted it.

File name IMG_0161.JPG
Camera Model Name Canon EOS 20D
Shooting Date/Time 7/18/2007 12:37:45
Tv(Shutter Speed) 3.2Sec.
Av(Aperture Value) F22
Metering Modes
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 100
Lens
Focal Length 85.0 mm
Image size 3504 x 2336

 

[maroun.c]

For the colour I would start by setting the WB right, by experimenting with the presets or taking a custom white balance shot, or else you can shoot Raw and correct later on in PP.
As for charging I guess it all depends about the area you are shooting in, Still I guess you stil have to improve on getting the colour right and having less reflections from the flash or existing lighting before you can sell your work.
I could also be related to the increased exposure time which is washing out some colours before the others. You don't really have to be at 22-32 to get good DOF, also those apertures can cause diffraction. Maybe try shooting at wider aperture and faster shutter speeds.
Good luck.

 

[BrokeColoReefer]

thanks for the feedback. I will definatly shoot in lower apertures. Quite honestly i dont know what i was going so deep with those photos. That makes sense.
As far as white balance goes, im using a expo disk, and im directly teathered to the computer and shooting in raw. All the other colors are real close to true.
The reflections were drivig me nuts, im not sure how to fix that with the shooting angle i was at. I dont have that problem obviously when i shoot through the side of the tank.
Thanks for your help.

 

[maroun.c]

Are the reflections coming from the tank lighting or from use of flash?

 

[MCary]

The color you see off your corals is a function of the light shining on them. There are two forms of color. Pigment colors, Red, blue and Yellow. Mixing the colors makes them darker and changes them. For instance, mixing them all makes black. Your camera with a normal light ~5500 kelvin will reproduce pigment colors very well. Then there are colors of light. Red, blue and green. Mixing them make things brighter. Mixing them all makes white. Your camera will have difficulty reproducing those colors above 10,000 kelvin. A flash at 5500 kelvin will wash out the blues from actinics or lights rated above that. Without a flash the camera may not be able to use available light above 10,000 k underexposing the image. What does all this mean? I dunno. It doesn't mean that you cannot get good shots of your purples and blues. It just means that it is complicated. It is not just a point and shoot situation. You need a good white balance and proper lighting.

Mike

 

[BrokeColoReefer]

As far as white balance, i think i have that pegged. The light reflections are from the halides above the frag tray, i believe they are 14k bulbs. From what i am hearing from you Mcary, is that the camera wont pick up the pigments of blue from the bulbs since they are above 10k, and 5000k doenst pick up the blues either. So you can eloborate on the complicated technique that you have in mind? I understand this is not a point and shoot situation, and i have spent a few hours trying to perfect the blue shots. So any help would be appreciated.
Thanks !

 

[CAreefer]

I'm by no means anywhere near the expert, probably not even qualified to be posting this, but here it is anyway. Here is what works for me with my Nikon: Aperture priority mode, Ap 8-11 depending on what I'm looking for for DOF, I let the camera decide on shutter speed, overexpose in dimmer portions of tank, underexpose in brighter areas, and use auto adjust in PS at 25%-50%, auto level adjust, and maybe color if it doesn't throw it off and just a touch of sharpening. Some come out a bit dark, and I haven't perfected lightening them up without changing the representation of the true color of the coral, still working on that aspect.

I gave up trying to shoot in RAW. I couldn't get the results any better than the method outlined above, and just more steps.

The following pics were taken under 400 watt 20k's with lots of Actinic and are all within 90% accurate of the actual color of the coral.

Blues, check.

Purples, check.

Purples and green, check.

Again, all I know is what I've read and figured out by taking LOTS of pictures and using a couple. So maybe I helped a little, maybe not. But I tried.

CAReefer

 

["Umm fish?"]

Thanks for asking this question, Ryan, as I have had the same sorts of issues. I had pretty much thrown up my hands as I know that some of the rose catalogs I get throw up their hands at trying to depict the purples. So, it's good to know that there's hope!

And thanks CAReefer for a place to experiment from!