Beginner HELP! Grainy Photos

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twfme57

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Name
Ellen
Edit My Images
Yes
I'm the 'official' photography for our clubs' event this weekend and when I reviewed my pics from last night to edit, when I zoomed in - they look super grainy!! Not what I would expect nor what I've been experiencing with my camera which I've had for over a year (and have used similar in the past). It's a Sony A6000, using the standard lens. I am using a tripod, it's set to 'continuous shoot' and I have the exposure on 'automatic'. If anyone can help me identify the issue, I'd love your help please!! thanks from a newbie to the group.
DSC04512-small.jpg

DSC04512-small.jpg

group photo from event
 
Hi Ellen. Welcome to TP!

I'm afraid this image isn't big enough (for me anyway) to determine for sure what this issue might be.

Noise is generally caused by a high ISO, so if you could post a small crop of a really noisy bit, as well as let us know your settings for the image (ISO, Aperture & shutter speed) we might be able to help. Also is the Noise Reduction feature on your camera set to on or off? A quick glance at the DP Review site suggests that with it OFF, anything over ISO 1600 is going to have visible noise. If it's NORMAL you can go quite high I think.

If you're on a tripod, having a slow shutter speed isn't so much of a problem (as long as your subjects are stationary) but auto settings on cameras in poor light (which is what this looks like) will try and get a correct exposure by -

a) Opening the aperture. If you have a kit lens, it probably won't open very much
b) Slow shutter speed. If the camera doesn't know it's on a tripod, it will try and use a reasonable shutter speed which might not be enough.
c) High ISO. If it can't get the light it needs from aperture & shutter speed, it will crank up the ISO.

This is why it's handy to understand the relationship so that you manage it yourself rather than letting the camera do it. In most situations, it's fine, but here you have come across a circumstance where it's not.

Hope that helps!
 
Hello Ellen

I expect the auto setting upped the ISO to an undesirable level which resulted in an over noisy photo.
Only answer is to research the subject of exposure so you can adjust your settings rather than let the camera decide.
 
Following on from Ian's explanation the fundamental problem is light, or in this case lack of light. That is causing slow shutter speeds and high ISO. If the photo were taken in a studio setting then the full panoply of studio lighting would be used, unfortunately I suspect you don't have that so really you have done a pretty good job under the circumstances.
 
It doesn't look too bad some (modest) noise reduction applied would make it acceptable enough.
The ISO has gone too high due to being left on Auto I would expect.
Light levels look reasonable and since they are all at the same distance roughly and standing still you could drop the shutter to about 1/100th or even lower and have the Aperture almost wide a it will go.
If possible with that camera keep the ISO below 400 I would think.
For a group pose like that a flash would be an option but not really needed.
Colours look nice and natural so white balance has worked well.
 
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Welcome to TP.

Its a "not enough light" problem. Camera has probably upped the ISO which introduces grain. Any subsequent editing may have made this worse.

This photo could be rescued with a little noise reduction to give a usable image. Lightroom and Photoshop has noise reduction facilities built in, or there are apps you can buy such as Topaz DeNoise amongst others. Don't go overkill as it will also remove detail as well as noise.

If there is a next time as official photographer, I would switch to either a manual or semi automatic mode, trying to keep ISO as low as possible, aperture as wide as the lens will go (smaller f/ number) and shutter speed probably around 1/100th - and/or add light with flash. The built in flash guns often aren't very powerful.

If you get an opportunity to practise before the next event, try simulating a shoot in similar or worse light levels if you can, then you have a better chance to get a better image next time.

If its an indoor dog show, for the action shots you'll need a different set of settings - generally a much faster shutter speed, possibly without flash. Indoor action is particularly challenging and in this case better lenses do make the job considerably easy (lenses with a small f/ stop - eg f/2.8)
 
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It looks like you used a wide aperture,as the text in the image is not tack sharp but we would require more informative - we would need the exposure information f number ISO and shutter speed lens you used etc You used auto so that may not be available :(

Also if you use a kit lens like the infamous 16-50mm pancake lens, they are notoriously bad IQ wise ( in my opinion) and as said Auto exposure is not the route to go - I did think a flash may help but would need to be off the camersa and quite a decent flash at that

Personally I would opt for a prime lens if you have one 35mm 50mm or similar and maybe invest in a decent flashgun too

Welcome to TP

Les :)
 
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I like fishing.
 
andrewc said:
Its a shame Ellen hasn't logged in since posting the question...
Click to expand...
Shame really - she'll be snapping away on auto with a crappy pancake lens and wondering why the IQ is rubbish :)
 
Hello Elan and welcome to the forum, from my own experience the Sony A6000 is really naff in auto settings as standard, the colours are really poor and it never seems to get it right.
Your best bet is to take the camera to the next step and learn how to use it in other settings where you can control/force the camera to do what you want. I became really disappointed with the Sony as when I used it in auto the results where generally very poor in anything other than bright sunny conditions. It's really worth making some changes to the standard settings ( plenty of info on youtube) but I can tell you what I did if you want. You would be much better off learning how to use it in A or M settings and once you have you will be surprised by the results. As regards this particular image I would guess lighting was not great which in auto tends to make this camera in auto produce some really naff results, muddy,soft, very bland photos.
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
Hello Elan and welcome to the forum, from my own experience the Sony A6000 is really naff in auto settings as standard, the colours are really poor and it never seems to get it right.
Your best bet is to take the camera to the next step and learn how to use it in other settings where you can control/force the camera to do what you want. I became really disappointed with the Sony as when I used it in auto the results where generally very poor in anything other than bright sunny conditions. It's really worth making some changes to the standard settings ( plenty of info on youtube) but I can tell you what I did if you want. You would be much better off learning how to use it in A or M settings and once you have you will be surprised by the results. As regards this particular image I would guess lighting was not great which in auto tends to make this camera in auto produce some really naff results, muddy,soft, very bland photos.
Click to expand...
She is called Ellen and NOT been back on the forum since she made this post :)
 
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