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09/05/2008 05:24:03 AM · #1 |
I usually rely on my on-camera flash for lighting my pictures, which really isn't ideal as it's pretty powerful and tends to blow out details or cast unattractive shadows. I've received several comments here on DP that concurs with this and I've had many suggestions to start using natural light instead of the flash, which I agree would improve my photos for the most part.
Only thing is, when I shoot in natural light indoors, the photos always have a grainy look about them. They're in focus but they lack sharpness. Natural light outside doesn't leave the same undesirable effect. I've no idea why this happens. An obvious solution would be to just shoot outside but I don't think it's very practical to run outside every single time I wanted to take a photo.
I have a Fujifilm Finepix S1000fd which is the best camera I could afford and has actually turned out to be a pretty nifty little beast, other than this indoor issue with light. I know there are only 6 other DP users that have this camera but I thought maybe the problem isn't limited to my camera and someone else could lend their opinion.
It's really getting me down that I lose quality with natural light, when everyone agrees it's what my pictures need! Can anyone please offer any advice?
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09/05/2008 07:27:07 AM · #2 |
Some solutions to indoor lighting issues:
1) Make sure your white balance is set correctly
2) Use the lowest ISO you can comfortable use
3) Use a tripod if necessary to stabilize the camera
4) Use an off camera flash or at least a flash that you can point towards a ceiling or wall instead of straight at the subject
5) Switch to a camera that has less noise at high ISOs (see latest offerings from Canon and Nikon)
6) Use a larger aperture lens (i.e. the numbers are smaller such as f/2.8 or lower)
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09/05/2008 08:07:24 AM · #3 |
| dwterry...would moving subject farther away from background help too? I noticed two pics in the OP profile that have the shadow and they look like the backdrop(ground) is too close but since I don't do this work much I am not sure. |
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09/05/2008 08:23:24 AM · #4 |
Absolutely. Keeping your subject away from the background not only softens the background (bringing more attention on your subjects), but it also helps diffuse and sometimes hide the shadows created by using on-camera flash.
Bouncing the flash off the ceiling also has the effect of hiding the shadows (by getting some of the light to bounce into the shadows behind them) as well as lighting your subjects more naturally (as we tend to think of light coming from above rather than straight at us).
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09/05/2008 11:23:07 AM · #5 |
This sounds like the same problem I had with my first digital point and shoot. It turned out to be a combination of numerous things.
First, the Auto ISO setting was jacking up the ISO to keep shutter speeds / aperture in a "normal" range. On many cameras, ISO over say 400 will start producing grain. On my D200, I find that going up to 800 is where things start to get noticable. If you have Auto ISO turned on, see if there is a way to limit how high it allows the ISO to go.
The second problem I had once I forced it to use a lower ISO was that my photos were being slightly underexposed. While I was able to fix them in post processing, upping exposure after the fact tends to accentuate any noise.
The third thing I did was to tape a piece of relatively translucent tissue paper over the flash. Not good for all things, but it's the cheap man's diffuser. Your flash will be way less powerful, but it will soften that harsh light you're getting.
The final thing I did was to ensure I had good lighting in the rooms I wanted to shoot in. A simple pole lamp from a discount store costs about $30 and allows you to move the lights around. (One like this) This might give you the one or two stops of light you're needing!
Good luck!
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09/05/2008 11:46:08 AM · #6 |
more thoughts.
Diffuse your flash on your camera. Netting, nylon stockings, even newspaper is the poor mans way to diffuse light. If you can find it from a camera store, or a theater, Rosco or Lee 250, 251, 252, spun, opal, and grid cloth work great. And finally, at your local art store, 1000 H is a thick-ish white paper that is used a lot in my line of work.
Bounce your flash. Get some foam core from that local art store, or even some white on black show card, or art board, cut to size, use a lightly coated adhesive tape such as that blue paper tape painters use, or if you can find it, flat black paper tape, and control that flash bouncing into the ceiling, or where ever you like.
Snoot that flash. Using the same idea as above in bouncing the light, but this time just put a small hole in the foam core/show card/art board. Increase or decrease the diameter of the hole to your liking. Add diffusion over the hole if you wish.
Home depot is the poor mans lighting source. Or, any hardware source, or discount lighting house. Using your imagination on usage of said lights is required.
Paper balloons, or as we call them in the industry I work, and wish I could just win the lottery and get out of, "China Balls" work really well and are rated up to 500 watts of illumination.
Hope this helps.
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09/05/2008 05:48:32 PM · #7 |
Thanks a lot for the suggestions everyone. I normally shoot at 400 ISO and drop it down to 300 indoors, I think I'll try lowering it a wee bit more and I'll have a go at covering the flash up some as well. I do tend to shoot quite close to my subject, I'll back off a bit. I can't quite afford to splash out on a Nikon or a Canon though! Thanks again folks!
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09/05/2008 06:00:10 PM · #8 |
I had that camera at one point...I got really annoyed by the colors and shadows it churned out so I ended up returning it (and buying a used canon rebel xt instead, which only cost about $50 more). I look forward to seeing what you do with it!!!
I noticed that even when I was shooting at ISO 200, my images turned out grainy -- try shooting at the lowest ISO there is.
I agree with the discussion about diffusing the flash. Flash tends to leave nasty nasty shadows. Tape a notecard over it or something. |
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09/05/2008 06:13:18 PM · #9 |
| Kleenex works well and you can add more layers to cut the light back even more. This way you can shoot in manual but use the tissue to let the flash 'fill' for you. |
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09/05/2008 06:23:51 PM · #10 |
| Cigarette papers work well and have that stickum thing: used it very successfully one time, but it took a lot of shots to get just the right amount of paper over the flash, and that uses up the batteries. |
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09/05/2008 07:21:07 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by LadyTara:
Thanks a lot for the suggestions everyone. I normally shoot at 400 ISO and drop it down to 300 indoors, I think I'll try lowering it a wee bit more and I'll have a go at covering the flash up some as well. I do tend to shoot quite close to my subject, I'll back off a bit. I can't quite afford to splash out on a Nikon or a Canon though! Thanks again folks! |
Just a note on ISO LadyTara. You say you normally shoot at 400 and lower it to 300 indoors. It's the other way around. You should always shoot at 100 iso outdoors, unless you want a specific effect, like grain, then use higher ISO's. You should be using 400 ISO or higher indoors if you're not using a flash. If indeed you do use a flash indoors, use 100 ISO, no need to use anything higher with flash.
Lower ISO gives you the best image quality where high ISO's give you more and more noise/grain. One day ISO will be a thing of the past and we won't have to bother with it anymore, unless for specific reasons.
Hope this helped.
Message edited by author 2008-09-05 19:23:28. |
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09/05/2008 10:48:23 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by Jac:
Originally posted by LadyTara:
Thanks a lot for the suggestions everyone. I normally shoot at 400 ISO and drop it down to 300 indoors, I think I'll try lowering it a wee bit more and I'll have a go at covering the flash up some as well. I do tend to shoot quite close to my subject, I'll back off a bit. I can't quite afford to splash out on a Nikon or a Canon though! Thanks again folks! |
Just a note on ISO LadyTara. You say you normally shoot at 400 and lower it to 300 indoors. It's the other way around. You should always shoot at 100 iso outdoors, unless you want a specific effect, like grain, then use higher ISO's. You should be using 400 ISO or higher indoors if you're not using a flash. If indeed you do use a flash indoors, use 100 ISO, no need to use anything higher with flash.
Lower ISO gives you the best image quality where high ISO's give you more and more noise/grain. One day ISO will be a thing of the past and we won't have to bother with it anymore, unless for specific reasons.
Hope this helped. |
I'll give that a go too, up til now I've found that a higher ISO outside usually improves the quality of my image but I shall try upping the ISO indoors. If you hadn't guessed by now, I'm pretty useless with settings and stuff. Up til recently, I was using a simple Kodak point and shoot and didn't have to worry about settings (even though the pictures weren't up to much.)
My flash is kinda cute though, hit a little button and it pops up, if I want rid of it I just pop it back down :) I'm gonna try covering it with loo roll paper to dull it down a bit though, as the lowest flash setting on my camera is still really bright.
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