The colors in my photos are coming out dull and flat

[fifi_kitten]

I'm a new poster here, so pardon me if this subject is common/an annoyance.

I just got a DSLR...it's a Canon EOS Rebel XT with a 28-90 mm lense. Right now, I'm using it in auto mode with auto focus and my pictures always come out really dull. The colors are light and no where near as vibrant as they are in real life.

So what are the first settings I should play around with to fix this? I've tried shooting a little in the aperature priority mode, but even then they still come out really dull, and much more orange toned than the shots in auto mode.

I know I obviously need to get more familiar with how to use a DSLR, but since I just got it, I guess I'm just kind of asking where a good place to start is. I wouldn't have asked at all since I'm just using auto mode right now, but I've seen photos from other people using auto mode on their DSLRs and the colors are vibrant and the shots look good. Mine look like crap.

And I don't really want to rely heavily on post-processing.

[Rentham]

Post an example for us to see.

Based on your "orange toned" comment, I'm guessing you're not setting your white balance to match the ambient light.

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by fifi_kitten

I'm a new poster here, so pardon me if this subject is common/an annoyance.

I just got a DSLR...it's a Canon EOS Rebel XT with a 28-90 mm lense. Right now, I'm using it in auto mode with auto focus and my pictures always come out really dull. The colors are light and no where near as vibrant as they are in real life.

So what are the first settings I should play around with to fix this? I've tried shooting a little in the aperature priority mode, but even then they still come out really dull, and much more orange toned than the shots in auto mode.

I know I obviously need to get more familiar with how to use a DSLR, but since I just got it, I guess I'm just kind of asking where a good place to start is. I wouldn't have asked at all since I'm just using auto mode right now, but I've seen photos from other people using auto mode on their DSLRs and the colors are vibrant and the shots look good. Mine look like crap.

And I don't really want to rely heavily on post-processing.

This is a common complaint when people move up from a point and shoot camera to a DSLR. P&S cameras are setup from the manufacturers to produce good results right out of the camera. They are programed with higher contrast levels and higher color saturations right out of the camera. The assumption is that they are being used by novices with little, or no PP skills. If they didn't do this they simply wouldn't sell too many cameras. On the other hand, DSLRs are assumed to be going to a different customer base. These are the people that are more knowledgeable, have more PP skills, and want to have more control of the end results of their images. I'm sure if you look at the manual for your camera you will find custom settings allowing you to bump up the brightness and color saturation of your images...you may see terms like "vivid" in the settings. As far as the orange cast, that is a white balance issue as mentioned above. You will typically see that when shooting indoors with incandescent lighting. As you learn more about how to use your new camera, many of the problems you are experiencing will go away.