Posted by Chad Merrell on April 3, 2011 at 3:59 PM
i am not typically a floral shooter but do try to capture some shots in the garden and along the trail while hiking and backpacking. I have real trouble with solid, very saturated colors such as daffodils and poppies. I get just a solid blob of color without texture or depth. ===
Any suggestions on how to handle such subjects?
thanks
Chad - That is the result of one or more color channels being blown out. It the same as a normal, white, overexposure, but it's only happening in particular colors. Some questions :
-- Are you shooting JPG or RAW?
-- If RAW, what colorspace are you developing into?
-- If JPG, how do you have the JPG settings in camera set?
Basically, you need to either expose less so that you don't blow out the channel, or change your development (whether the way the camera creates a JPG, or you do from RAW) to avoid blowing out the color channels.
Posted by Chad Merrell on April 3, 2011 at 5:38 PM
I always shoot in RAW. So i should dial exposure back to a -1 or -2 exposure compensation and possibly use the recovery slider in processing?
I haven't dealt with this too much Chad, so there may be better ways, but that would take care of it. Use the histogram as a guide. You could also try playing with the color channels and de-saturating the one that's blowing out.
Chad: What camera are you using and what kind of histogram display will it show? On my Sony A700 it shows an overall luminance and the individual RGB channels. If one of the channels is blown you should just back off your exposure incrementally until you get the entire channel off the right edge but only barely. If you underexpose too much you simply trade one problem for another. >=))>
Chad:
Can you post an image to show what you are describing? Many plants have waxy surfaces and the specular reflection can be very strong. Sometimes this can be overcome by using a polariser. If the light is very strong, try using a diffuser as well or shot early or later in the day. I also use spot rather than matrix metering and often reduce the EV.
Posted by Chad Merrell on April 4, 2011 at 11:06 PM
No, I don't have any images to show what I am describing but I have had a lot in the past I haven't kept any on file. Thanks for the help though. I think that I have some answers.
Bill provided you with the answer. If you are only looking at just the luminance histogram (default for most cameras) you will not know when individual color channels are clipped. If you can set your camera to show all 3 color histograms, you will see when specific colors are lacking detail and can correct your exposure accordingly.
Discussion
7 repliesAny suggestions on how to handle such subjects?
thanks
-- Are you shooting JPG or RAW?
-- If RAW, what colorspace are you developing into?
-- If JPG, how do you have the JPG settings in camera set?
Basically, you need to either expose less so that you don't blow out the channel, or change your development (whether the way the camera creates a JPG, or you do from RAW) to avoid blowing out the color channels.
Can you post an image to show what you are describing? Many plants have waxy surfaces and the specular reflection can be very strong. Sometimes this can be overcome by using a polariser. If the light is very strong, try using a diffuser as well or shot early or later in the day. I also use spot rather than matrix metering and often reduce the EV.
Guy