I'm not sure what I am doing wrong :(

[tlcmommyx4]

I am not sure what I am doing wrong, I can't seem to get any good night shots. I see all these wonderful shots with an low ISO and I can't seem to get anythng without a high ISO, I am using a 50mm f/1.8 so I am not sure if I am not close enough or what. Can someone please help me:confused3.
Here are some pictures.
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1740.jpg
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1748.jpg[/IMG]
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1745.jpg

Thank you so much for your advice :worship:

[ukcatfan]

For this kind of shot, you do not need your fast lens and would not use it wide open like that. As for your problem, you are not using a slow enough shutter speed. I saw one a 1/320. That is an action shot speed! You need a tripod and a shutter release more than a fast lens. You can us that lens if you like it and the focal length works for you, but I say use it at more like f/8 and a few second shutter speed.

[disneyboy2003]

ukcatfan is right. All 3 of your photos are using a shutter speed of 1/320 sec, which is way too fast for low-light photography.

You were right to use the 50mm f/1.8 lens because of its large aperture (small f-number). You were right to increase the ISO when you though the photo was too dark. The only part of the "exposure triangle" you didn't change was the shutter speed.

For low-light photography, you want to do everything you can to get *more* light into your camera. You do this by:
using a larger aperture - letting more light into your camera
using a higher ISO - making your camera sensor more sensitive to light
using a slower shutter speed - allowing more time to let light into your camera


Sometimes, when you use a very very slow shutter speed (perhaps shutter speeds slower than 1/30 sec?), you run the risk of blurring due to camera shake. In those situations, you'll want to use a tripod.

Photography with a Tripod
If you're already going to use a tripod for these low-light nightscape shots, you might as well try to get the best photo you can. In that case, you can afford to use lower ISO (ex. ISO 100-200) to avoid noise / grain in your photos.

You can also afford to use smaller apertures to get sharper photos and larger depth of field. Try apertures like f/8 - f/11, which is usually your lens' "sweet spot". Apertures smaller than that (ie. larger f-numbers) run the risk of diffraction causing some mild softness, slightly less-sharp photos.

With lower ISO and smaller apertures, you'll then have to use very very slow shutter speeds (like *several seconds*) to get the right exposure for low-light photography. But that's okay because you're using a tripod.

That's the key to all the beautiful low-light / night photography that you see on this message board.

(I feel like that rogue magician in Magic Secrets Finally Revealed)

[Gianna'sPapa]

These are not Disney, but are from my recent trip to DC using the above techniques. These are straight out of the camera and have not been PP or retouched. I'm in the process of doing that, just haven't had the time yet. These were taken in near total darkness, especially the Wall.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2740/4421098971_8f7ee684f1_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2684/4421098595_c8175d2e99_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/4421866154_62bc954c8a_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4018/4421865724_187fd4d8d9_b.jpg

[tlcmommyx4]

Thank you so much! I feel like I am getting somewhere in understanding my camera in many ways and was so frustrated with night pictures. I am going out tonight with my tripod and take these again and you will be so inpressed with my new shots. I really thank you for helping me become a better amatur:worship:

[IndyShutterbug]

I like playing with long exposures at night, as well as the light starbursts you get when shooting at f/11 or higher.
Here is one with a 3 second shutter.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2556/3783634866_73feb45f57.jpg

[tlcmommyx4]

That is a great shot! Do you think it would be better to use my kit lens (18mm-55mm) and slow shutter speed vs my 50mm f/1.8 since I will need to use an f stop of 8 or above anyway? I am at least 1 mile from what I am going to be shooting.

[RBennett]

That is a great shot! Do you think it would be better to use my kit lens (18mm-55mm) and slow shutter speed vs my 50mm f/1.8 since I will need to use an f stop of 8 or above anyway? I am at least 1 mile from what I am going to be shooting.

For something like that, I would probably be more inclined to use the 18-55mm lens. Just so you can adjust the focal length if for nothing else. Just remember, that sweet spot on that lens will be around the f/8 or f/11 and will probably have your best results. I would set it to that aperture, zoom to show what you're wanting to see, and then change the shutter speed to equal out the exposure. :thumbsup2

[Altair]

Try to fill the frame better with the lighted subjects, compare your photo's with GP's and how they fill the frame. In the second photo, you are too far away from the lighted subject, but the exposure on it is not too bad. The building in the thrid photo is exposed well, but is lost in all the darkness around it. The first photo is just plain under exposed by the too fast shutter speed.:wizard:

[boBQuincy]

Using Shutter priority mode is not the best way to go for these, Program or Aperture priority would give much better results for now. Also the spot meter is not the best choice, Evaluative would probably work much better.

[tlcmommyx4]

Thank you so much for all your advice. I went out tonight and took a couple of shots and they were much better and was so excited about how they came out so much better than Saturday night. I did just see thought that I still forgot to take it off of spot metering, oh well I am so grateful for all your help and am learning so much. We are on spring break and I hope it gets a little warmer and hope we get some sunshine so I can take some more. Tell me what you think of these?
This one was with the camera on the bridge rail.
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1789.jpg
This one was with the tripod behind the rail. The light from the street is in my way. :rotfl2:
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1786.jpg

Thanks again:worship:

[Gianna'sPapa]

I like the first one. The second horizon seems to be off and seems to be a little blurry. Do you have a level on your either your tripod or camera? When using the tripod, I use a bubble level that slides in the hot shoe mount. Also I would recommend a remote control, either wire or wireless. I use a wireless.

[tlcmommyx4]

I like the first one better also. I just got my camera a couple of months ago and don't have a great tripod yet:sad2:. I do think the second one looks blurry, because of the spot metering that I had forgotten to change, and the street light from behind was more of an influence for some reason. I'm sure it didn't help that I was cold and didn't take my time in framing it well. I am just so excited that I feel like I am getting better and better with all the help from this board and all the nice people willing to help others:banana::banana: Oh and I did get both the wireless remote and the cable remote and just haven't been brave enough to use them yet :)

[ukcatfan]

I do think the second one looks blurry, because of the spot metering that I had forgotten to change, and the street light from behind was more of an influence for some reason.

The spot metering has to do with the exposure and should not have an effect on the potential for blur in these shots. It can affect how long the shutter is open, but you want it to be open for a long time on these. The blur is from camera movement. Even the press of the shutter can cause blurring. If you do not have a remote shutter release, try using a two second delay.

[NateNLogansDad]

Question for the guys who know what they are talking about (NOT ME AT ALL) If the tripod isn't all that great, would a breeze have caused enough movement to make it blurr a bit? Would that have been why the other shot (When the camera was resting on the rail) was clearer? Also, if there was no breeze contributing to it, would the mirror cause that much shake if it weren't locked?

[Gianna'sPapa]

More than likely its the movement caused by the pressing of the shutter button. The first shot was on the railing and was probably more steady and secure than when it was on the tripod. I use two methods when using the tripod. I either focus the camera by pressing the shutter button half down, then wait a second or two before using the wireless remote, or I use the mode that when I press the button on the remote it autofocuses then activates the shutter. Whichever one works best for the situation I'm in.

[disneyboy2003]

I'm glad to see / hear that your long-exposure photos are starting to work out. See? We told you it wouldn't be that hard.

This one was with the camera on the bridge rail.

This one was with the tripod behind the rail. The light from the street is in my way.

This is the reason why the top photo is much sharper than the bottom photo. In the top photo, you rested your camera on the concrete bridge rail / wall. That's probably the most stable thing you can rest your camera on. That's why when you pressed the shutter button, there was no camera shake and your photo was very sharp.

As stable as concrete walls / blocks are, unfortunately, they are not as portable as tripods. :sad1:

Even among tripods, there's a wide range of stability among different tripods. For sure, as mentioned by others, you shouldn't just press the shutter button when your camera is on the tripod. Pressing the shutter button introduces camera movement in your camera-tripod setup. The key to sharp tripod photos is (1) using the mirror lock-up feature, and (2) using a cable release / remote shutter.


Oh and I did get both the wireless remote and the cable remote and just haven't been brave enough to use them yet :)

Don't be afraid of the cable release. It's just a shutter button on a wire. That's it.


Question for the guys who know what they are talking about (NOT ME AT ALL) If the tripod isn't all that great, would a breeze have caused enough movement to make it blurr a bit? Would that have been why the other shot (When the camera was resting on the rail) was clearer? Also, if there was no breeze contributing to it, would the mirror cause that much shake if it weren't locked?

If the tripod isn't too stable (ex. cheap tripods from Walmart), then anything can introduce excess movement / vibration in the tripod...including the vibration that occurs when the mirror flips up.

Regarding sample photos with & without mirror lock-up, I found this example on http://diglloyd.com/articles/ask/tip-mirror-lockup.html:

http://diglloyd.com/articles/ask/images/1_8sec_MLU.jpg
with mirror lock-up


http://diglloyd.com/articles/ask/images/1_8sec-norm.jpg
without mirror lock-up


A quote from the above Web site: "Note that the blur in the bottom image is in a vertical direction: this is a jolt called mirror slap as the mirror rises and slams into the top of the mirror box prior to the exposure being made."

If only concrete walls were portable...:rolleyes1

[tlcmommyx4]

[QUOTE=disneyboy2003;35847992]I'm glad to see / hear that your long-exposure photos are starting to work out. See? We told you it wouldn't be that hard.

Thanks to you and everyone on these boards, I am going out one more time tonight and try out my wireless remote and the cable remote and see if I can get the shot just a little better:thumbsup2.

I really do love all the advise and help I get from everyone here THANKS:love:

[tlcmommyx4]

Well I do think that these turned out even better than yesterday. I did use my cable remote. I still could have done better, but I will get there.
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1805-1.jpg
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1806-2.jpg
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1802-1.jpg

Tell me what you think?

[Gianna'sPapa]

Much, much improved. Practice does make perfect. Keep it up!!!:yay:

[Altair]

Number 3 is very close, try cropping out some of the parking lot and see what you think.:thumbsup2

[Groucho]

Changing the metering mode can make a huge difference in the exposure; if there is just one bright thing with a lot of dark around, you will want spot metering in order to get accurate exposure for that. Worst case, you can manually set exposure compensation.

If your camera has a two-second timer, you may want to use that - on mine, it automatically does mirror lock-up and turns off the IS in 2-second mode. Very nice to tripod shooting.

Your next step is probably to play with white balance a little - ideally, shoot in Raw and adjust it later; if you're not ready to do that, try setting WB to Tungsten for your night photos and see if you like that. Your shots are a bit "yellow" which is usually when happens with most DSLRs when presented with tungsten light (like indoors without a flash) - changing the white balance will give you much truer colors.

[tlcmommyx4]

Changing the metering mode can make a huge difference in the exposure; if there is just one bright thing with a lot of dark around, you will want spot metering in order to get accurate exposure for that. Worst case, you can manually set exposure compensation.

If your camera has a two-second timer, you may want to use that - on mine, it automatically does mirror lock-up and turns off the IS in 2-second mode. Very nice to tripod shooting.

Your next step is probably to play with white balance a little - ideally, shoot in Raw and adjust it later; if you're not ready to do that, try setting WB to Tungsten for your night photos and see if you like that. Your shots are a bit "yellow" which is usually when happens with most DSLRs when presented with tungsten light (like indoors without a flash) - changing the white balance will give you much truer colors.[/QUOTE]

Thank you so much, that is so true about the yellow in the pictures. I looked twice on my WB last night and was just not sure so I set it to Auto. I think tonight I am going to be brave and try mirror lock, I am going to have to find a new shot I'm sure that everyone is tired of seeing the same shot:rotfl2:. I will change my metering as well. I don't know why I was thinking that if I used spot metering that it would only really focus on that one thing.

I really am learning, I promise, sometimes I think I am learning so much at one time and then forget to put into practice when I'm ready to take the picture:rotfl2.
One more request please, we are going Bowling on Thursday and I am sure that I will need a faster shutter speed to get some action shots, but the lighting in there will be horrible I'm sure. Can you send me in the right direction for some how to "In a Bowling Alley{:thumbsup2

[Groucho]

One more request please, we are going Bowling on Thursday and I am sure that I will need a faster shutter speed to get some action shots, but the lighting in there will be horrible I'm sure. Can you send me in the right direction for some how to "In a Bowling Alley{:thumbsup2
Make sure to turn your ISO up (you can leave it in Auto as long as you can adjust Auto or make sure that it goes it pretty high, at least 1600) and hope for the best! You might be able to get some fun photos setting the camera to use "fill flash" or "trailing curtain flash" if that is an option - that will usually get you slightly blurred background but the flash will fire, giving you a pretty sharp look at the subject of the photo.

[tlcmommyx4]

So I have a Canon T1i, and so I need to put it into Auto? Do you think that I should be in AP or TV mode. Well you will get to see the trail and error tomorrow night!

[Pea-n-Me]

So I have a Canon T1i, and so I need to put it into Auto? Do you think that I should be in AP or TV mode. Well you will get to see the trail and error tomorrow night!
I believe he meant Auto ISO.

[tlcmommyx4]

That makes more sense:rotfl2:. Sometimes I think I should never post anything when I am so tired:rotfl:. I did get my flash set to 2nd curtian and I hope we get some good shots!

[ThurlFan]

I went bowling on Tuesday, and found that the darkest part of the alley was right at the foul line. The first pictures I took were basically silhouettes of the bowlers against the pins at the end of the lanes. Fill flash will probably be needed. I was playing with depth of field on my 50mm fixed f/1.8 and got some fun shots alternating between the bowlers and the pins being in focus. Shutter speed of 1/200 will likely stop the action sufficiently for you. Also, be aware that in league play (if that's going on) flash may be frowned upon as a distraction to other bowlers. For recreational bowling it should be fine. I also took some shots with the kit lens (18-55) just for general snapshots.

I'm a newbie too, so I got a lot of throwaway shots, but some nice ones also.

A couple other tips:

If there's an open spot a couple lanes down from your group you might get some good shots where you can see peoples faces instead of backsides

I had my autofocus on Servo, which meant it autoadjusted as my subject moved toward the foul line.

You could try spot metering on the bowler if you are trying to get a closer in shot of the bowler at the point of release. I wouldn't use it for wider shots where you get the pins and everything.

Try to compose without the ball return in your shot if possible. That really messed up my lighting because it reflected a lot of the flash back at the camera and played heck with my exposures - it was the brightest thing in the picture, when I didn't at all want it to be the focal point of the image.


Good luck!

[Gianna'sPapa]

I just did a bowling alley outing for my DGD's school. Lowest aperture lens I had with me was a f2.8. I tried to keep the noise down so I used 400 ISO. I probably could have gone higher. Using 2.8 caused a short DOF, so I spot focused on the bowler, ball or pins. This caused a bokeh effect around the others. It has a nice effect. Since it was a school outing, I was able to use my flash. So I had both w and w/o flash. I was able to close down the aperture with the flash to give greater DOF. So I ended up with a variety of images. With the varied lighting in a bowling it was a difficult shoot and made me think creatively.

[tlcmommyx4]

All I can say is I though about throwing in the white flag! That was for me by far the hardest place to take photographs. I only have a couple of shots that I even like and I'm not sure that those were not the ones I tryed on Auto. I tryed both lens that I have the kit lens and my 50mm 1.8. Its a good think that we don't do that very often. Here are a couple of the ones that I would even post.
I think this is the truest color of the Bowling Alley
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1893-1.jpg
This would be my second
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1894-1.jpg
And the next two are just to meet my Daugher Timber, who just happens to be Deaf/Blind and I would like you to look who came in second that would be my big girl Timber.
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1857-1.jpg
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1938.jpg

I think I will stick to shooting outside for a little while, that really made me crazy.

I have one really stupid question, when you are getting all your settings ready for a shot and someone says to meter the blue sky and then recompose the shot, how do you meter the sky? If you have you camera in M and you know what Aperture you want, when you look in the view finder and get the exposure for the sky, if you keep the button half way will it keep that exposure? I'm sorry that might seem silly but I really don't see how that works because, mine is always bouncing back and forth while the button is pushed half way down.

[DznyFan]

Michelle, do not throw the white flag!! First off, the color was great! You shot again, in a challenging location, and frankly, you did fine! you took your f/1.8, did you open it up? Bumped your ISO in the bowling alley? take note of your settings, see what you can do to shorten your shutter speed a tad and try again! I see big leaps and bounds here, so keep up the good work.
And your daughter is beautiful! Congrats to her on an awesome score!

[tlcmommyx4]

Thank you so much DznyFan, I am going to our Oklahoma National Refuge tomorrow. I hope I get some good outside pictures:thumbsup2. Thanks I think that Timber is just beautiful too. To think that she can't see anything or hear anything and see just loves to bowl:banana:. She loves Disney very much too, if fact that is why we go every year. :rotfl:

[DznyFan]

You're welcome! Hope you get out to shoot before our cruddy weather starts moving in... ugh.
Timber must be a very remarkable young lady.

[Gianna'sPapa]

When you said you were going to shoot at a bowling alley, I thought uh-oh:scared1:. I agree that the bowling alley was a very difficult shoot. At ours, everywhere I stood or tried to shoot the light was different. That caused constant adjustments and compromises. If I never shoot in a bowling alley again it will be fine with me!! I got some halfway decent shots, but not without a lot of consternation.

[tlcmommyx4]

:thumbsup2Just wanted to let you now how beautiful it was here in Oklahoma today 75 so we went to our National Wildlife Refuge today, before we get our BLIZZARD tomorrow. How crazy is that:confused3.

So here are some shots from this morning. We left our house at 5:00 am so that we could be there for the sunrise.
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1953-1.jpg
Here are some of the anamials

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1982-1.jpg
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_2116-1.jpg

I'm not sure how I did this, but I like it
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1996.jpg
Tell me what you think

[Groucho]

I have one really stupid question, when you are getting all your settings ready for a shot and someone says to meter the blue sky and then recompose the shot, how do you meter the sky? If you have you camera in M and you know what Aperture you want, when you look in the view finder and get the exposure for the sky, if you keep the button half way will it keep that exposure? I'm sorry that might seem silly but I really don't see how that works because, mine is always bouncing back and forth while the button is pushed half way down.
By and large, you really don't need to be shooting in "M" unless you have some very specific need. If you want a specific aperture, use Aperture Priority mode... and Shutter Priority if you want a specific shutter speed.

One of your photos in the most recent shot is there twice in a row, did you mean to post a different one for the second shot?

FWIW it looks like you're doing fine for now! The white balance in the bowling alley looks spot-on.

The last shot looks the way it does because of excessive flare caused by shooting into the sun. Usually flare is something you don't want but it sometimes can give a shot a nice "look" as in your photo. A lens hood would cut down on the flare but there's only so much it can do when shooting almost straight into the sun.

[mom2rtk]

You're doing great. Keep it up!

We're having the same shift in weather in MO. It was 65 today and we're due for 3-6 inches of snow tonight.... :scared1: Could be a great photo op..... you know.... if I wanted to go OUT in it...... NOT!

[DznyFan]

nice work, you're definitely getting there! I REALLY like the first (second) one of the cattle and the one of the calves in the road - yes, you were shooting into the sun, and yes, a hood would serve you well, but you'd be surprised at how much you can correct these in PP. Especially the first one of the cattle. Beautiful sunrise, too - I was watching out of my office window and wishing I'd packed my gear. The colors were amazing this morning.
We're getting our rain now, and the temp is dropping - instead of going out shooting on this gorgeous day, I gave my car a thorough and much deserved wash. It's nearing car show season... I guess I'll hold out till our next nice day to run to the botanical gardens or the zoo. Keep up your good work - show us your snow tomorrow and I'll show you how much we get in T-Town.

[mom2rtk]

What I want to know is... how'd you get the cow to look right at you??? :lmao:

[mom2rtk]

And BTW..... I thought your bowling alley shots were pretty good. Nice white balance, good color. Like everyone said, just go for a slightly faster shutter speed and you're good. Bowling alleys are tough... and you did well.

And thanks for introducing us to Timber. What a special girl. It's great she did so well!

[tlcmommyx4]

By and large, you really don't need to be shooting in "M" unless you have some very specific need. If you want a specific aperture, use Aperture Priority mode... and Shutter Priority if you want a specific shutter speed.

One of your photos in the most recent shot is there twice in a row, did you mean to post a different one for the second shot?

FWIW it looks like you're doing fine for now! The white balance in the bowling alley looks spot-on.

The last shot looks the way it does because of excessive flare caused by shooting into the sun. Usually flare is something you don't want but it sometimes can give a shot a nice "look" as in your photo. A lens hood would cut down on the flare but there's only so much it can do when shooting almost straight into the sun.
Thanks so much for your help. I was using a lens from my friend, and she has no hood. I am still trying to decide on a longer lens. Hers was a 75-300mm no IS, I did like the zoom on it, but I would like a little more width. I am going to post the bird shot that I skipped, when I posted 2 cow shots:rolleyes1.

nice work, you're definitely getting there! I REALLY like the first (second) one of the cattle and the one of the calves in the road - yes, you were shooting into the sun, and yes, a hood would serve you well, but you'd be surprised at how much you can correct these in PP. Especially the first one of the cattle. Beautiful sunrise, too - I was watching out of my office window and wishing I'd packed my gear. The colors were amazing this morning.
We're getting our rain now, and the temp is dropping - instead of going out shooting on this gorgeous day, I gave my car a thorough and much deserved wash. It's nearing car show season... I guess I'll hold out till our next nice day to run to the botanical gardens or the zoo. Keep up your good work - show us your snow tomorrow and I'll show you how much we get in T-Town.

I was very happy with most of my shots from yesterday. I can't wait to learn PP, but I keep telling myself one thing at a time:rotfl2:. One day we will have to meet up and go shooting together since you are not to far away. I would love to learn first hand from you:thumbsup2.

What I want to know is... how'd you get the cow to look right at you??? :lmao:

How funny is that, I was seriously about 20 feet away, they were grazing right on the side of the road. Speaking of funny when we were driving up the mountain we had pulled off in one of those turn outs for picture opts, which is what I was doing, when all of the sudden this bird came flying up from below me on the side of the mt. Scared me to death, I was so excited though because I thought it was a hawk, but turns out it was a vulture:rotfl2:. So much for my bird awareness, but it did take me by supprise:lmao:.

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_2086-1.jpg

[mom2rtk]

How funny is that, I was seriously about 20 feet away, they were grazing right on the side of the road. Speaking of funny when we were driving up the mountain we had pulled off in one of those turn outs for picture opts, which is what I was doing, when all of the sudden this bird came flying up from below me on the side of the mt. Scared me to death, I was so excited though because I thought it was a hawk, but turns out it was a vulture:rotfl2:. So much for my bird awareness, but it did take me by supprise:lmao:.

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_2086-1.jpg

Ah, so you were holding out on us!!! LOVELY shot! And great job with focusing on the vulture!

I'm glad he didn't scare you enough to fall over the edge or something!

[tlcmommyx4]

Ah, so you were holding out on us!!! LOVELY shot! And great job with focusing on the vulture!

I'm glad he didn't scare you enough to fall over the edge or something!

If you only knew how scared of heights I am, and my husband was laughing so hard in the car, he said I jumped back like someone had hit me with something.:rotfl:.

[VVFF]

I've got a secret for you...don't tell anyone here that I told you this but....not ALL the pictures we take end up in a national art gallery. I know...it's hard to believe. But 95% of the time our best images can be improved by some processing afterwards. Now, this is where having the RAW file can help. Initially I never did any PP until I started realizing what it could do to my images. Now, I process each of my images, some more than others.

Like I said, don't tell anyone...it'll be our little secret!

Hope you don't mind(if you do just tell me and I'll take it down) but I took the liberty of throwing your best image(in my opinion) through a little bit of post processing to show you what it can do to an already good shot. Again, it helps to start from the original RAW or full resolution JPG file...but this illustrates the point well enough:

Original:
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll189/tlcmommyx4/Just%20starting%20January%202010/IMG_1982-1.jpg
After minor adjustments:
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp252/VVFF/IMG_1982-2.jpg

Ignore the increase in noise, the JPG compression of photobucket doesn't lend itself well to any sort of sharpening. The result would be better from the original file.

So I guarantee most of the images you see from the more experienced members here didn't necessarily come that way straight out of the camera....shhhhhhhh

[tlcmommyx4]

That does really look better:thumbsup2. I really would like to do some post processing, but I think that scares me more than my new camera did LOL. I really do know that my photos are not all going to be in a National art gallery, but I just want to shoot up to the standards of the wonderful photographers on the borards here :worship:. Thanks again for showing me what can be done with PP and post processing.

[Ashmanarion]

I always use unsharp mask and change the color levels slightly if they need it for my pictures after I have shot them. I've started shooting in RAW but I really don't do anything to them except sometimes adjust the exposure compensation. Can someone tell me what I should be doing with the raw before sending it to GIMP for sharpening and other options?

[DznyFan]

I was very happy with most of my shots from yesterday. I can't wait to learn PP, but I keep telling myself one thing at a time:rotfl2:. One day we will have to meet up and go shooting together since you are not to far away. I would love to learn first hand from you:thumbsup2. That would be awesome! (not sure how much I can teach you) but it would be fun to get together at a zoo or something some time.
Love the Turkey Vulture shot (as much as I dislike Turkey Vultures) :thumbsup2

[VVFF]

I always use unsharp mask and change the color levels slightly if they need it for my pictures after I have shot them. I've started shooting in RAW but I really don't do anything to them except sometimes adjust the exposure compensation. Can someone tell me what I should be doing with the raw before sending it to GIMP for sharpening and other options?

You can sharpen in RAW. You don't need to do it later. The only time I would do it later is if my image benefited from selective sharpening of only highlights, midtones or something else.

In RAW I would do anything that they offer before sending to gimp. So I'd set color balance, exposure, brightness, highlight recovery, fill light, black level setting, curves adjustment, sharpness, (I personally use color NR in RAW because I find it works no worse than any other options but don't use Luminance NR), and obviously saturation/vibrance and any selective color adjustments.

Most of my images only need slight exposure changes, sometimes some curves adjustment and vibrance/saturation changes. I have my defaults in LR set up to change depending on my ISO. If I shoot at higher ISO I use less sharpening and less saturation increase to avoid emphasizing noise.

[tlcmommyx4]

That would be awesome! (not sure how much I can teach you) but it would be fun to get together at a zoo or something some time.
Love the Turkey Vulture shot (as much as I dislike Turkey Vultures) :thumbsup2

Sounds good you tell me when would be good for you:). Do you ever come up for the Arts festival here in the city, or do they have one in T-town as well?. How much snow have you gotten today?

[DznyFan]

I rarely get to the city! I didn't know you all had a big arts fest there - we have a big one here every May.
There are rocket plane races coming up in April at the air and space museum here, I'm thinking about going - I think that'll prove to be a shooting challenge.
We've gotten probably 6 o 7 inches of snow here - the roads were bad earlier but most of the roads are fine now since the ground is so warm. But, it's not over yet... how much there?

[tlcmommyx4]

We have only gotten about 5 here, but our roads are horrible here tonight. I would love to see what the rocket plane races are, sounds like fun! Hey do you have a EXIT reader program that you use? I can't seem to find the post where everyone was suggesting what one to download? I hope that it stops snowing up there, although you are supposted to get more than us.

[VVFF]

We have only gotten about 5 here, but our roads are horrible here tonight. I would love to see what the rocket plane races are, sounds like fun! Hey do you have a EXIT reader program that you use? I can't seem to find the post where everyone was suggesting what one to download? I hope that it stops snowing up there, although you are supposted to get more than us.

If you just want to read EXIF data you can always right click on a JPG and go to properties in windows. This will display the EXIF info in the "details" tab.

[tlcmommyx4]

If you just want to read EXIF data you can always right click on a JPG and go to properties in windows. This will display the EXIF info in the "details" tab.

When I go and do that it dosen't give me all the info like was the ISO was and things like that. I know their is some free download out there that would do the same thing with the info I was to see.

[Groucho]

When I go and do that it dosen't give me all the info like was the ISO was and things like that. I know their is some free download out there that would do the same thing with the info I was to see.
If you are viewing photos online, I like the Fxif plug-in for Firefox. If you don't use Firefox (boo! ;) ) then Opanda Exif Viewer will apparently work for both IE and Firebox, but I haven't used it.

If you're viewing photos on your PC, my favorite viewer by far is Irfanview. Press "E" to see exif data.

If you're still not seeing anything, then the exif data has been stripped out at some point. Many (most) web galleries strip the exif data in order to make the photo smaller and save bandwidth. Some desktop programs will, too. If your own photos are missing, check the software that you use to edit them and look for a setting about saving the exif data.

[tlcmommyx4]

If you are viewing photos online, I like the Fxif plug-in for Firefox. If you don't use Firefox (boo! ;) ) then Opanda Exif Viewer will apparently work for both IE and Firebox, but I haven't used it.

If you're viewing photos on your PC, my favorite viewer by far is Irfanview. Press "E" to see exif data.

If you're still not seeing anything, then the exif data has been stripped out at some point. Many (most) web galleries strip the exif data in order to make the photo smaller and save bandwidth. Some desktop programs will, too. If your own photos are missing, check the software that you use to edit them and look for a setting about saving the exif data.

Thank you so much, this is just what I was looking for. :banana::banana:
Hope you have a great day:)