Doesn't "pop"

[melnic56]

I was trying to get this shot of my daughter focused on her eye but got her mouth (50mm lens seems touchy DOF wise but I like it) Still feel like a novice when it comes to WB, color etc, just can't seem to get things to pop,
I use PSE 6: cropped, cloned a bit, adjusted color for skin tone. Did not sharpen. Seems to orangy when compared to original:

03 29 10_0573.JPG on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Or any camera settings y'all can suggest?







Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Encoding Process: Baseline DCT, Huffman coding
Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0
YCbCr Positioning: Co-sited
Exposure Program: Aperture-priority AE
Metering Mode: Average
Color Space: sRGB
Exposure Mode: Auto
White Balance: Auto
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Compression: JPEG (old-style)
Creator Tool: Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 Windows
Photoshop Format: Optimised
Progressive Scans: 3 Scans

[SusanH1970]

Cute picture, it's too bad the focus is off. Try shooting in manual (and RAW) and use an 18% grey card for exposure, and also set custom white balance using a grey card. You'll find your photos coming out much better SOOC and will need little PP. Hope this helps, keep shooting!

[melnic56]

Thanks Susan, it does. I willst geteth me a grey card
90% of my shots are of this "squirmy wormy" as I call her, so manual will be a challenge. Dumb question but if I set the WB with the card, barring any super change in the light, I should be OK for shooting a few right?
Mark

[SusanH1970]

No questions are dumb! We all started somewhere. I'm always asking what I think are dumb questions, too.

As long as the light stays constant, you're good to go. Any slight change will affect it, though. For outdoor shoots I'm constantly having to re-meter and reset CWB. Studio is SO much easier, LOL!

[willbrawn]

I would also recommend shooting in RAW. When I fail to get the correct white balance or skin tone I can correct it in post. Don't rely on that, just use it as a safety net.

[nicled]

Tweaked Hue/Saturation in PS3 by adjusting Saturation to -40
I don't know it improves the photo. The process somehow reduced the orange tint on the skin.

You can check it below (hope you don't mind me doing an edit and posting it here. I can delete it if it is not acceptable.



Shooting in RAW gives you the leverage to adjust WB.

[wulf]

I would suggest that the colour is better here than in the original although both seem a touch underexposed. Any chance of letting us see a larger version via a link? That would allow more detailed comments on focus. I think you might find that life would be easier with a reduction in shutter speed and perhaps an increase in ISO (or external lighting), allowing you to stop the aperture a notch or two. At close range, you really don't have much depth of field to play with. It will still be tight even at f/4 or f/5.6 but might make it slightly easier to get what you want in focus.

Wulf

[melnic56]

Thanks folks
original:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2787/...ea968040_o.jpg

I'll have to play a bit in RAW. Another (not dumb ) question...is it because of the lack of compression in RAW that you have more control? A bit overwhelming at this point with color curves etc.

Exposure-wise I have issues on center balanced vs. spot vs. average, but that's a tutorial read I need to do.

[wulf]

RAW stores a lot more image data that gets thrown away in converting to JPEG. That isn't so much about compression as bit depth. It gets somewhat technical but, as an analogy, you could think of JPEG as painting with a simple paintbox with primary and secondary colours while RAW is like having an artists paintbox with all sorts of shades like scarlet and cerulean blue.

Looking at the full size image, I can see just how narrow the depth of field is - it is very visible round her sleeve. I also note the flecks on her face although I don't know if that is pollen or a skin complaint. Either way, I think you would be better with greater depth of field to work with, which means a smaller aperture and / or greater distance from your subject.

Wulf

[melnic56]

tried to fix her dry skin, played with color (colour ) again. Thanks for inputs!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2705/...c775c974_b.jpg