Help with Reds--Color Corrections Advise

slpollett · August 4, 2011

I could use some advise/help with a problem.

I was asked (as a fellow band parent/booster) to take pictures of our band kids so we (the boosters) could make 'pride' buttons for the parents to wear in support of the kids. This is strictly a "do-it-yourself" project for the band boosters (my daughter is in the band). I was asked because I help out a LOT with other things and I am usually dragging around my camera. I'm just another Mom taking pictures. (I'm here because I'd like to me more than that one day.)

Anyhoo...I didn't mind doing it, but my photography skills aren't that great (I really do it just for fun) and they are pretty dismal at best for indoor photography. I gave it a whirl though and I'm totally disgusted with my results. Enough so that I am close to chucking all equipment and never taking another picture in my life. Ok, maybe not quite that far, but close.

I showed up to do the pictures and they had set up with a red background. It made sense to them because school colors are red and black. The uniforms are black so the background should be red, right?! That was the first "Yikes". I had my new handy-dandy poor man's light kit--my flash attachment hooked to a light stand with an umbrella connected to my camera via cable. I marked a spot for the students to stand about 20" in front of the background. I set the light to my left because there wasn't space to my right. I set the height of the flash over my head (6' or maybe a few inches higher) and the umbrella was a little higher & angled. I raised it a little for taller kids and lowered it a little for shorter kids.

The first day of shooting I struggled with getting the flash intensity at a good place to keep from blowing out the faces. I also struggled with setting the right exposure with the flash. I wanted F8 or higher, but the flash seemed so harsh and the overall picture was too dark. I put the camera in "A" mode and tried a variety of settings. All of this day's work seems to have a bit of a yellow-y color cast which my photoshop skills seem inadequate to fix. The flash messed with the red of the background, but also the black of the band uniform. The best shots of the day were the ones when the flash didn't actually fire at all. Grrr

The second day of shooting, I had more time to set up and get ready plus I had analyzed the first day's work and knew I had to change. This time, I increased the intensity of the flash a little bit & upped by exposure. Most of the second day's work is too dark for me and the flash seems a little harsh, but the color is closer to what it should be.

I was hoping I could show you a couple of samples (both good & bad) and maybe you could tell me what I did wrong or what I can do to get it right next time. (I have scheduled a re-shoot for tomorrow--Friday.) Also, I was hoping to 'save' some of my original images if I can get the color corrected in post. I'm not very good at that either, so any suggestions for getting that to look right would be appreciated. I've been reading lots of tutorials but haven't been successful moving from the tutorial to the real thing & having it look right to me.

(I know you are going to say 'shoot raw' but I really don't like Olympus' camera raw. It's easier for me to just shoot jpg.)

Here are some of my really bad shots. Most of these are SOOC and not edited unless noted.

Day 1 (too dark, color off, harsh light on face) (started trying to work on it, but stopped)

Day 1 (color off, flash didn't fire?)

Day 2 (a bit dark, harsh shadow on right)

Day 2 (dark, harsh shadow, color)

Here are some examples of my better shots, which still aren't great.

Day 1 (color off) (tried to fix but didn't like results)

Day 1 (color off) (tried to fix but didn't like results)

Day 1 (bg & uniform color off )

Day 1 (color of bg and uniform off)

Day 2 (I worked on this one a little bit. I'm not sure if I'm happy with it yet or not.)

Day 2 (background too dark, uniform color off)

Actually most of day 2 have the same issue--the faces look good (skin tone & sharp eyes), but the background is too dark and the uniform color is off.

So, thanks for looking so far. Can I save any of these? How can I (quickly?) fix them so they look nice for the parents? What advise do you have for me when I reshoot? (I've done 110 students so far and have 50-75 still to go.)

Thanks so much for your time.

Sherry

zoomer · August 4, 2011

Your third photo looks just about perfect, add a bit of contrast.
The day two pictures look good, give them a levels adjustment. You want some shadow on the face.
The first day there are a bunch of color casts, use an eyedropper on the skin or on the black jacket. Levels adjustments again.

These don't look that bad, just need a bit of tweaking. Yes very saveable.

For next time shoot them how you did on day two. Make sure their shoulders are not square to you. You can shoot them at a wider f-stop. I would shoot these at F4.

Levels adjustments and eyedroppers to fix the colors.

Sam · August 4, 2011

Sherry,

Most of what I saw can be basically fixed in PS.

Next in looking at your exif data is seems as though your are using some type of automatic mode. Your aperture, shutter speeds, and focal all change from shot to shot.

Hopefully the master Ziggy will chime in but are my suggestions.

Set your camera in manual mode. Try staring with an aperture of about 5.6 to 8. Set your shutter speed to somewhere between 1/100 and 1/200. Try Iso 100 to 200. If you must shoot jpg try shooting both raw and jpg. That way if you need help fixing any images you will have a much better chance at fixing them. Although with controled lighting you should be able to get nice clean consistent images.

Now for the light. place your umbrella in front and to the left or right of your student at about a 45 degree angle. The light should be about a foot and a half to 2 feet higher than your student and about 2 to 4 feet away. Next get a test subject. Set your flash to manual and start with 1/16 power. Analyze the image. probably underexposed, but that's ok. Now try 1/8, 1/4/ 1/2. Once your close you can further adjust by a third or a half stop to fine tune it.

Check and make sure you don't have any unwanted shadows. Adjust the lights position as necessary.

You could also put the camera on a tripod. You could have the stool / chair / camera height set for the taller students, and have a cushion / phone book for the shorter students.

Once set up you shouldn't need to adjust anything. Just concentrate on getting them to smile, etc.

Sam

slpollett · August 4, 2011

Thank you so much zoomer and Sam.

I shot the first day in 'A' mode because a photographer friend of mine said that was the only way to shoot. Yeah, right. I won't try that again. The second day was all shot in manual. I think I was set between f5 and 6 and was 1/160. I had iso 400 because 100 and 200 were coming out really dark. The first day was a mess!

Thanks for the guidance on light placement. I needed reassurance that I was in the ballpark with that.

I have been playing with the levels adjustments using the eyedroppers but haven't hit the right combination yet. I read one of Ivar's tutorials this morning that shows how to do this better, so I will be trying that when I get home. I will keep working it till I figure it out.

Thanks again for your time to help me out. I really appreciate you both. Thanks also for not telling me to go ahead and chuck my equipment!

Sherry

zoomer · August 4, 2011

I am with Sam on using M when using flash indoors. Makes it so much easier. Especially in this type of static setup where the colors don't change.

spinero · August 4, 2011

This is all correct. These pictures are all acceptable. There is really nothing materially wrong with them. One note: If you want the background to be consistent, keep the distance between the light, background and the subject the same. I think distance might be why you are getting different color backgrounds. You have to leave the flash at the same power too.

Good luck.

pathfinder · August 4, 2011

If you have control of your subject, and the flash to subject distance does not vary, ( and the flash is is manual - fixed output ) then your exposure should not vary from person to person at all. I would suggest, like Sam said, f5.6 or f8, at 1/200th or so, at ISO 100 or ISO 200. Adjust your flash output by moving it closer or farther from your subject. Keep you subject 4 - 6 feet from your background if possible.

In addition, I would set your color balance in your camera to Flash, or even better if you know how to do it, set up a custom white balance for this venue.

Typically you shoot a white piece of paper full frame and then use that file to create a custom white balance for your camera and flash in that specific situation. For shooting jpg portraits against a red background, a custom white balance will save you tons of aggravation with your images.

You can create a custom white balance with an Expo Disc or other tools like a Lastolite neutral grey reflector. I wrote about color balance tools here - http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=90438

slpollett · August 4, 2011

Thanks Spinero & Pathfinder!

I have set custom white balance before but it just didn't dawn on me to try it for this. Ugh!:bash

You can bet that will be the first thing I do once I get set up tomorrow.

Thanks for the link to the color info. I've read quite a few tutorials & info threads in the last couple of days and I've learned from each one.

I also went out and bought dark gray sheets today so I can swap out the backdrop. My daughter wants me to keep using the red backdrop though. (But, Mom.....you have to use the red one!)

I really do appreciate everyone's assistance and advice. I may get this all figured out yet!

Sherry

Help with Reds--Color Corrections Advise

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