Outdoor photo help

[momof3b1g]

Can someone give me some tips on taking photos outside? I've read about taking them in the shade, but mine usually come out ashy, not vibrant like i would like. I tried taking some pictures of my dd but even when she wasn't facing the sun she was still squinting. I'm using the reble Xt with the 85mm 1:1.8 lens. Should i use another lens instead? I set the white balance to sun and used the flash in some. I shoot everything on P as i don't know much about changing other things and usually have better luck with that setting. Is there a better time of day for outside photos? What do i need to know for outdoor shoots?

[momof3b1g]

Ok i opened an account at pbase. here is one of the photos



http://www.pbase.com/momof3b1g/outdoor_photos

[TCav]

Just for the heck of it, try some fill-flash. That may make the colors jump out more, regardless of where the sun is.

[momof3b1g]

Thanks, i did for some. Not sure if that one did or not.

[momof3b1g]

Ok i posted some more.(use link in 2nd post above)please tell me what yea think?

momof3b1g wrote:

Ok i posted some more.(use link in 2nd post above)please tell me what yea think?

I don't know what you're using for post processing, but they look like some simple adjustments in Levels, Curves & Saturation could help a lot. By nature, most DSLR's will shoot rather middle-of-the-road (in terms of sharpening & contrast) using the cameras defaults.

[momof3b1g]

I've played a little but don't know much about those. LOL

Well, most DSLR's are much more attuned to people who know photographic basics rather than your casual P&S shooter. You should get a good Photo-editing software program to make your images their best...not that DSLR's don't take good images, but even the days of film cameras, many darkroom techniques were used to make better images (now emulated by computer software).

[Corpsy]

Completely agree with Kalypso. A DSLR is typically designed to take images that allow for easier editing and will tend to look flat straight out of the camera. A lot of people who move up from p&s cameras are sometimes taken aback because of this.

The best route is to do post processing on a computer using software like Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, but if you tend to use images straight from the camera and don't want to edit them, you should try turning up the contrast. Contrast is the main thing that determines whether an image appears vibrant or flat.

If you do decide to start making edits on the computer, I suggest you try shooting RAW. It isn't for everybody, but partly why I shoot RAW is because of those vibrant images. It's much easier to get the colors the way I want them in a RAW editor than it is to edit the colors of a JPG.

I've attached a before and after of one of your photos. I applied two adjustments, one that altered the balance of the color channels, and another that added a bit of contrast.