OT: Photography question

[Brian McInturff]

I've noticed my pics are really crappy so I have a couple questions. First, I know I need to setup a little photo booth thingy. But until I do can someone give me a little advice as to camera settings. I own a Canon A95. I use the view window and have the macro(I think that's what is is) activated. I zoom in to about a 3x. My pics come out looking really crappy. So, anyone have a Canon A95 that can tell me a few good pointers? I'd like to be able to share some of my turnings where you can see the colors and not just a blur.:eek:
My photo knowledge is about as much as the money in my pocket(I have no pockets)!!

[Brian Brown]

Can you post a couple of the "Crappy" images and let us know specifically why you think they are crappy.

Brian

[John Hart]

Brian...I have an A300 which may be pretty close. When I take my time, I usually get a good pic....although lately, I haven't invested that time very well.
A tripod is a good idea....but if you don't have that, find some way to steady the camera. Use your timer, even with a tripod, so your finger isn't pushing on anything when the shutter executes.
I don't use the macro function at all. Generally just set up about 1 to 2 feet away and zoom as necessary.
Learn how to set your white balance at the beginning of every session. Only takes 5 seconds and really helps.
Stay in a manual mode except for autofocus. Keep your glare from lighting to a minimum and try to avoid incandescent lamps....they cast a lot of yellow and are tough to compensate with the white balance. Sunlight florescent bulbs give great results but regular florescents will work fine as long as you set your white balance before you begin.

I'm no expert either...but these little fundamental things seem to work for me.

[Brian McInturff]

Brian, just check any of the ones I've posted in the past couple weeks.

John, what is "White Balance". Is that an adjustment I can make on the camera?

Sorry for sounding so stupid.:)

[John Hart]

Oh heck Brian...you're not stupid. These cameras these days are worse than programming a vcr.:)
The white balance feature is a way for you to tell the camera what "white" is. When it knows what true white is, it knows what all the other colors are. It's a feature on the menu where you will put a white sheet of paper in front of your setup, then point the camera at the sheet of paper and hit the Set button. The camera adjusts itself to be true white. For instance, if you look at the screen at a white piece of paper under incandescent light, the paper will look yellow. When you set the white balance....it will now be white...and all the colors of your turning will be correct as well.

The directions should be in the manual. If you don't have a manual, you can download it from the canon website. I looked it up and the method is on page 86 of the manual.

[John Hart]

Here's the link to the manual
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&tabact=DownloadDetailTabAct&fcategoryid=320&modelid=10468

[Neal Addy]

Brian, I'm no photo guru but here's a few tricks I've learned.

1) Your camera menu should have something called "AWB" or some such. That is your "white balance" setting. The options will probably include something like "daylight", "fluorescent", "tungsten", etc. This needs to be set to match the type of lighting you are using. For most regular indoor lighting you'll want to pick "fluorescent". This eliminates a lot of the yellowing you typically see in point-and-shoot shots.

2) A tripod is essential for steady pics. Even a cheapy tripod for under $20 will work.

3) Don't get too close. It is better to back off and use a bit of zoom (preferably optical, not digital) than crowd the target.

4) Avoid using flash. Indirect lighting (diffusion/reflection) will give you a much better pic. A light tent really helps but there are many ways to do the same thing. Experiment with reflecting light off different materials (posterboard, fabric, etc) at different angles.

5) Don't over-expose. A slightly dark pic (to the eye) can be much improved in Photoshop. A pic that is over-exposed (too bright) is much more difficult to correct with software.

6) Photoshop is your friend. Even a crappy pic can be much improved with a little software tweaking. Learn to use the "Level" option and play with brightness/contrast. If you don't have PS there are several others out there that will work. "The GIMP" is a good option, and it's free! You'll find it on Google.

HTH!

[Brian Brown]

Brian,

Looking at some of your images, white balance doesn't appear to be a big problem. That is because you are using the camera flash, and the camera always knows what color the light from the flash is. The large glare spot in the center of the piece is a reflection from the flash, and won't go away unless you stop using it. If you stop using it, then you will have a problem with not enough light, and probably also white balance. Don't you hate contridictions? You would think the auto everything camera would fix all the problems, especially considering how much you paid for it. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. It also appears you are having a focus issue. Auto focus is nice sometimes, but there are a lot of things that can throw the auto focus off. In the menu, you can turn the auto focus off, and focus manually. Even though it is a pain, you will likely get better focus.

A few months ago I gave some photo tips in several different threads and I have posted the links below. Maybe these will help you.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=57691
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=57909
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=59194
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=59614

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Brian

[Brian McInturff]

Thanks Guys!! I will do a little practicing with the tips you all gave me and hopefully be able to post some better pics. Thanks again for such quick responses.
Brian

[Richard Madison]

Brian Brown,
Was hoping your "tip of the week" would continue. I know a little photography (Nikon F Photomic), as it was 35 years ago, but know zilch about digital photography and equipment. Joined a forum a while back and got little if any help with my simple and basic questions. Can you suggest a tutorial re. digital equipment? I have the low end of the scale, $49 XMart Blurry Special. The potential high end might be a D40X on sale, but need to learn a whole lot more about digital first. Can you help?

[Alex Elias]

There are a lot of good suggestions here. In the mean time while your are playing a bit with the settings try this.
1) Try taking a few pictures either outside or next to a window during the day light. That will help a lot and it's free.
2) Also very affordable. Get a tripod as silly as it sounds it helps a ton. I use my camera all manual some times I set the shutter speed for a second or two something we could not do without the assistance of our friend the tripod.
3) Lighting could be very costly and difficult or the contrary if you are not making a living out of it. O got from Lowes 3 lamp holers the ones that have a clamp at the end they cost about $3 to $5 they have like an aluminum cone arround the light bulb. set one at either side at a 45 Deg and play with a third if you want. Buy the fluorecent bulbs (preferably something in the color temp of 5500 to 6000 K ) that is about the color temperature of day light. The is the reason why regular fluorecent light gives you a green cast (cool color temp 3500 or so) on incandecent is like an amber color (higher temp)
4) Try to set the camera all manual on the tripod set the appeture between 8 an 11 F and start trying with different shutter speeds until you get the right exposure. If you always use the same lighting set up the exposure is going to be about the same every time you take pictures there.
5) I would not use the preset lighting set from the camera as advised ( indoor, outdoor, and bla bla bla) I would use the withe balance and again once set I don't see why you should play with it every time. All camereas are different though..

You shoud have enough infor on the tread to be awake for several nights. we have faith in you man, you can do it.
Alex

[Brian Brown]

Richard,

I got busy at work, and let the photo tutorials slide. Nobody asked me to continue, so I just stopped. Maybe, if anyone is interested I will finish after Christmas. As for tutorials, I don't really pay much attention to web tutorials because they change so often. One I saw that might help is http://www.photoxels.com/digital-photography-tutorials.html. I haven't read all the tutorials, but what I did read seemed ok. You can also check out Jamie Donaldson's tutorial on a photo setup. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=57168 I teach photography at the University level, and the best advice I can give my students is practice, practice, practice. Just like turning, it takes some time, commitment and practice to do it well. Good Luck.

Brian

[Dennis Peacock]

I'm going to call this thread......and excellent and educational thread.

Brian...please continue the photo tutorial. Some of us need it. :o

[Dave Bonde]

I'm going to call this thread......and excellent and educational thread.

Brian...please continue the photo tutorial. Some of us need it. :o

I agree with Dennis, Your photo tutorial posts were great and much appreciated. I just recently found them, that is why I didn't reply when they were a "current" post. Dave

[Richard Madison]

Thanks Brian! Lots of info @ photoxels. Will take a while to learn it all.

[Doug Rogers]

Brian,

You can eliminate a lot of your flash problems by thinking about where the flash is pointed. If you photograph an object, with reflective surfaces, head on there is going to be glare. The flash is relected directly back to you. ( angle of incidence) If you shoot on a slight angle there is no glare, or very litle. The flash hits the object and bounces off at the same angle that it was pointed at. If you are at a ten degree angle from the subject then the flash will be reflected at a ten degree angle. To practice use a flashlight and a small mirror. You can then see how the light reflects.

I shot freelance, weddings and portraits for over 10 years.

Doug Rogers