Photos in bright sunlight washed out - thought process correct?

[biotechie]

Hi All,

Just got my hands on my very first dslr (a very gracious gift from my better half ). We took a bunch of shots of my family by the lake in the bright sunlight (2-4pm). However, I noticed that the background (aka the lake and surrounding greenery) is all washed out. So, before I make a similar mistake this weekend, I wanted to run my thoughts by you to see if I'm on the right track...

1. The metering mode was set to spot. Meaning everytime I focussed on my family, it would adjust the shutter speed accordingly. Since my family was closer to me, this caused the background to be adjusted brighter. Therefore, would using an evaluative metering mode be better?
2. I am using a lens without a hood or a polarizing filter. Since I cant justify buying both at this time, between the two, would the hood be a better investment?
3. I noticed that my pictures weren't all that sharp. The pro's have said that the lens aint the best but the pictures are improved if you bump up the in-camera sharpness. Also, the improvements are more pronounced in the jpeg pics vs the raw pics. Is this true? Also, how do you increase the in-camera sharpness? (I assume this is not just referring to the super fine vs fine settings for the 3 jpeg sizes).

Any other tips to keep in mind when photographing in the sun would be helpful. (Kinda sux that none of my pics came out good even in the most ideal lighting situation )

Much thanx,
Bio

[BobC]

Ideal Lighting? Intense afternoon sun is one of the hardest to shoot in. I'm no expert for sure. Just learing alot of this myself, so hopefully the more experienced will jump in.
Was the sun behind you or off to the side? A polarizing filter works when the sun is at a 90 degree angle from you, not behind you. You may have been better metering off the bright background and using a fill flash on the family. Did you try matrix metering as well. That will kind of average out the exposure in the entire scene. Maybe if you post a couple of the pics we could see for ourselves.

[CRP626]

I'm not an expert either, but you may want to check yor camera settins. I just bought a Canon Rebel and had to go deep into the settings to set the sharpest pic. The default was in the middle setting.

[Chip]

If you could post a photo with EXIF for us to see, that would sure help us help you with your question #1.

But, as said earlier, if your subjects' faces/fronts were in shadow, if you spot metered for those shadow areas, and if the background was in the full sun, then the background will by necessity end up being blown out. One way to fix this is to spot meter for the background (so that the background is exposed properly), then use a flash, as fill, to lighten the shadows on your subjects. Doing this isn't that hard . . . it just takes a bit of practice to figure out what settings to use on your camera.

To do this on my Nikon, I'd likely be in manual exposure mode, would meter for the background, and would then dial down the flash compensation by 1.0 to 2.0. Then I'd take the photo. Maybe your Canon will work more or less the same?

For your question 2, I'd think that a hood would be useful in more situations It also helps to protect the lens if you bang it into something.

For your #3, I don't know.

Hope this helps.

[kencaleno]

set camera sharpness to low,as I was told by a nikon rep vivid and other settings are for direct printing from camera to printer. lack of actual sharpness is usually, (99.9% of the time) due to pilot error-use a tripod,or make yourself into one-like this:

1. Extend your left arm out in front of you, palm down.

2. Bend forearm back, so fingers just touch right shoulder

3. Bring right hand and arm up inside that triangle, resting edge of right hand on crook of bent left arm-pull right arm back, so left hand grips right forearm.
4. That’s the grip, and with camera held by right hand, with lens resting in crook of left elbow, press camera against brow and nose for stability. ( I hope this is clear to understand)

[crockny]

Ow, my neck hurts!

[wulf]

Cameras can only deliver a limited range of light and shade. The trick to avoiding washed out backgrounds is to find a position where your subjects are at least as bright as what is behind them. Some locations will work best at particular times of the day or in particular lighting conditions, especially if there is a particular view you want to feature as the backdrop.

Don't give up though - much of the skill of photography is becoming more aware of lighting conditions and how to use them to your advantage.

Wulf

[biotechie]

This is why DPS is such a great place - You guys are the best!!

Thanks for all the tips. Will (try to) keep it all in mind when I head out next

In the meantime, I'll post some pics with the EXIF data so you can further comment.

Thanks A BUNCH!!

Bio

(off to lunch....)

[cbpix]

I think metering for the background and using fill flash is the simplest answer for the situation you're describing. The flash should also bring the shutter speed up enough to not have to worry about camera shake, depending on your lens.

Don't forget to adjust the white balance also. On my Nikon I find it does a pretty fair job when set to flash mode.

[sjlarue]

Regarding the sharpness issue. You said that you are shooting in raw for some of them. What are you using for your raw editor, Adobe Camera Raw or the software that came with the camera?

If you are using ACR, they will appear not as sharp because it doesn't recognize the sharpness or vivid settings for your camera. You have to add them back in ACR, which is a whole other monkey. I don't use the camera's software so I can't tell you what would be going on there.

IMHO....Raw is a great tool which is what I use 100%. But you need to understand the camera and photography in general before adding raw to the mix. Stick to JPG for now, then when you get a better understanding of digital photography then switch over to RAW.