White balance

[Roy G. Biv]

Hey guys. I just got my Canon XSI two weeks ago and Im having a ball. I am using the 18-55 lens it came with. I am playing with all of the settings trying to refresh my memory from my classes in high school. Anyway. I am going nuts shooting my tank and I can get pretty decent shots in my opinion. However I'm having trouble shooting the sand.

Example:

I am trying like hell to get this shot but it gets washed out. Im shooting in Tv mode at 1/200. Pretty much I am focusing out in front of his cave and holding down the trigger as he spews.

Any suggestions?

 

[Roy G. Biv]

 

[BlueCorn]

That's not a white balance problem, that's an exposure problem. There's too much dynamic range in that shot. The only thing you can do is to dial in some exposure compensation to darken image.

 

[ERIKATHORNBURG]

Are you having trouble with the color...which is what white balance is for....or the exposure?

 

[Roy G. Biv]

I guess it would be the exposure. This is still new to me so treat me like an idiot please.

What could I have set to make that picture better.

 

[ERIKATHORNBURG]

I shoot mostly in manual...but, that's not typical.

 

[Misled]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13681879#post13681879 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beerguy
That's not a white balance problem, that's an exposure problem. There's too much dynamic range in that shot. The only thing you can do is to dial in some exposure compensation to darken image.

Like the man said. I dialed it "way" back and a little sharpening. If paying attention you can do it while taking the shot with the camera. Would be alot better doing it that way or doing it with the pic in raw. This was just a quicky and could be done better with time and a higher res pic.

 

[the_rider]

I'm not an expert, but if you are shooting in raw. You can arrange the photo by changing the exposure and play with the recovery.

Using RAW, you can also change the whitebalance afterward but in your picture, the problem is exposure like beerguy said.

If you are shooting in JPEG, you can adjust the shadow/highlight. It wont be perfect but it will be better. Or you can force the jpeg to be open by Camera Raw then arrange it using camera raw but you won't have all the options that a RAW file have.

 

[ERIKATHORNBURG]

Oh...I always shoot in RAW. It gives you more play room.

 

[Roy G. Biv]

The exposure setting is the black and white +/- symbol?

 

[the_rider]

Depending, while you are shooting, you can play between the aperature, the shutter speed and the +/- sign.

But personally, I think the best way for a picture like yours is to take a multi exposure picture in raw. This way you can choose the best picture depending of the exposure result and then, fine tune it in Camera Raw or another program.

 

[ERIKATHORNBURG]

Yes, that +/- sign is your exposure compensation. But, I agree....take it in RAW and adjust the exposure....that's the best way.

I'm wishing I could find a link for you. There is a website where you can get a course for your camera....it's more detailed than your manual. It' helps you figure out things like this. It's great. Humm....can't remember the website....I'll let you know if I think of it.

 

[ERIKATHORNBURG]

Found it:

http://www.shortcourses.com/store/canon-xsi.html

 

[H@rry]

This one is good too. It deals with shooting your tank.

http://www.ximinasphotography.com/lessons/

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13682060#post13682060 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by the_rider
I'm not an expert, but if you are shooting in raw. You can arrange the photo by changing the exposure and play with the recovery.

Using RAW, you can also change the whitebalance afterward but in your picture, the problem is exposure like beerguy said.

If you are shooting in JPEG, you can adjust the shadow/highlight. It wont be perfect but it will be better. Or you can force the jpeg to be open by Camera Raw then arrange it using camera raw but you won't have all the options that a RAW file have.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13682223#post13682223 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ERIKATHORNBURG
Yes, that +/- sign is your exposure compensation. But, I agree....take it in RAW and adjust the exposure....that's the best way.

You can not change the exposure with a RAW file. Exposure is a combination of ISO, Aperture, and Shutter speed i.e. film grain, depth of field, and hang time. Together they determine the overall "brightness" of an image by how much light each of the three settings allow to touch the sensor. The OP's tank was too white because the exposure combination he selected was wrong, yes. Once the picture is taken these settings can NEVER be altered. White balance on the other hand can be changed all you want after the fact with a RAW image.

The "corrected" image where the sand was made much darker was achieved with a tool called "Curves" in Photoshop. "Curves" does show up in the Canon RAW menu, but while it will make darker areas darker and lighter areas lighter or vicea versa, it does NOT change the exposure.

 

[ERIKATHORNBURG]

You can tweak exposure in RAW using Photoshop....I do it all the time.

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

You can change your shutter speed in RAW?
You can change your aperture in RAW?
You can change your ISO speed from 1600 to 400 after the fact in RAW?
Really?

I think you are confusing some very importiant vocabulary.

 

[BlueCorn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13688114#post13688114 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ERIKATHORNBURG
You can tweak exposure in RAW using Photoshop....I do it all the time.

Sure, and you've got way more latitude for adjustment than if you'd taken the shot as JPG. It's not a magic bullet however. If you've clipped the highlights or shadows, you've lost detail that you can never completely recover. Even when using RAW you get a better image if you can get the exposure right to begin with.

 

[ERIKATHORNBURG]

I said "TWEAK" exposure. It's not a fix all. It doesn't change your ISO, Aperature, or Shutter speed...no. But, those are just the things that you change on your camera to allow the camera to figure the exposure. There are a tone of combinations of those things to attain the correct exposure in an image.

And in RAW, there is an "EXPOSURE" slider (that's what it is called) that you can adjust. It doesn't work as well with an overexposed image, but a slightly underexposed image it works fine. You have to get it close. It will allow you to adjust it by +/- 2. That's where a light meter comes in handy so you can get it as close as possible. I usually try to get it within a 1/2 of stop and then fine tune it in RAW.

I do know what I'm talking about.....Professional Photographer by trade. Don't believe me? Check out my website:

www.erikasphoto.com

 

[Roy G. Biv]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13681990#post13681990 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pmolan
What could I have set to make that picture better.

I meant camera settings.
I did research for RAW. The opinions seem to be that its too much trouble to work with the large files as they take up too much room on the memory card. Some swear by it.

I think RAW is the way to go to slightly edit a photo but I think I need to learn to take decent photos first.