I completely failed to capture the light!

stu_the_flat

stu_the_flat

Messages
2,443
Name
Stuart
Edit My Images
Yes
The streams of gold light where much more dramatic than this.

DSC_5956.jpg


But I was completely unable to capture the moment. The camera is at ISO100 for the largest dynamic range and the colour scheme was on “vivid” which I thought would produce the most contrast. I found the best effect was to under expose the image.

Anybody got any tips on how to tactile this lighting in the future?

(sorry about the twig but I was so frustrated about the light I stopped caring about it.)

Cheers Stuart
 
Please help, I would quite like some advice on how to capture colours and contrast more accuratly.

I don't know if this is the right section but as the photo is more to demonstrate the point rather than wanting C&C on it (I know it rubbish! :D) But it highlights the technical point.

Cheers Stuart
 
the camera sees what you took
if contrast levels are low...then they are low
i think in your menu there may be settings for the sensor to over ride the factory settings
one of these could be for contrast
personally i leave the camera settings 'flat' and rely on doing the stuff in pp

a lot of my stuff is pretty poor on contrast but i would want overly contrasty shots in the first place

i just think there wasnt enough light busting through to get your anticipated 'winner'

thats about all i can think of
 
As well as the blue cast it's all looking very underexposed to me. I'd be tempted to keep decreasing the shutter speed to get it looking the way I want it to.

(BTW, I'm a big fan of posting things that go wrong with the idea of fixing them so thank you :))
 
Cheers guys

This was not a "wow look at that in the sky" kind of event. but it was more obvious than it was in the photo.

This was the best image that brought out the contrast. any more underexposure and the light rays started to decrease further. they where not visible at all in a properly exposed image.

I think the problem is the MASSIVE dynamic range the human eye can detect. The camera can't keep up. It’s a bit like photographing fog. sometimes the eye can see wondrous images but the camera can't

I was really hoping of ways to "trick" the camera rather than fix it post photo. Because the more of the image you can capture the more you have to work with.

Cheers for the Response

Stuart
 
I'm a great believer in post-processing to make the picture match what your eyes saw. The eye is an amazing piece of kit, sometimes cameras fall short.

For example you mention fog. I keep a photo diary and really wanted a pic of the amazing early morning mist we had one day. When I took this picture I was really disappointed, it was nothing like what I saw with my eyes.



Bit of jiggery-pokery in photoshop and I came up with this, much more like what my eyes were seeing.



Not the best photo in the world (it was never going to be with that starting point!) but I got myself as accurate a representation of the scene as I could - though obviously I don't see in b&w! :lol:
 
Well to be honest with shots like this you're going to need some PPing to get it right. The amount you need to do is what you can change.

This is one of those instances where you will need some help. Whether it be with filters on your lens so you can expose for the foreground while keeping the sky about right, or taking lots of different exposures and blending layers during PPing. Of course there is also tone mapping (HDR).

One tool I use for bring out detail like this during my PPing is the clarify tool. It can add definition in just the right places.
 
DSC_5956.jpg

I figured the rays needed extra contrast but ramping up the contrast everywhere would have horrible effects. I duplicated the backrgound layer and on my duplicate I turned up the contrast using the curves tool until I thought the rays looked better. It also enhanced the colours more than I wanted so I turned the saturation down. Next I turned the layer in to a transparent layer mask. It becomes entirely see-through but where you paint white on the mask it shows through. I used a soft-edged brush with low opacity to gradually create an area wher my contrasty layer showed up over the background. Ask me to explain anything if I seem to be talking gibberish.
 
That black strike of lightning is very dramatic!...

I'd just bin it and try again
 
Longer lens was clearly needed here; I am really not interested about the chimneys and the roofs. This light is rather difficult to capture as the contrast between the bright patch and dark background is huge, but the patch itself has low contrast. A more dramatic effect would be achieved with a subject lit by those beams.
 
Shhot in raw, spot meter/expose for the highlight and work from there - then at least you'll have enough info in there to really play around in software so you can bring out the tonal range in the light columns.

I can't get these kinds of shots spot-on either - I just wing it and fix it afterwards!!! :)
 
Hi Stuart,

First of all the picture would be hard to take anyway, but you are putting hurdles in your way as well!

The Fuji S3 is a superb portrait camera so you are going to have to 'work' it to get the best here. Take it off vivid and return to normal setting. White balance is way off. If you took a 1000 pics in a day and processed them at the end of the week would you remember the colors you saw for each one? No! So you need to set your wb manually for each shot.

Processing is OK but so much better if you can get it right at the start. There are other things but you have some good advice already so no need to repeat.

Regards

Chris
 
G2EWS said:
Hi Stuart,

First of all the picture would be hard to take anyway, but you are putting hurdles in your way as well!

The Fuji S3 is a superb portrait camera so you are going to have to 'work' it to get the best here. Take it off vivid and return to normal setting. White balance is way off. If you took a 1000 pics in a day and processed them at the end of the week would you remember the colors you saw for each one? No! So you need to set your wb manually for each shot.

Processing is OK but so much better if you can get it right at the start. There are other things but you have some good advice already so no need to repeat.

Regards

Chris
Click to expand...

Cheers!

Well noticed! I only got my S3 yesterday. I'm loving it but it is a lot more complicated than my D60.

I shot this using a D60. yes I had manually set the white balance in the pub the night before and forgot the change it! :amstupid:

Stuart
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top