PHOTOGRAPHIC THREADS: camera queries, any photo tech stuff!

[Lesley Cox]

I have exactly the same problem David with my Panasonic Lumix LC 70. The pure scarlets are generally a little pale but the rich crimson shades come out, as you say, a (garish) shocking pink.

[Paddy Tobin]

I think Eric has hit the nail on the head - take the photograph when the light is most suitable. For me, whites or bright yellow are the nuisance. In bright sunshine they very easily turn out overexposed, burned out. If I want to take photographs of flowers of this colour in the garden I do it early in the morning or late at evening when the light is gentler. I find it is often better to take flowers of this colour in the shade.

Of course, when you are visiting a garden you have to take conditions as you find them and using a shade or reflector does make you look a twat.

Paddy

[ian mcenery]

David I have had the same problem even with a Nikon d300. I understand that some reds and yellows are a particular problem and confuse the camera into overexposing. I am sure white balance is not the answer (I have tried) and the wisdom (from recent books read on the subject) seems to be to shoot your  shots by bracketing your exposures to underexpose by say 2/3 of a F stop and even a full F stop. Even if you overdo this it is easy to rectify in Photoshop or whatever program you use afterwards. Overexposure is usually impossible to correct because the photo will have burnt out highlights.  Hope this helps

[gote]

Overexposure seems to be the biggest problem. One reason for that is that we take photos where the important part is a little light colured blob in a mass of green. I set down 1.3 stops when taking photos of white or near white flowers. To use spot metering is not of much help since the result is a verry erratic exposure if the subject is not big enough or the aim is not perfect.
The best way is probably to use an incident light exposure meter and set the exposure manually.
Göte     

[ranunculus]

A fascinating topic, David.  Just as a matter of interest I went into the garden this very hot and sunny morning and selected the brightest yellow flower (Meconopsis cambrica) and the most brilliant red (a potentilla) to photograph.  These are the results straight from the camera, which was set on auto on the macro setting. Not much use to man or beast but it occupied a few minutes for me. 
I should have added that these were taken with the Nikon D80 for what it is worth.

[Paddy Tobin]

Cliff,

Both of these flowers have startlingly strong colour and I think your photographs are a little underexposed. They don't show the vibrancy of the colours of these plants.

What do you think?

Paddy

[ranunculus]

I totally agree, Paddy.  Perhaps this proves the theory that reds should be captured in a modicum of shade?  Both set-ups were subjected to the brightest sunlight. With hindsight I would have attempted some corrective procedures - this may have given a semblance of worth to the experiment?   

[Carlo]

Funny...I get a vibrant red AND a vibrant yellow. Sure it's not your monitor that's the problem???

In addition, putting the red flower so close to the yellow will shift the color of each because of reflected light from the other, which may account for part of what you're noticing.

I wonder what the results would be if you diffused the direct sunlight?

[Paddy Tobin]

Perhaps, Carlo.

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

For what it is worth; I see the two red/yellow shots as well exposed and as giving a colour which I would guess to be true. 

[gote]

It looks OK to me too but monitors are not all the same and we cannot really get an EXACT comparision of reflected light from the petals and the luminant light from the monitor. The one is subtractive and the other is additive.
Göte

[Eric Locke]

Oh for the days of 35mm transparencies when all photos came out like peas from a pod.

But a long wait for the results.

Eric

[Maggi Young]

 The one is subtractive and the other is additive.
Göte

Yes, it all multiplies the problem, doesn't it? 

[ranunculus]

Funny...I get a vibrant red AND a vibrant yellow. Sure it's not your monitor that's the problem???

In addition, putting the red flower so close to the yellow will shift the color of each because of reflected light from the other, which may account for part of what you're noticing.

Carlo, you are, of course, right.  I submitted the images via my laptop and have since viewed the pictures on my 24" iMac - the difference is startling.  As with digital projectors and projection screens monitors can vary greatly.  Each of us becomes accustomed to our own visual parameters and we make comparisons at our peril. 

[David Nicholson]

Thanks for all the helpful replies folks. I need to do some reading and then have a go at something something red.