Colour Contrast

[lastboltnut]

Hi guys,

I see many pics in the gallery with very good colour depth and contrast.......but when I take a pic, it is usually rather flat. Is this normal? Is it thru PS that the pics are made with high colour depth and contrast?

I am using Canon S3 IS.

Thank you.

 

[honda]

u can adjust the colour of your pics either by adjusting the camera parameters for in camera processing or postprocess it in the photoshop or other software.
http://lewwl.zoto.com//galleries/singaporephoto

 

[lastboltnut]

Hi honda,

Nice photo you have. For example the man playing with fire......did you PS it? Or how do you set you camera to make the fire stands out?

 

[SniperD]

I think that's more of a shutter/flash curtain effect for the fire shot.

For Color contrast, it is highly dependant on lighting and hues of the subjects you are taking.
If you want to boost the contrast and colors of your pictures, the easy way is to do it post production as it will give you a greater amount of control unless you are already very familiar with your Digicam's capabilities of color capturing.

The straightforward way is to use Photoshop -> Image -> Adjustments
there you will find a whole dropdown list of image enhancement to give your picture a better look.

Try using Brightness/ Contrast for a quick contrast fix
Or if you are adventurous, use Curves and experiment with it.
Hue/ Saturation is another quick fix to dull looking pictures.

Go to the library and look up books on Improving Picture quality with Photoshop
Hope it helps

 

[solarii]

Yes it's normal. Digital camera sensors are tuned to take natural toned pictures which look closer to what you see in real life.

If you're a film/slide user, you tastes will probably be tuned to punchier, richer colours and saturation, ala fuji velvia. So you'll probably feel that digital images look a little flat.

If you want richer colours and higher contrast, use PS to add the punch. There are several PS filters which can mimic velvia's rich colours. An alternative would be to use high end dSLRs which allow you to load custom curves.

You can also set the processing parameters in camera to achieve better results, I advise you against this. Presets tend to either under or over cook the results.

 

[honda]

i dont like to photoshop my pictures. i think photos are to document a moment in time. i just take many shots n post the ones i like. i prefer the pictures to look as natural as possible, not too vivid or contrasty or oversharpened. thanks for the comments.

 

[lastboltnut]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the advise......but Hacker from this thread can take very nice pic w/o PSing....:

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=195633&highlight=new+zealand

Is this posible with Canon S3 IS?

 

[solarii]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the advise......but Hacker from this thread can take very nice pic w/o PSing....:

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=195633&highlight=new+zealand

Is this posible with Canon S3 IS?

Why not? Just get yr exposures right and PS away!

Haha I'm not implying anything, but take everything with a pinch of salt. You won't believe me if I told you I don't need to breathe right?

 

[honda]

i usually adjust the curve to print on my dye sub printer otherwise the pictures n too dark. i tried sharpening n contrast previously but now too lazy. never tried white balance or color adjustment. just pick n choose what u want to do with your pics.

 

[Lenscapes]

why not show us some of your pictures?

 

[lastboltnut]

Ok guys, thank you! Think I have pick up photoshop when posible......:think: