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ekimzulad

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Please Help! I just got my new Fuji F700 and I'd like you to tell me what I did wrong in these photos. Keep in mind I'm new to photography and I took them in full Auto mode. It was pretty bright outside when I took them, but was mostly cloudy.

I noticed in the LCD when framing these shots that when I pointed the camera towards my subject just a few feet away, the sky became totally washed out (see first pic). And when I moved the camera towards the sky, it would look good (blue), but then my subjects were too dark.

What setting(s) on the camera would've prevented this? Any help you can give a newbie would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Ekimzulad



 
Hi, there.

It's a tricky situation. I read about it once but forgot what they recommended in this situation. I'll see if I can find those references. Meanwhile, what I remember from one of the reading is that you can shoot multiple shots, one with metering for the sky and one for the the subject. then you can stack them together to make a better "dynamic range" photo.
Ekimzulad said:
Please Help! I just got my new Fuji F700 and I'd like you to
tell me what I did wrong in these photos. Keep in mind I'm new
to photography and I took them in full Auto mode. It was pretty
bright outside when I took them, but was mostly cloudy.

I noticed in the LCD when framing these shots that when I pointed
the camera towards my subject just a few feet away, the sky became
totally washed out (see first pic). And when I moved the camera
towards the sky, it would look good (blue), but then my subjects
were too dark.

What setting(s) on the camera would've prevented this? Any help
you can give a newbie would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Ekimzulad

http://www.pbase.com/image/23281628/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/23281671/original.jpg
Click to expand...
--
FP S602 + SP383 + TCON 1.7
http://www.pbase.com/janus75060
Visit the unofficial S602 FAQ site: http://www.marius.org/fuji602faq.php
 
Ekimzulad said:
Please Help! I just got my new Fuji F700 and I'd like you to
tell me what I did wrong in these photos. Keep in mind I'm new
to photography and I took them in full Auto mode. It was pretty
bright outside when I took them, but was mostly cloudy.

I noticed in the LCD when framing these shots that when I pointed
the camera towards my subject just a few feet away, the sky became
totally washed out (see first pic). And when I moved the camera
towards the sky, it would look good (blue), but then my subjects
were too dark.

What setting(s) on the camera would've prevented this? Any help
you can give a newbie would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Ekimzulad
Click to expand...
You probably did nothing wrong, but you presented your camera with a difficult challenge. The camera was doing its best to expose both the bright and dark areas of the frame, but one of the shortcomings of digital photography is the limited dynamic range. Some things you might try: Check which metering you are using. Your camera has 64 zone, center weighted zone, and spot metering. This won't increase the dynamic range, but it will help you properly expose the area of the frame that is the most important part. Another thing to try is 'exposure bracketing' which will produce three images at three different exposure settings. You then can save the one that looks the best to you.

Photo editing software can also help correct some of the exposure issues.

Bill
 
with shots like this (a very bright background compared to the foreground subject) you might also try using flash to lighten up your subject. adjusting aperture will change how strong the flash will effect your subject, while adjusting shutter speed will only change how bright your background will turn out.

also, as a critique, it looks like the women in the picture weren't too happy to be there. make them happier before shooting their pictures. ;)
Ekimzulad said:
Please Help! I just got my new Fuji F700 and I'd like you to
tell me what I did wrong in these photos. Keep in mind I'm new
to photography and I took them in full Auto mode. It was pretty
bright outside when I took them, but was mostly cloudy.

I noticed in the LCD when framing these shots that when I pointed
the camera towards my subject just a few feet away, the sky became
totally washed out (see first pic). And when I moved the camera
towards the sky, it would look good (blue), but then my subjects
were too dark.

What setting(s) on the camera would've prevented this? Any help
you can give a newbie would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Ekimzulad



Click to expand...
 
What you did wrong is chose an image with too much dynamic range. If the first one at least your subjects are properly exposed. Possibly using fill flash would have helped.

Morris
Ekimzulad said:
Please Help! I just got my new Fuji F700 and I'd like you to
tell me what I did wrong in these photos. Keep in mind I'm new
to photography and I took them in full Auto mode. It was pretty
bright outside when I took them, but was mostly cloudy.

I noticed in the LCD when framing these shots that when I pointed
the camera towards my subject just a few feet away, the sky became
totally washed out (see first pic). And when I moved the camera
towards the sky, it would look good (blue), but then my subjects
were too dark.

What setting(s) on the camera would've prevented this? Any help
you can give a newbie would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Ekimzulad



Click to expand...
 
Thank you all for your feedback. I guess I should learn how to use the settings on my camera and not rely on Auto mode. :)

Ekimzulad
 
You can use post processing i.e. photoshop to fix either of these photos.

Because your subjects are "backlit" you need to use a flash (even though it's broad daylight!) to get them and the bright background. You might also mess with the exposure compensation.

another way to fix this is to use a graduated(?) neutral density filter, I think that's the name. It is darker on one side than the other so you can darken the sky and leave the ground area untouched. Also a polarized filter will bring out more color from the sky and is a very useful filter to have.
Ekimzulad said:
Please Help! I just got my new Fuji F700 and I'd like you to
tell me what I did wrong in these photos. Keep in mind I'm new
to photography and I took them in full Auto mode. It was pretty
bright outside when I took them, but was mostly cloudy.

I noticed in the LCD when framing these shots that when I pointed
the camera towards my subject just a few feet away, the sky became
totally washed out (see first pic). And when I moved the camera
towards the sky, it would look good (blue), but then my subjects
were too dark.

What setting(s) on the camera would've prevented this? Any help
you can give a newbie would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Ekimzulad



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