What filter to use????

[Ralph III]

Hello All,


Thanks for the replies. Yes, I considered setting myownpreferenceswith the camera but have yet to try that avenue. Some pros recommend ignoring preset settings.Isuppose as conditions can change and they make adjustments with the camera? I don't pretend to be on the level of making quick and perfect such adjustments but am learning. Imostlytweak the ISO and shutter speeds as needed in addition tooccasional aperture under creative zone.


I can make corrections in DPP (RAW) or even Photoshop (JPEG) but takes a long time. I must go now but will try to provide some pics later tonight with before/after photos.


Mostly, I have to add a little colorsaturation to each photo while in DPP or Photoshop.


Ralph

[Ralph III]

OK, some of my concerns are not as warranted as I thought afterlookingthrough my pictures and details. I did have totweak colorsand will add apic or two as an example. This mayalways come down to apreference issue,in the end. I feel George may be spot on with creatingsome "custom" settings though, as easier than tweaking each photo. Mybiggestchallenge will however be ingettingthe blue sky's.


Inregards to my tennis pics. Iinitially used the "action" setting in basic mode which was overexposing pictures because of to slow ashutter speed. I was losing color because of that and thussuffering somewhitewash. Switching to shutter priority in creative modehelped solve thatand stop action issues, obviously. I have since decided, due to input fromforums as this, that mycheaper Hoya uv filteris contributing to some minor blur also. So I will invest in a quality filter, but as many, will only use it inpoor conditions. I am also goingto increase the "sharpness" in the Picture Style mode, to get even greater clarity for action shots. Will anything be thrown offby increasing sharpness two notches?


Pic #1 is unedited shot at 1/60, Normal mode, 4.5, iso 320, 60.0mm. Colors were a littleflat anddid not matchpic #3 which was alsounedited. #2 is where I adjusted saturationin orderto mimic#3 color tone. #3 was shot the same as #2 but at focal length of 56.00mm.





#1[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.34.57/6B.jpg[/img]





#2[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.34.57/6A.jpg[/img]





#3[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.34.57/7A.jpg[/img]





The flat colors in #1 only make #2 and #3 look more red than they really are. The wall and hair coloring is definetly correct in later pics. This is my niece who was concerned about a pimple just before my nephews wedding. She wanted me to take a picture so she could see herself. She was happy afterward, BTW.


Here is where I needed help with the sky. #4 was shot in Shutter Priority, 1/320, f 6.3, iso 200, focal length 44.0mm. The colors are great with exception of thesky. The sad part about it is the professionals shots were much worse than mine in many instances as they completely blew outmany. This was one of my poorer shots due to sky and why I picked it for you.The closeups in this sequence were very good but my conern, and why I am consulting you, iswith the sky.


#4[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.34.57/92.jpg[/img]





#5is one of my favorite shots due to contrast and colors. I shot this shutter priority, 1/400/ f5.6, iso 200, focal length 135.00mm. None of the hired professionals came outas good. Thatwasdissapointing to see butI would never say anything.Iwanted some shotsfor myself,especially offamily. Yes, I stayed out of the way of the paidpros, see #4!You live and learn though as I hadunique angles. In #4,I had thelake as mybackground with greatcolor contrasts. They had the house/guests on one end and concrete pillars/limo on theother end.


#5[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.34.57/a1.jpg[/img]





Would a polarizer have done the trick with the sky in #4? Do you lose anything or have to adjust colors whenusing a polarizer?


Why the difference between #1 and #3 when almost identicall settings?


Thanks, Ralph

[Daniel Browning]

Blown sky is a pretty common problem. Can you share the raw file (.CR2) for any of those shots? yousendit.com is a great way to upload the file. That will help us determine what combination of settings and profile will help in this condition.


The dynamic range of your printer/screen might be smaller than the dynamic range of the scene you photographed. If so, the only way to get the former to fit into the latter is to map or "compress" those tones. One way to compress the tones is to reduce the contrast setting. Another is to use "Highlight Tone Priority" of newer cameras.


Hopefully others will give you lots more useful advice as well. Kind regards,