What am I doing wrong?

Hello again! As I said in my Hello thread I'm a total beginner still learning my way around the camera (K10D).

I have noticed a lot of my shots seem to be coming out kind of 'washed out' and almost hazy. I know I can recover them (to a point) and make them quite presentable using LightRoom or PhotoShop but think it would be better to try and get the photo right from the camera.

Here's an example:




Taken in Av mode

Exposure 1/60
F5.6
Shutter 1/60
ISO 400

I may be a noob but I don't want anyone to be gentle with their criticism - please tell me what I should/could have done to improve this photo - I can take it!

For some reason when converting this image to jpg so I could post it here the problem seems less obvious?! I guess PhotoShop has done something during the export. It's fair to say the .pef file looks paler than this .... The only thing I knowingly changed is that I cropped it.

Thanks

The image looks slightly out of focus to me...

However, if you are saying that it looks very pale, then I'd suggest calibrating your monitor - even if it's only by eye. The shot looks fine to me on this monitor

Let us know some more details about your machine (PC and screen) and software and there might be something else to add.

(There's a sticky I wrote about Colour Managed workflow which may be worth a read... much of it may go over your head at the moment, but still have a read!)

Matt

I agree with Matt.

Focus appears to be the main problem, not always easy to get right on furry objects.

Exposure appears about right.

The background does absolutely nothing for the image.

Almost any other background would be better.

It's the kind of out-of-focus I experience with my kit lens also. In fact, I posted a complaint to the Norwegian Pentax representative today.

I would try tweaking the Sharpness to maximum in the Rec. Mode menu. It does help some. Also try to aim for higher f stops, f/8 or f/11, to increase performance of the lens.

Anyone else with similar experience on the DA 1:3.5-5.6 18-55 mm AL kit lens, or have I just been unfortunate with my specimen?

Mine has been fine and it is widely regarded as the best of the kit lenses from a camera manufacturer.

Assuming that you are using autofocus, it is important to select the correct autofocus option for the relevant subject (single centrepoint etc.).

I think that woodworm might feel it's lacking zip and sparkle. I agree on my monitor the exposure looks OK but it doesn't jump out of the screen at you and I suspect that's what he wants. If you look at some sites then all the images are hugely over saturated and sharpened which can create the idea that anything unlike that isn't right.

I don't think that's an issue with the camera but something you'd get through some post processing. I'd say get a trial copy of SilkyPix and just fiddle with the settings and see if it gets 'better'.

Mike

Hi people - thanks for all the replies.

Looking at it again I agree the problem is the focus - it's just when I first view the pictures the most obvious issue is the washed out look - but I'm sure this is me not understanding what's happening when I convert the image to .jpg as the .pef files look much softer and paler. I didn't knowingly change any contrast or exposure settings (I just thought I'd cropped it slightly).

For the focus I had the focus dial just set to the green auto option - should I have selected the centre option?

Matt - I will have a look at your sticky about monitor calibration, I'm sure this is worthwhile even if it isn't my problem now. I will also try the images on our CAD machines at work, they are regularly calibrated using a spider ...

Hyram - yes the background is rubbish, it's quite difficult getting her to sit still somewhere there is suitable light - hence the fridgefreezer (with magnets!) in the background, this is why I tried to use a low f number to blur it out ...

A lot of my images seem to be slightly out of focus, but still believe that's down to user error rather than any fault with the camera!

Thanks again for all the comments.

if it's a colour problem, I suggest a different subject to demonstrate. Cats can make great photographic subjects but since your cat is grey and white on a white background it's quite hard to assess the colour reproduction.


If you are used to a point and shoot, you will find that the default settings from any good DSLR produce less punchy results out of the camera than you are used to. This is because DSLR manufacturers assume the photographer will want to edit the pictures post capture, so the default settings are designed with this in mind to give maximum latitude.

If you want to produce shots from the camera which you can just print right away, you will need to switch to "bright" tone, and probably push up the contrast and sharpness a little bit in the camera.

Most people here shoot in RAW and deal with the fine colour and tone adjustments later in the converter.

Hi Mongoose, I think you hit the nail on the head as I have come from a p&s where the colours are vivid. I am shooting in RAW format and am quite happy to post process pictures but want to minimise the mistakes I make initially so I don't have to fix too much afterwards.

I will take some other pictures and post another if I'm still struggling.

Thank you.

no problem

BTW with regard to AF mode, I almost always have my 10D set on centre point only. That way it's easier to control exactly where the camera focuses. Most of the time you will want to focus on the eyes of the creature (be it human, animal, bird or whatever) being photographed.

Like all "rules" in photography, this one can be bent, but in general it's best for portraits.

The RAW files need to be processed to some degree or other as they do look washed (flat) out unless you are shooting in very good lighting conditions.

P&S mainly process in JPEGs with the camera doing all the work to produce a vivd looking image.

As a test take some test images (your cat) in RAW and then with JPEGs see what you have. Most probably the jpegs will look better.

But the RAW files will look better once your post process them.

Regards,

Gary.

Hello again - just thought I would follow this up as I think I found something that was affecting the way I 'see' my images.

I thought my issue was with .pef files originally being too pale, but I noticed that if I view .jpeg files through Windows Picture Viewer, or post an image up to a web-site it looks much darker, but when I open that same .jpeg in Silkypix or Lightroom then they look similar to the original .pef file.

So if I open the Creepy3.jpeg shown above in Photoshop it looks very pale but exactly as above in Windows Picture Viewer, is this something to do with colour profiles? I can understand my monitor needing calibration, but I expected it to look the same (ie bad or good) regardless of the application I'm using ...

I found that "Windows Picture Viewer" changed the colour's on lots of images.
Tried "Picass" also this tended to be better but also changed some colour's

My camera and I now use "IrfanView" to display images as this seems to display the same as you would see in for example in "Photoshop".

"Irfanview"is a free download found at http://www.irfanview.com/
Be sure to also download the plugins to allow you to view RAW files.

I would also complete a calibration of your monitor if you are seeing differences in images.

Regards,

Gary.

having just skimmed through this thread...
I've a couple pointers....

one: make sure your exporting your images in the same colorspace as your viewing them.... for example, it is possible for me to have aperture set up to run in adobe '98 rgb and then export into srgb...now I can imagine that if I did that backwards, and exported to adobe 98 after viewing in srgb.....

if in doubt, switch EVERYTHING to srgb (monitor, software, and camera) and try it there while you read up on, and set up proper color calibrated workflow!

next: look at the light.
seeing the light is a skill that can be learned.
using the large window was a good start. now get the subject closer to your lightsource, and turn to higher iso's (800 for exapmle) to get a smaller aperture for more dof. look at your background, all that wasted space is affecting your exposure. turn your camera verticle, and move in closer to get the distractions out. set your color balance with white paper.

here's my sons cat:


this is lit from a large softbox, but a softbox like that was designed to emulate the light you'd get from a large window on a bright overcast day!
you can get a better shot with what you got and some practice. use manual controls! focus on the eyes.set up a stuffed animal and work your settings, add lights or background material and when you get everything right, remove the stuffie and stick in your cat, and bam...pro quality shot!

Don, what were you waving over your head to get the cat's attention?

Dan