Need help with colours !

[Kateris]

Hello everyone,

Don't know if this is the right place to post my question, so please forgive me if it isn't!

I am a newbie to photography, just bought my very first camera (Canon DSLR) a week ago. I've seen a lot of photos on the net and in comparison to what I've took, there's so much difference in the colour quality!

In my photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/56860359@N02/5247306308/in/photostream/, the colours look so dull and flat. I've done some research and tried to adjust the 'Custom White Balance' to set the Kevin manually and experimenting with the shutter exposure but it's nowhere near what I wanted it to be. (For e.g. Grass just don't look green enough and flowers look like they are sick)

Hence, I was wondering if it is a must to colour-correct/photoshop the photos before you can achieve those effects. Do filters also play a part in capturing vibrant colours? Do I really need a grey card to customize the white balance?

Please kindly assist!

 

[candycaine]

Post some samples.

White balance does not have anything to do with whether your photos are dull and flat. Filters do not help the colours become more punchy either.

 

[Edwin Francis]

Yeah, post pix so we can see what you mean.

Any DSLR (or compact for that matter) should be able to give you nice, vibrant colours at default settings, if your subject is nice and colourful, and the light is good.

Too many times I hear complaints of dull colours when the shots were taken on a dull, overcast day!

 

[Kateris]

Hello,

Thanks so much for your prompt reply! I've just created a Flickr account and added 2 sample pictures up there.

 

[Edwin Francis]

The main cause of you dull pix is dull lighting -- photos taken on an overcast day tend to be like that. You can increase your Saturation setting (assuming you're shooting in JPEG, not raw), but be aware that at the highest settings, colours may look unnatural. Or better yet, shoot when the light is good.

If you're coming from using a compact camera, do note that at default settings DSLRs generally have lower colour saturation and contrast.

I store 2 presets in my DSLRs, one higher Saturation for dull light situations, and one lower Saturation when I want more natural tones.

 

[chiangkxv]

Yes.. its a situation of bad lighting condition that cause the flat, dull, lack of contrast image. It is not cause by white balance problem,

 

[Kateris]

Thanks Edwin,

Don't mind me... But does 'Saturation setting' refer to the exposure or 'metering'?

 

[Edwin Francis]

Nope, it is essentially in-camera post-processing.

Got to:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos60D/page7.asp

Scroll down to Picture Styles. There's a short explanation, and pix. Your manual should have this info too. I find these presets very useful

You can set up a new Preset, with the Saturation cranked up.

As I mentioned before, this is only effective if you're shooting in JPEG, not Raw. If you're shooting RAW, you can apply the presets when importing the files into Photoshop, Lightroom etc.

 

[chiangkxv]

Dear TS,

My advise to you is if you are serious about taking picture, try to shoot raw and learn to post process your picture. you will have more control that way.

 

[dingaroo]

Dear TS,

My advise to you is if you are serious about taking picture, try to shoot raw and learn to post process your picture. you will have more control that way.

Hi Kateris,

Like to add on to what chiangkxv has added.

Your camera comes with a decent post-processing tool, Digital Photo Processing or DPP, and has to be installed on your computer. I am wondering if you have read the recommended workflow pertaining to your system (Canon).

Usually, this is how it goes:

1. Shoot on location.

2. Go home, connect to USB cable to computer installed with EOS Utility and DPP (all these comes on the CD in the bundle).

3. Transfer your new images from the camera to the computer. Once completed ...

4. It opens in Digital Photo Processing (by default). Here you can fine tune the images, crop, export it as a different format, etc.

(From here on, is what I do)
5. Close DPP, and open Adobe's Lightroom to import the new images to Lightroom's database of pictures.

6. Further fine tune it in Lightroom or Photoshop, if needed.

7. Export it to photo storage website.

8. Back up the images to external storage.

9. Delete my pictures from camera (if needed).

Maybe you want to download the instruction manuals for DPP online @ http://support-sg.canon-asia.com/?personal

Or you can sign up for training at Canon's Digital Lab to learn how to maximize the DPP program.

HTH on your journey.