Archive

by Brian

What Is the White Balance Setting on my Digital Camera?

Have you ever taken a picture of a beautiful winter scene and been disappointed to discover the crisp, white snow came out with a bluish tint?  This is the kind of situation your digital camera’s white balance is meant to prevent.

The white balance is a sensor that analyzes the lighting conditions and colors of a scene and adjusts so the white in the picture appears white.  This helps insure the other colors appear as natural as possible. This is one advantage digital photography has over tradition film.  With film, you buy with a certain lighting condition in mind.  If that changes, you need to either change your film or hope you can fix any errors in post-production.

Most digital cameras allow you to use either automatic white balance or choose between several preset conditions such as full sun, cloudy day and so forth.  Automatic white balance will work in most conditions.  There may be times, however when you want to “warm” up a picture to enhance the color, such as for portraits or sunsets.  The best way to do this is  set your camera’s white balance to “cloudy”.  This will deepen the colors and add a glowing quality to portraits.  It will take a beautiful sunset and enhance it to the point of incredible.

Practice taking the same photo with different white balance settings to get a feel for the changes each setting evokes. Keep notes until you have a good idea of what each setting does.  In time, you will come to automatically sense which setting is best for your particular situation.

White balance is a small setting that can make big changes in your finished photos.  Make it your friend and you will no longer have to worry about faded sunsets or blue snow.

By Brian

I realize with horror that it has been well over a month since the last posting.  With some of that time, we have been putting the finishing touches on our Digital Photography eBook (coming  very, very soon).  Some of that time has also be swallowed up by Christmas preparations, family visits and the like.

All the same, this quick note is intended to let you all know that the blog has not been completely forgotten.

The image editor will allow you to resize the picture – usually under the “Image” menu. Note that 640 x 480 pixels is optimum for e-mailing. Keep in mind too that some programs will automatically resize pictures that are being e-mailed – like Windows XP.

There are also some fun effects that can be found in software programs to make your photos more interesting. To add some spark to your digital photos, you may want to consider adding a stylistic border or edge around the photo. Instead of the traditional rectangular photo, artistic edges can make your pictures stand out from the rest. Some software packages can automate this process.

You can also use this software to make a picture look old. Find an acceptable photo, one that does not already have a modern feel or theme. Great effects can be created with photos of country landscapes or of historical structures, such as cannons or log cabins.

Give your colors a brownish tint. If you have a color balance tool, you can do this by turning your reds and yellows up at the expense of blues. Or, if your image software supports duotone, give your image a brownish tone.

Reduce your image’s brightness and/or intensity. You want your photograph old and weathered and such images should not look bright and sunny.

Choose an “Add Noise” filter, if you have one, to your image. Most software programs should have this option.

Use your photo software’s “Dust and Scratch” tool, if applicable. For a truly ‘weathered’ look, see if your photo software has a rain, snow, or fog filter. Apply a few touches to the photograph to “age” the photograph.

The best part about working with imaging software is that there’s always an “Undo” button if you don’t like what you see. This handy feature will take your picture back to the pre-editing image.

Remember, though, we very strongly suggest that you manipulate only copies of your pictures instead of the originals. You don’t want to take the chance of ruining the one copy you have of a cherished moment.

As previously mentioned, be sure to quickly rename your files after you save them so that they are easily identifiable. Renaming will also help you avoid over-writing any files when you download more pictures.

Cameras don’t take square pictures, they take rectangular pictures. If you perchance forgot to rotate the camera before snapping, you can rotate the picture to the left or right by a 90 degree angle.

In the rush to take a picture, getting the camera perfectly level isn’t always possible and there will be some photos where the horizon is slightly askew. You need to rotate the picture a degree at a time. Look for the option to rotate the picture a small value like 1 degree to the left or the right, depending on which way you need to adjust.

As previously mentioned, cropping is a huge benefit with image software.  If you took the picture, say, of your daughter on the swing, once you view it on your computer, you realize that you didn’t zoom enough. Perhaps there are more trees in the picture than your daughter.

In most programs, this tool is in the “Tool” menu where it will probably look like a picture frame. Click on the image (after clicking on the “Crop” icon) and hold your cursor down as you draw inside the picture to get rid of the background while leaving the subject intact.

If your photo is too dark, you can adjust the brightness to give it some life. Try using your image editor’s gamma control. This is a tool that is designed to brighten the darkest parts of the picture without over-exposing the parts that are already bright.You can usually find the gamma control in menus like “Color” or “Image”.

Many programs today have a one click correct of red eye. Look for “red eye removal” somewhere in the “Effects” menu.

If your program doesn’t have this feature, try zooming in on the subject’s face and using a coloring feature to match the color of the eyes. Zooming back out, you probably won’t be able to tell the difference.
You can also use image editing programs, such as Photoshop, to add a caption to your photos. This is helpful if you want to identify the people in the picture, the location, or the date. Look for a text tool, which is often the letter “A”. When choosing a font, choose a fat one because skinny ones are often hard to read in a digital picture.

If you want to e-mail photos to someone, be considerate to the recipient by resizing it. By attaching several giant 3mp images to an e-mail message, you can bog down the recipient’s inbox with a huge file. The message will take forever to send and receive.

It was not all that long ago eager photographers rushed to the drug store to retrieve their expensive film. Browsing through envelopes of prints fresh from the developer I was constantly frustrated with poor quality or ridiculous pictures.

So after spending time and money to develop (and purchase) the film, I often ended up tossing them into a picture drawer rarely to be viewed again.

As you begin to develop a strategy for culling, editing, storing, organizing and most importantly enjoying your images, keep in mind that the goal is to end up with an effective retrieval system

Never, ever edit your original images. Always work on copies. Archive the originals for safe keeping in their original format. Nothing is gained by converting camera-fresh JPEGs to a lossless format until you begin editing them.

Most digital photographs deserve at least a trial pass through your photo editor’s “auto-balance”, “instant fix” or If you’re new to post-processing, you can begin to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t by noting what adjustments the auto-balance made to the images. Even a suboptimal auto-balance result can be a good starting point for your manual adjustment.

Many digital cameras come with computer software to edit and to organize your images. These programs will assist you in correcting and manipulating the brightness, sharpness and color of your photos.

The possibilities for image editing and manipulation are limitless once you become acquainted with the program.

With your editing software, you can crop the photos to remove unnecessary background images and focus on the subject of the picture itself. Plus, you can enlarge or reduce your photos at the touch of a button.

You can also adjust the contrast, brightness, and colors to make the photo more eye-catching and appealing. Removing red eye is also possible with these programs.

Some cameras don’t come with a photo editing program. Therefore, you’ll either need to buy one or use one of the many free software tools online.

Photoshop is the most widely used photo editing program on the market and provides numerous options for working with your pictures. Furthermore, Photoshop offers regular free downloads and programs at the following web address:

Also on the web, you will find a whole host of free photo editing software options. The top three that I would recommend are Picasa by Google, Paint.net, and Gimp.org

The earmark of great photos is good lighting.  Digital photography at its very basic level involves capturing light on an image sendor in your camera.  Types of light varies widely depending on time of day, types of clouds, and the speed in which they are moving.

The best way to use light in the best way possible is to practice and try a variety of different lighting situations for the specific subjects you like to photograph.  Focus on color, direction, and intensity when yo uare trying to set up your shot.

Keep in mind that the perfect outdoor lighting conditions are rare.  Patience and time are your friends in this regard.  If you are short on either time or patience, then luck is your next best bet.  Have your camera at the ready at all times and wait for lady luck to smile on you.

Take your shot from the top of a teeter-totter, off the side of the boat, or standing on your head. Thinking outside the box can really pay off in unexpected ways. You will truly get once in a lifetime shots by adding a bit of creativity to your thinking.

Digital cameras are prone to blurry photographs if your hands shake even a little bit. Several companies manufacture light, portable, inexpensive versions. Digital photography tips like this can save you hours of frustration and preserve otherwise perfect shots.