Blown Whites

Daysleeper40

Daysleeper40

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5,184
Name
Fi
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi All,

It was my neices first birthday bash yesterday and we hit the park for a bit of fun.

Now the rest of my family have essentially designated me official familyphotographer and everytime we get together I try - but end up with nothing I am particularly hapy with. One of my main issues is blown whites. Here is an example -



I know I should delve into the world of RAW - but I havn't yet so this is jpeg. Is there anything I can do about her dress / tights now or any tips you can give me for next time?

exif:

Camera Make NIKON CORPORATION
Camera Model NIKON D60
Exposure 0.00625 sec (1/160)
F-Number f8
Focal Length 55 mm
Exposure Bias -0.666666666666667
Orientation 1
X Resolution 300 dpi
Y Resolution 300 dpi
Date and Time (Original) 2010:04:04 15:24:55
Date and Time (Digitized) 2010:04:04 15:24:55
ColorSpace sRGB
Flash Flash did not fire
Sensing Method One-chip color area sensor
Image Height 3872 pixels
Image Width 2592 pixels
Date Time 2010:04:04 19:41:12
YCbCr Positioning 2
ISO Speed ISO-720
Light Source unknown
Metering Mode Pattern
Maximum Lens Aperture 5

I had the camera on auto ISO (mainly because I couldn't work out how to set it myself and didn't have the manul with me. I will be looking this up in a minute!). What could I / should I have done differently?
 
none of the whites in that shot look blown just use the shadow hilight tool to recover detail

and if your a little unsure while shooting dile in a little compensation -1/3
 
dreameruk said:
none of the whites in that shot look blown just use the shadow hilight tool to recover detail

and if your a little unsure while shooting dile in a little compensation -1/3
Click to expand...

hmm - they do to me. Maybe my monitor is making it look worse than it is :thinking:

Thanks for the -1/3 tip - will try to remember that for next time.
 
I don't see any significant blown highlights either. I also endorse the -1/3 stop - which I use with my little Canon Ixus.

Anthony.
 
Anthony.Ralph said:
I don't see any significant blown highlights either. I also endorse the -1/3 stop - which I use with my little Canon Ixus.

Anthony.
Click to expand...

Thanks Anthony - I'm beginning to think I've become hyper-critical of my people shots. Think I'll post a few in the C&C section and see what other people think of them.
 
I don't think the highlights are blown in her dress or leggings. However, they are the brightest part of the shot which provides a strong draw for the viewers eye and distracts from the rest of the photo which might account for why you see them as a problem.
 
^^ all of the above, nothing looks blown

If there is anything that takes my eye away from the subject it is the white badge on the guys jacket and his white trainers that show underneath the swing, would look better shopped out
 
I think the main problem there is ISO720 on a D60. You will get better quality at ISO400, preferably 200. You already have -2/3rd exposure compensation dialled in... :thinking: I think it's under-exposed if anything. You need some decent light, too. It looks late in the day - a very light dab of fill-in flash could have lifted it a lot.

Have you cropped it?
 
On a plus note, the image is in focus and sharp.

It may be my eyes but the image looks to have a colour cast. Try removing this in Photoshop/LR, etc.

Try adding some fill light too, this will brighten up the shot as if a flash were used.

I would invest in a flash, SB400/SB600 and a difusser like a Lightsphere II or similar for future shots.

Watch the histogram and blinkies (highlight and shadow clipping warnings on the LCD) to see any blown highlights/shadows.

The more you shoot and the more you post on here the better your photography will become. Well, that is how it worked out for me at least and I still have a LONG way to go.

John
 
Blown highlights VS noise in shadows is a compromise in high contrast shots like this because of the limited dynamic range of the digital sensor.
Check the "blinking highlight" display after you take a picture and ask yourself if the highlighted areas are important or not.
(in this picture I don't think it's important. It's more important to retain detail in the eyes IMO).
 
Looks okay here too Fi

Look into a monitor calibration unit, there very easy to use and very good value.

I agree that the composition of the shot has not helped your cause. The most important part of any shot is the eyes and face...but the eye naturally goes to the brightest part of the image. You could crop in, or perhaps add a dark vignette to calm the legs down.

Also the legs are very big in the picture, that's because you're shooting on a relatively short focal length (55mm) and the feet are nearest so they look biggest. If you'd have shot it with a longer lens (say 70-200) you would have found that effect reduces.

Also, you're shooting at f/8 so lots is in focus. If you shoot at a wider aperture (say f/5.6 or f/4) and focus on the subject's face then that will be another way of drawing the eye to the important part of the image. Differential focus compositions can sometimes work very well in black and white too and when you have hot colours (reds and yellows) in the background, they will always jump to the front of the attention, knocking it into black and white can solve that.

Clearly your subject is moving so you either need to have your autofocus mode set to AI-SERVO (somebody please convert this to Nikon speak), or use manual focus set to a target area and shoot when enters that area.

Oh and yes - shoot in RAW - but you know that already *wink*

Congratulations on your appointment of Family Photographer

Steve
 
stevedunster said:
Looks okay here too Fi

Clearly your subject is moving so you either need to have your autofocus mode set to AI-SERVO (somebody please convert this to Nikon speak), or use manual focus set to a target area and shoot when enters that area.

Oh and yes - shoot in RAW - but you know that already *wink*

Steve
Click to expand...

AF-C (continuous AF) set as the "C" position of the C-S-M switch on the bottom front of the camera
 
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