Having Trouble Please Help!

[allen8500]

Okay, I am sooo new to photography. I am not even sure if this is where I should post this. I have a Canon T1I. Yesterday we went to the St. Louis Botanical Gardens to take some photos of our kiddos. My pics turned out so washed out, pale, and some were grainy. I mostly used the auto function. The lens was the EFS 18-55, which I know is not ideal for portraits, but I at least should get some good shots. Can anyone offer some suggestions?

My sister in law brought along her Nikon and used the same type lens and auto, and she achieved much better results. Is this just my camera??

Thanks so much!

Daven

[BuddhaPi]

Post a sample with the EXIF information and someone will be sure to help..

[kevingeary]

Dd you buy a T1i thinking it would get you great quality photographs?

[justin_ing]

Don't worry, it is capable of taking decent photos.

Its probably washed out and grainy because of settings. Was it sunny? dark?

I wouldn't shoot it in Auto mode as the interpretation on the camera can be too, approximate. Having said that, try Av mode, set the F# to 5.6. and leave your ISO at 400. Outside, you should get some good results on a sunny even overcast day. If the first few look blurry, since it may be too dark on overcast days, raise the ISO to 800.

Keep shooting!

[kevingeary]

Justin, I wasn't implying it isn't capable of getting good photos. I was implying that I believe she bought a "better camera" so that she'd magically get better photos.

[BigFuzzy]

Originally Posted by kevingeary

Justin, I wasn't implying it isn't capable of getting good photos. I was implying that I believe she bought a "better camera" so that she'd magically get better photos.

And how did your initial post actually help her? Agree that's likely the case, but next time, how about actually suggesting help instead of simply mocking? In the end she's a newb and needs help, we can help and encourage (most of the time) without being snide right?

I do both, mock AND suggest how to help. Allows me to keep thinking I'm smart and all photographery and stuff.

First thing I can suggest OP is, yes, learn some of the basics so that you know what's going on. In this case, I often recommend that newer photographers learn the Exposure Compensation settings on their camera so that they can easily correct some exposure issues without having to know too much about f/stop, shutter speed, ISO, etc.. it's a good starting point. So read your manual about Exposure Compensation, that way, when you photograph a scene and find it over exposed, you can quickly dail down your exposure and it might make a big difference. DISCLAIMER - not sure if ExpCompensation works on Auto.. you'll have to see if it does. If not maybe the P mode? I've used Manual and AV/AP so long, I don't know what the other settings do, sorry!