In an attempt to get a picture of all the cousins, on my husband's side, we took a birth order picture. Each cousin held a sign representing when they entered the family.
I loved the concept but had to resort to using the house lights (tungsten light) and a flash. Gasp, I know. The result, the picture has more yellow tones to it.
On our ride home, I figured out how to fix it. I discovered if you take your camera off of automatic, you can set the white balance.
My camera was set on AWB (automatic white balance) for the birth order picture I took. So, the camera decided what it thought represented 'white' the best. BUT, if you take it off of AWB, you can tell tell your camera what kind of light you are shooting in. Had I selected tungsten light, I could have corrected the color cast and my picture would not have looked as yellow.
You'll also want to set your camera to AV (the aperture mode).
Then, set the ISO speed to the highest setting (I pushed mine to 1600). Set your aperture to the lowest setting (I set mine to F4.5). Your camera should have a dial, mine is near the shutter release button (the button you press to take your pictures), that dial will allow you to change your settings.
Ready to see the difference?
Taking a picture using only house lighting (tungsten lighting), leaving your camera on the automatic setting, using no flash, your picture will look something like this.
Taking your camera off of the automatic setting, setting your ISO to the highest setting, your aperture to the lowest and setting the white balance to tungsten lighting (all as described above), the color cast will be removed from your photo and the result should look something like this.
Can you believe the difference?
WOW! That really makes a difference. I got a new camera a little over a month ago and I'm still trying to figure it all out. Great info!
ReplyDeleteGreat tip Amy! What a difference! I'm still working with a pretty old digital, but can't wait to get a new camera this year sometime.
ReplyDeleteGreat tip and not too hard! I've been messing with white balance for fun, but the aperture and ISO are great tips to know!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Kristy @ Shona Skye Creations
http://shonaskye.blogspot.Com
thanks for this tip Amy! I am not good at taking photos at all but thanks to picmonkey and instagram for helping me edit! Plus, i don't have a nice fancy camera too, i sometimes use my iphone or that old camera and edit it...
ReplyDeletejust wish one of these days, an awesome camera will just be delivered right through my door :)
huggies***
rea
Makes sense...but my camera ain't that fancy :) It does have plenty of settings...but I will have to play around. Definitely I always try to take pics when it's nice and sunny (which lately has been a nightmare!)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this tip about tungsten light! I've been playing with ISO settings lately and cannot believe the difference in the coloring of the pictures. I am reading a book right now to learn how to use my canon out of manual. :) Megan
ReplyDeleteRight now, I am trying to take a picture of the snow outside in automatic mode - and the camera is taking in too much light and it is washed out! SO ready to learn manual already! So imagine my surprise when I saw this just now! Thanks for the great tip Amy!!! What a difference...I can't tell you how many of those yellow pictures I have! Pinning for reference :)
ReplyDeleteAnother amazing talent! I received a new camera for Christmas that has all of those features you have adjusted.... I use automatic.... Clueless. Maybe you can give lessons!
ReplyDeleteOh, Amy. I'm sure this was great advice but my eyes got all swimmy and then I had to sit down. ;) I just need you to come over and show me how to do it in person. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome tip! I definitely need to try this on my photos!
ReplyDeleteHuge difference! Is yours a dslr? I love that idea of birth order, really cute!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, thanks for the before and after photos to show what a difference it makes.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful tips! Thank you dear Amy xxx
ReplyDeleteThat's an amazing tip! I think I will need to give it a try ...
ReplyDeleteAnd Happy New Year my friend!
:) Linda
White balance is one of the hardest areas to get right, you did good. And that photo of the pigtailed princess with the Poloroid, TDC.... too darn cute!
ReplyDeleteBliss
Awesome! Thanks for the tip! I need to add this to my notebook!
ReplyDeleteI'm pinning this to my photography board. I'm still using point and shoot.. but do eventually plan on getting an SLR. Thanks for sharing this great tip!
ReplyDeleteHi Amy,
ReplyDeleteSuch smart ideas as usual! Really helpful to your readers also. I had similiar results with my food photos when I went from indoor lighting to natural lighting. I have a point and shoot camera, so it was actually a matter of taking my photos outside! I don't have any good indoor natural lighting. But it hasn't been too difficult to move everything outside, and the results have been really worth it.
Thanks for sharing! Di
I am now of the belief that you are 10,000 times smarter than me. I will have to try this. Maybe. My camera scares me. It doesn't like it when I mess with it's buttons.
ReplyDeletemy new camera literally arrived today and i'm supposed to be googling how to use it, but surfed blogs instead as is my wont. now i know what the dial is for AND how to get rid of the orangy glow annoying me in my very first snaps. brilliant! thanks!
ReplyDeleteI had heard about being able to play with white balance, but I had no idea where it was on my camera. THANKS!!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I just got a new camera and although I had messed with white balance before I'd forgotten about the tungsten setting! Thanks so much! For the birth of my kids, I had the forethought to use the setting that allows you to tell the camera what white is. The hospital sheets are perfect. With the mixture of florescent, and what ever that crazy circular light is, my husband was able to capture some great (after birth) photos! And the color is perfect!
ReplyDeleteOh..visiting via Bonbon Break! :)
DeleteI'm jealous. I had no clue about white balance when my daughter was born. I thought that the flash was the answer back then. At least I've learned how to use my camera while she is still young enough to get plenty more good quality pictures.
DeleteI love the cousin picture. We're hoping to do the same idea with our family (there's 11 cousins, 8 of whom were born in the last 4 years)
ReplyDelete