ruthless Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 It's so grey here today. I wanted to take pics, but it seems pointless on such a dull day. Is there any point? Any tips on how to take the best pics in bad light? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 It's so grey here today. I wanted to take pics, but it seems pointless on such a dull day. Is there any point? Any tips on how to take the best pics in bad light? I'm working today but I hope you do so I can learn something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke W Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 It's so grey here today. I wanted to take pics, but it seems pointless on such a dull day. Is there any point? Any tips on how to take the best pics in bad light? I'm working today but I hope you do so I can learn something. Actually, overcast days are ideal!!!! Much better than harsh midday sun. Overcast sky is the world largest softbox. You get lovely soft even lighting. Perfect for no shadow portraits. Find a nice background (green leafy is good, even a brick wall can work well) - and start taking some head shots! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthless Posted October 31, 2008 Author Share Posted October 31, 2008 Really? But there'll be no warmth. Do you add that in post production? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezzyr Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 (edited) I agree with prefering overcast to strong sunlight for some subjects. However if you are like me and like to get out birding/wildlife watching on weekends I hate white/grey skies and tend to avoid it these days. Its 'drab' where I am in Melbourne at the moment but I might head out this arvo to have a play. eta: are you talking about dog photography or what subjects today? Edited October 31, 2008 by chezzyr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke W Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Really? But there'll be no warmth. Do you add that in post production? Just set your white balance to cloudy. BTW - If by warmth, you mean color temp - nice warm, orange tones...this is predominantly controlled by white balance (or in post processing). Technically, midday sun is cool (blue), sunrise and sunset are warm (orange). In shade also tends to be cool (blue) as well. In the old days, you would have popped a warming filter on the lens (an orange filter) to make the tones nice and warm - nowadays you just change the white balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke W Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 I agree with prefering overcast to strong sunlight for some subjects.However if you are like me and like to get out birding/wildlife watching on weekends I hate white/grey skies and tend to avoid it these days. Its 'drab' where I am in Melbourne at the moment but I might head out this arvo to have a play. eta: are you talking about dog photography or what subjects today? Just avoid the sky I'm going to head down the beach today - I'll try to get some nice portraits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Really? But there'll be no warmth. Do you add that in post production? Just set your white balance to cloudy. BTW - If by warmth, you mean color temp - nice warm, orange tones...this is predominantly controlled by white balance (or in post processing). Technically, midday sun is cool (blue), sunrise and sunset are warm (orange). In shade also tends to be cool (blue) as well. In the old days, you would have popped a warming filter on the lens (an orange filter) to make the tones nice and warm - nowadays you just change the white balance. so if I'd done that yesterday would my photos have come out looking warmer? It never occurred to me. I hadn't got as far as thinking about white balance. I am obviously not using a thumbnails worth of what this camera can actually do gee I look forward to the day I can really bring out the best in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 (edited) Just as I was typing my last reply about white balance I got my camera out and set in on there just to see if I knew where to find it. As I was mucking about I heard the maggies all yelling and went to look. sure enough the eagles are back so I raced inside and grabbed my camera which was still on cloudy. I dont know if it was right for these but this is what I got, these are only a few minutes old just as they are straight from the camera, no cropping. I dont know if I could've got better definition if I'd know how to set the camera. I have to get ready for work now so anyone is welcome to play around with them if you want. AE TV 1/4000 AV 5.00 ISO 200 200mm WB cloudy Edited November 1, 2008 by Kirislin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Overcast is lovely for flowers,and pet portraits- you don't get all the contrasty stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke W Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Really? But there'll be no warmth. Do you add that in post production? Just set your white balance to cloudy. BTW - If by warmth, you mean color temp - nice warm, orange tones...this is predominantly controlled by white balance (or in post processing). Technically, midday sun is cool (blue), sunrise and sunset are warm (orange). In shade also tends to be cool (blue) as well. In the old days, you would have popped a warming filter on the lens (an orange filter) to make the tones nice and warm - nowadays you just change the white balance. so if I'd done that yesterday would my photos have come out looking warmer? It never occurred to me. I hadn't got as far as thinking about white balance. I am obviously not using a thumbnails worth of what this camera can actually do gee I look forward to the day I can really bring out the best in it. One of the advantages of shooting in RAW is that you can change your white balance after the fact. Even shooting JPGs though, it's not that hard to warm up a shot in Photoshop. As a matter of fact, Photoshop CS3 even has a built-in warming filter. In earlier versions, it's still pretty easy. PS - we really have to make sure we are talking about the same thing. Here's one shot with 2 different white balances. The first shot is cool (bluish), the second is warm (orangish). The only difference is the white balance setting. Is this what you mean by 'warmer'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke W Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Just as I was typing my last reply about white balance I got my camera out and set in on there just to see if I knew where to find it. As I was mucking about I heard the maggies all yelling and went to look. sure enough the eagles are back so I raced inside and grabbed my camera which was still on cloudy. I dont know if it was right for these but this is what I got, these are only a few minutes old just as they are straight from the camera, no cropping. I dont know if I could've got better definition if I'd know how to set the camera. I have to get ready for work now so anyone is welcome to play around with them if you want. This is going to get tricky... Your camera tries to expose all images so that the pictures turns our roughly 'middle grey'...this means if you photograph white snow - it comes out grey. If you photograph a black fur, it comes out grey. On average, the camera tries to get everything grey. This is a slight simplification but explains what's happenig with your bird shots. The camera is try to make the image middle grey. So the birds are underexposed. In this case, to get detail in the bird, you want to expose so the sky is brighter and you get more detail in the birds. Typically this means using exposure compensation (+1, +2), while checking the histogram to make sure the sky doens't end up pure white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthless Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 While I was busy procrastinating the sun came out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthless Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 are you talking about dog photography or what subjects today? It's safe to presume I'm always talking about dog portraits unless I state otherwise It's ok to say that here without appearing to be any more dog crazy than anyone else, right?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poo d'état Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 (edited) While I was busy procrastinating the sun came out Which part of Sydney are you in? There's no sun over here in the eastern suburbs But yes, i also agree re: lighting - first light, last light and overcast light are ideal for portraits Edited November 1, 2008 by ruffdiamond Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 I dont have photoshop so I've just cropped one and tried to sharpen and adjust to colour a bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthless Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 While I was busy procrastinating the sun came out Which part of Sydney are you in? There's no sun over here in the eastern suburbs The less salubrious end of the eastern suburbs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthless Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 While I was busy procrastinating the sun came out I have to wait for it to go in again now cause it's too hot for Chopper so he's making his mouth wide open, eyes closed, panting face! The shadows are pretty harsh too, but I expected that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashanali Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Overcast days are the best. We LOVE them. ( Either an overcast day or that very early morning or late afternoon light for shooting ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthless Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 I like early and late too, I just thought overcast was a bit pants. I stand corrected! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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