My photos are always dark

helbels · #1 2011-03-26, 12:56pm

Hi there

I wonder if anyone can help me. I bought a photo cube and 2 proper daylight photography lamps, and I photograph my beads on a white acrylic riser.

I always adjust the white balance before I take photos, and the exposure using the camera settings, but my photos still seem to come out dark (like they have been taken on a very cloudy day).

I have to use Picasa a lot to brighten them and adjust the highlights, which isn't a huge problem, but it bugs me that I can't get it right straight off the bat.

My camera is a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ18 (Bridge camera) and I use it on the P Setting, as that seems to give me better results that the automatic settings.

I will fully admit to being a camera dimwit though, and don't understand the various aperture/shutter speeds thing. Can anyone give me some idiot proof tips that might enable me to improve my pictures?

Thank you x

Kevan · #2 2011-03-26, 3:13pm

No one with good photos uses the photos right off the camera. You are showing your bead, not the lighting you took the photo in. I fix all of my photos.

If they are really dark you need to adjust your shutter speed so the shutter stays open longer and lets more light in.

Mike Jordan · #3 2011-03-26, 8:24pm

What is probably happening is that your camera is taking it's sensor reading on the white background, which is going to appear brighter than your beads and it's adjusting for the brighter light. So your background comes out properly exposed but anything else will be under exposed. Try using a black background and see how it comes out.

Or if your camera has the option to use exposure compensation, set it to over expose by 1.5 to 2 fstops. After you see how that comes out, you can adjust from there.

Also, we love looking at pictures, and those help to see what you are talking about.

Mike

helbels · #4 2011-03-27, 2:22am

Hello again, sorry for lack of pictures on first post - I'm back now with some so I can show you what I mean.

Ok, here's some beads I made yesterday. Admittedly, they are a bit tricky to photograph anyway due to some being clear, and some being dark, but hopefully I can show you what I mean.

Here's picture 1 - taken with 2 photographic daylight lights, light tent and white riser. I set the white balance manually, and adjusted the exposure up about 1 point based on the tips given above. This photo is as it came off the camera - and hopefully you can see what I mean about it being dark:

This second photo is after playing with it in Picasa/Gimp to adjust the brightness (I use highlights and shadows in Picasa mainly). Overall the picture is better, but you can see how having to adjust the lighting so much means I'm now in danger of losing the clear bead at the back completely into the white background:

Any further suggestions folks?

Thanks for your help
Helen x

gemsinbloom · #5 2011-03-27, 3:02am

I would try a different back ground. Lose the white riser and maybe go to grey or a reflective background.

SteveWright · #6 2011-03-27, 10:25am

The meter in your camera is trying to bring everything to a middle gray. If you were photographing a checkerboard, it would work just fine without adjustment.

You need to adjust the EV settings for a given lighting setup. Take a series of photos, adjusting the EV setting from -1/3 EV through -2 EV in 1/3 stop adjustments. Then pick the best exposure and make a note of the adjustment.

Steve

Mike Jordan · #7 2011-03-27, 10:40am

Yep, you need to try a black or at least a dark, background. You will find that the clear stands out more and the dark beads will to. Although this might be something you are not be familiar with, what I would probably do is take two pictures... one exposed for the dark beads and one exposed for the clear... then I'd merge them together so I could get the best of both. To do this you have to have a rock steady tripod and not move your camera in between the shots, since you would layer the two images on top of each other and you want as close to perfect registration as you can get. My camera lets me take 3 shots, each with a different exposure without changing anything but yours probably doesn't have that feature, but if you can, it might be worth trying. At least try taking a shot where the dark beads look their best and one where the clear looks their best and see how many fstops apart you are.

Very pretty beads, by the way.

Mike

helbels · #8 2011-03-27, 11:10am

Thank you very much everyone for your help - I did use to use a reflective riser but I switched to a white one - looks like it's time to switch back again!

I will try all your tips and I'm sure my photos will be better for it - thank you again, you are a fab lot!

SteveWright · #9 2011-03-27, 11:23am

Also, instead of using 'P' I would recommend you use Aperture Priority. Then select the smallest f stop (highest number) for best depth of field.

Steve

QuiteCuntrary · #10 2011-03-27, 12:46pm

Editing is just part of the job. Not the most fun part! Your edited image looks good, so unless its taking you a whole lot of time, well hey. Have you tried different positions with the lights? I find sometimes it's best to have one light on the outside of the cube facing in thru the wall of it, while i point the other light directly at the subject from a distance of about 3-4 ft. Also make sure you're not leaning over the camera and blocking any light. And sometimes if I'm wearing a dark shirt, it seems to cast darkness back onto the piece.

Conrad Hoffman · #11 2011-03-27, 2:52pm

As Steve says, the camera adjusts the exposure to make the entire image grey. That works for the checkerboard where black and white average to grey, but consider that the correct exposure is exactly the same for a white board with one black checker square in the middle and for a black board with one white checker square in the middle. The problem is that the camera "sees" the large white area and adjusts it to grey. The same thing happens on snowy days.

As a rough rule, override the camera and give more exposure when everything tends towards white.

The opposite happens if you photograph a black cat in a coal bin. The camera adjusts to make everything grey- too much exposure, so you have to override it and give less exposure if you want the black cat to stay black.

I started with a Lumix and they're great cameras! At some point you'll want to experiment with manual mode, but I seem to remember there's a menu or button to just bias the exposure up or down.

Conrad

helbels · #12 2011-03-29, 1:47pm

Thanks again everyone - I've had a bit of a play putting it on Aperture priority, and adjusting the F stop to maximum - seems to make the colours in the beads really pop! I think it's a definite improvement - just need to have a play in daylight with the light tent sent up now. I think I'm definitely going to need a tripod with this mode though as it seems to take a moment before taking the photo?

SteveWright · #13 2011-03-30, 11:13am

You age going to need a tripod. The good news it can be a relatively inexpensive. If you have the acreage on your tabletop studio, get a 10-12 inch one. If not, stand one on the floor just in front of your tabletop.

Steve

Quote:

Originally Posted by helbels

Thanks again everyone - I've had a bit of a play putting it on Aperture priority, and adjusting the F stop to maximum - seems to make the colours in the beads really pop! I think it's a definite improvement - just need to have a play in daylight with the light tent sent up now. I think I'm definitely going to need a tripod with this mode though as it seems to take a moment before taking the photo?

Laura B · #14 2011-04-15, 9:05am

I think the bottom line (for that particular photo) is I wouldn't shoot white/clear beads on a white background.

But compare that to what it might look like on a gradient background.