Nikon D40

[degibson84]

my wife has a D40 and I am trying to get some good shots of the tank but like the Iphone the D40 makes everything appear very blue. What can I do to correct the overblue on pictures

 

[jdaniels175]

I would suggest shooting in RAW, then using a program to correct after. I use the one that came with my camera , Canon Digital Photo Pro. there are plenty of others that work. What you want to adjust is the White Balance.

 

[degibson84]

I am not a very tech savvy person what is RAW? And I think what you are telling me is that all these pictures I see are photoshopped

 

[tcp316]

RAW is the cameras maximum quality. Huge file so you can edit it then convert to Jpeg or whatever and not lose quality

 

[Misled]

A RAW image is an image that hasn't beem edited by the camera. This gives a photographer the ability to edit it on a computer and make changes "they" want, not what the camera wants.

 

[DeepThought]

Basically what they said.

Your camera can't handle the "blueness" of the tank, so it compensates for it on auto modes. The auto modes add a lot of blue light, but when you shoot in RAW with a decent off camera flash and a 1:1 macro lens and learn how to shoot in manual mode and edit the white balance in an image program, you can get clear shots like everyone else.

Lots to do to get those award winning shots!

 

[jdaniels175]

I am not a very tech savvy person what is RAW? And I think what you are telling me is that all these pictures I see are photoshopped

If you look in your owners manual, it will tell you how to "Shoot in RAW", and you can then edit those files in photoeshop, or whatever other program you use. RAW format is an unedited (ok probably debatable) file. When you shoot in JPEG, the camera uses some assumptions/ algorithms to create a file with certain parameters, and also to make a smaller file.

the short answer to your question about "photoshop" is probably. There are ways to set up custom settings on some cameras, so that you can overcome the blueness on camera. ( and sometimes you just get lucky and get a good picture) When you do this though it is hard to account for all of the variables associated with taking pictures. The best photos you see are probably adjusted after the fact. It is just a more powerful way to "Fix" the issues.

The term "photoshopped" also carries a sort of negative connotation, so I should clarify:

Programs like Photoshop or Lightroom etc, are used in this instance to adjust the colors, lighting etc to represent what the human eye see's when we look at our tanks, not to change them into something they are not.

Bottom line is that a camera and a human eye don't always see things the same way, but now we are heading down a philosophical road about what is perception and what is reality.......