where did I go wrong here.... - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

02/26/2006 11:14:14 PM · #1

I went to the Saquaro National Monument just outside Tucson here and took several pictures. While I wasn't expecting vibrant colors, these pictures are sure dead and no matter what I do, I can't seem to get them to look better. Either they are too dark and I loose detail and/or the sky is a complete wash. Is this subject? camera? or just lousy shots>

TechnoShroom

Canon EOS-30D

02/26/2006 11:21:29 PM · #2

Originally posted by AzCKelly:

Is this subject? camera? or just lousy shots>

Combination of things. Mostly time of day issues. Shooting when the sun is high in the sky will often lead to stark, overly contrasty images. Since you can't capture all the stops of light that your eye can the camera is going to have to cut off something depending on where you metered. Metering the bright sky is going to cause the foreground to be dark. Metering the foreground is going to wash out the sky. Taking a bracketed shot and layering them together would help with that.

glad2badad

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic

02/26/2006 11:21:43 PM · #3

Polarizer would have helped with the blue skies some perhaps. Gave them a deeper, richer, blue.

In a couple of them you have the tough decision of what to expose for, foreground shadows, or sky highlights...some workarounds (post-processing) on that if using a tripod or shooting raw.

I like Help_It_9038. Interesting shot.
Help_It_9003 is ok also, but is hampered by the time of day I think as the lighting is a little harsh.

Sorry, not much help overall. :( Hope you get some answers!

UNTITLED

Canon EOS-20D

Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II for Canon

02/26/2006 11:22:17 PM · #4

Did you photograph during midday? High sun can render the best photos bland and boring. If you shot these shortly after the sun rises or shortly before it sets, you'll find the results much more dramatic. Where the sun is in relation to your subject can change the effects and result of your photos. Your photos really aren't bad compositionally, they just seem to victims of harsh lighting.

Prism

Pentax K-30

Pentax SMC DA 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR

02/26/2006 11:23:23 PM · #5

You didn't say what time of day you took the pics but IMO, the main problem seems to be the sun angles make the lighting very flat for the most part so you don't get any depth to the shot. You may want to have a read through a couple of old threads that were mentored by Bear_music that really helped me to be more aware of how the light angles affect the look of a shot. You can view them here and here

rox_rox

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

02/26/2006 11:28:54 PM · #6

I think some good post processing might help a little. I'm not good at this, but I did play with the cactus a bit. (Hard to do with low-res image)

I was going to suggest bracketing and layering, but TechnoShroom beat me to it.

dwterry

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

02/26/2006 11:32:06 PM · #7

As others have mentioned, the time of day and quality of light has had a big impact on the image. Normally, if you shoot during the sweet light (sunrise / sunset) you'll have better side lighting (for a 3D effect) and softer shadows with less blow-out of the highlights. The light itself will also be a bit warmer (more reddish).

So here's an idea for post processing... Try intensifying the color a bit, and also adding a little "warmth" (red color) to the overall image and darken up the blue sky a bit. Like this:

Before:

After:

Hmmm... now that I see it uploaded to the web, it looks a little too red, but you get the idea.

02/27/2006 12:10:12 AM · #8

Thanks everyone, good info here. I took these around 3:30 with fairly clear skys in the harsh AZ sun. I never realized the impact it would make. I was just concerned with not facing the sun. Will have to try again during the "sweat light" as dwterry mentioned. A polarizer is a filter for your camera right? (still learning here) I will have to look into that. Looks like these will be cropped and converted to B&W to save them. Shame cause I really appreciate the green living here in the desert.

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

02/27/2006 12:37:02 AM · #9

Someone had mentioned changing the ISO setting. This is something I let the camera do automatically, would changing it from 50 have helped? haven't played with that so I know nothing about it

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

02/27/2006 02:12:56 AM · #10

ISO wouldn't have made a difference. It's just not good lighting. It's really hard to shoot in the desert except for a couple hours around sunset and sunrise, as a rule. You can do some enhancement, but the results still aren't outstanding. For example, from this:

To this:

Robt.

yanko

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Carl Zeiss 50mm ZE f/1.4 Planar T for Canon

02/27/2006 03:34:01 AM · #11

Just messing around this is what I came up with:

and

Tried to make one more like a sunset.

Message edited by author 2006-02-27 03:34:53.

Rikki

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

02/27/2006 03:40:55 AM · #12

I think your metering might be off :(

ralph

Nikon Z9

02/27/2006 07:33:44 AM · #13

stop centering your subject
move it to the side to add some drama or context

02/27/2006 08:32:09 AM · #14

Originally posted by Rikki:

I think your metering might be off :(

OK, stupid question here: what do you mean by metering?

Originally posted by ralphnev:

stop centering your subject
move it to the side to add some drama or context

I do tend to center more but as I process it, I usually crop some. Its just coincidence that I picked these that seem exactly centered.

bowronfam3

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

02/27/2006 10:26:02 PM · #15

Here's my go at it! I know that the crop is a little different, but I think it makes this photo have a very artistic feel to it. This shot is my favorite out of all of the others. (not my edit, I mean your original! lol!)

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