Why are my pics blue?

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Hi All

I am just getting to grips with Aperture and Shutter Speeds and White Balance.

No where near where I want to be.

I have taken a few snaps outdoors and find my pic to have a blue tint.

Had a play, and adjusting the white balance seems to work ok but I get the feeling its not the proper way.

Please advise.

Thanks

Bolly
 
sound like a white balance problem,( set to tungsten maybe) can you post an image?? that would help

Les (y)
 
If the wb is set to tungsten it's telling the camera the picture, as taken, is more orange than it should be (think taking a picture under streetlights). The camera will then shift the image to the blue end of the scale so it looks normal. If your lighting is normal, with tungsten wb, the camera will still shift it to the blue end of the scale and it will look blue. :)
 
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To add;
Using a flash with an orange gel to light your subject with the white balance set to orange/tungsten will give you a normal coloured subject and a bluer background, good for bringing out the colour of the sky.
 
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Ok! So its the WB that that needed changing! At least I was looking in the right place so that is a good thing.

Thank you

Bolly
 
Top tip: If you shoot RAW and you've accidentally used Tungsten it can always be remedied. If shooting JPG, I'm fairly certain you're in a world of pain trying to rectify it!
 
I have not made the step to editting yet...

I want to not have to depend on software. I am trying to learn the basics first! I see many people thinking they are great, but really they are great on the computer.

Thanks

Bolly
 
I have not made the step to editting yet...

I want to not have to depend on software. I am trying to learn the basics first! I see many people thinking they are great, but really they are great on the computer.

Thanks

Bolly

That is a classic newbie assumption. there have always been good, very good, great, awesome and spellbinding photographers. Computers haven't changed that situation at all. DOn't assume that the great photo's you see here owe their greatness to PP.

Computers have made it easier to polish our photography, and have put high end polishing tools into the hands of everyone (in the past most amateurs never got good at printing, and couldn't afford to pay someone who was good).

But the old adage of 'you can't polish a turd' is still true and the old computer rule of GIGO is too (Garbage In Garbage Out).
 
Bolly said:
I have not made the step to editting yet...

I want to not have to depend on software. I am trying to learn the basics first! I see many people thinking they are great, but really they are great on the computer.

Thanks

Bolly

This was one of the buggiest lessons I learned in photography in my first few weeks, I always classed it as cheating....how wrong I was !
 
Bolly said:
I have not made the step to editting yet...

I want to not have to depend on software. I am trying to learn the basics first! I see many people thinking they are great, but really they are great on the computer.

Thanks

Bolly

Bolly, I am still at the beginner stage, and I would say start early with the editing software, even if just lightroom to help with basic edit and cataloguing your images.

I was of the same mindset of you, but have changed totally, even a little tweak can make a big difference.

Also if you can, shoot in both raw and jpeg.

Good luck with it.
 
Bolly said:
I have not made the step to editting yet...

I want to not have to depend on software. I am trying to learn the basics first! I see many people thinking they are great, but really they are great on the computer.

Thanks

Bolly

I did think the same with PP a while ago but it dawned on me that in the days of film dark rooms were where great images were created. computers have just brought digital dark rooms to the masses. i always think PP changes a capture into an image,you can do as little or as much PP as you like its up to you.your does the PP for you with jpegs.

1. think about shooting raw, ok it takes longer but you can learn about how settings like wb can change an image.if you do set the wrong wb then you can change it in PP.i dont know why i wasted a year before using raw. most cameras now can shoot jpeg and raw,its a great way to introduce yourself to raw.

2. get lightroom 4,i think its on offer for around £65 at present.its become the standard for PP, majority of tutorials on the net use it. i dont know why i didnt buy lightroom years ago,its really opened up PP to me and its so much easier.

3. PP is not cheating, its just polishing. why let your camera choose the setting and changes that make the image. i always strive to get it right in camera first,if i make a mistake like wrong wb then i can save the image.i remember getting a great image when i first started,only to realise it was ruined as the wb was still set to wb the last time i took the camera out. you can also take a shot with an acurate wb to find out a slightly warmer wb makes it better.

have a read about the advantages and disadvantages of jpeg and raw,there is plenly written about it on the internet.
 
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