Here is a link to the picture I took: http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/1724/...
If you look at the picture you will see that it looks very white. I took the picture using a Nikon D80. The camera was on the auto setting, so I just clicked the button (I'm not a photo guru, but I'd like to get better, which is why I'm asking.)
One other tid bit: many of the photos I took this day look too white. However, I noticed that when I took pictures from a different direction the color is much better (i.e. facing East as opposed to North). I'm sure this has something to do with the angle of the sun.
What should I do better next time? Also, the day was a complete overcast day - full clouds. It was taken in Wisconsin during a very humid day. It looks to me a bit like veiling flare. This happens when the sun shines on the lens at an angle slightly greater than the field of view of the lens, creating a sort of white haze which reduces contrast and sort of washes things out.
The solution to this is to use a lens hood, and avoid the sun.
It also looks to me like it could possibly be fog on the lens. This happens quite frequently this time of year, especially in the humid weather we have here in Kentucky. Basically, if you take a lens that has been air conditioned outside, the lens elements themselves remain quite cool for a few minutes, and water from the air condenses on the lens. This gives a sort of foggy effect to your photos that should be visible through the viewfinder.
There are a couple of ways to get around this. The best way is to leave your camera in the bag until it has a chance to warm up, although this make take a while. I tend to always keep a cheap, uncoated filter on my lenses, which I can simply wipe with a T-shirt to clear any condensation. The whole picture looks a little soft, with alot of light coming off of the dress. Did you have a diffusing filter on the end of the lens? That would spread out the light a bit depending on the amount of diffusion. Mixed with fog that would really spread light out.
Do you have a UV filter on the end of the lens? You probably should just to cut down on UV rays.
Your full auto setting may not have been able to meter that dress properly. The rest of the picture (I can only go off of the one link you have) looks quite a bit darker. If the camera metered off of the tuxes for example then the white, by contrast, would wash out. If you can change your cameras settings from 'evaluative metering' to 'spot metering' in the full auto setting (I can't on my camera so I say if) then do that and focus on a spot thats kind of inbetween on the brightness of your pic, hold the shutter half way, recompose your shot and readjust focus manually and take the shot. It takes some work but you can get used to it eventually. First things first, when taking photos outside, always have the sun to your back, even if it's cloudy.
Second, the photos can be dressed up in photoshop or using the nikon software, using nikon view and nikon editor these photos can be made perfect. Photoshop will do a better job, however.
The photos look fine, the only thing needed is a bit of contrast adjustment which can be done in a good photo editing program. switch to MANUAL on your settings and then you can control the exposure, etc. Also, you can change your White Balance(sunny, shady, etc.) and your ISO settings (100, 200, 400). The higher your ISO setting is, the brighter the photo is and the more noise it developes. Keep your ISO setting at the lowest you can without making your photos dark and please read your manual because that will help you out with alot of other problems that you may have :) Good Luck!
I use a Canon Rebel XTi incase you are wondering. Ben's comment on flare is probably correct.
The sun is coming from the right and the veiling falls off to the left. If you have a lens hood, use it. If you don't, get one.
The image is also over exposed by at least one stop. That added to the problem. I think your Nikon has various metering modes. Learning what they are, how they meter and how that affects your exposure will help you a lot.
A good book on the subject to learn from is:
Exposure Handbook, Chris Weston, Photographers Institute Press, 2005.
I disagree with Morgan on always having the sun to your back. It's way to strong a statement and way to simplistic if taken the wrong way. For one thing, if you have it too directly behind you, your subjects will squint at the camera!
Learn to use your camera's controls and your photos will get better.
Vance |
