Can Someone Please Tell Me Why My Pictures Look Like This?

[Madi100]

I have a Nikon CoolPix 7600. I just got it. I have been taking pictures in the auto mode. When I take them in the scene mode they turn out fine, but I usually use auto. This is how some of my pictures are turning out. Anyone know why? The first one is one I took with my camera. The second one is one that a friend of mine took with her Kodak digital camera. Mine have a blue tint to them.

 

[MICKEY88]

check your white balance setting

 

[PaulD]

This is a problem with your white balance. White balance adjustments are needed because different lighting situations have different color casts to them. The camera has to try to adjust the overall color balance of the photo so that whites look white and the photo isn't too warm or cool looking. Our brains do this automatically so you probably never thought too much about it but your camera has to try to calculate the correct white balance for every scene (with varying levels of success).

On most cameras in full Auto mode the white balance is set to adjust automatically. It may be that on your camera that you can select the white balance manually. Look to see if you can find the setting to put the camera in Auto white balance. Alternately, you may be able to specify a white balance for sun, overcast, indoors, fluorescent, etc. If I had to guess, I'd say your camera is currently set to a Tungsten white balance setting making the photo way too cool (i.e. blue).

Hope this helps!

 

[Madi100]

Thanks. I will see if that works.

 

[MICKEY88]

What should it be set on? What is it I'm checking?

PaulD answered your question....

 

[Geoff_M]

On most cameras in full Auto mode the white balance is set to adjust automatically. Look to see if you can find the setting to put the camera in Auto white balance.

It's important to note that sometimes you can get such results even using auto white balance. Auto WB is performed via an on-board program that evaluates the images and picks the WB that it thinks is correct. Some cameras' Auto WB works better than others, however none are fool-proof. When Auto WB gets it wrong, it can be really wrong. If you have a challenging scene with mixed lighting (ex. using flash in a room with florescent lights) the odds of a funky Auto WB will increase. Fortunately, WB is usually correctable on your computer when you edit the photos.

Given that Auto WB can sometimes go wild on you, if you know what the lighting will be in your images it's better to manually set your WB to the proper setting: direct sunlight, cloudy, flash, etc. This will give you more consistent color results. However, if your lighting is not going to stay constant (like outdoors on a partly couldy day or if you're going to be moving in and out of doors) then leave your camera on Auto WB. For mixed lighting (like hotel ballrooms that have both incandescent and florescent lights), some cameras allow you to correctly set the WB (often called "Pre-set WB") by taking a sample photo of something like a white wall (or if you're really hard-core) a gray card that you bring along.

In a final note, if you move your camera off of Auto WB, it's a good idea to remember to either set it back to Auto WB or (probably a better idea) remember to check your WB before each time you use your camera. There's nothing like realizing that you've been firing away at your kid's soccer game with your camera on "florescent" because you forgot to check first.

 

[Madi100]

Thanks everyone. My camera was set to incandescent. I was able to fix them all in my photo program, luckily. I had some really cute pictures.

 

[Geoff_M]

Unfortunately, you've hit upon one of the key differences between picking up a film camera and a digital. With a film camera, you usually pick it up, load the roll of film you want to use, and start firing. With digital it's a good idea to develop a mental "checklist" to run through before you start taking images. The two most important things to check are:
1) ISO Sensitivity
2) WB Setting

You can give yourself a lot of grief if you don't do that each time.

Last July I was half way through shooting a wedding rehersal when I realized that I had left my camera on ISO 1600 from the last time I used it. If that had been the wedding day, I would have been in trouble.

 

[MICKEY88]

For mixed lighting (like hotel ballrooms that have both incandescent and florescent lights), some cameras allow you to correctly set the WB (often called "Pre-set WB") by taking a sample photo of something like a white wall (or if you're really hard-core) a gray card that you bring along.

.

I thought gray cards were for metering exposure,,,, I learned to use a 4x6 white index card for checking white balance...

 

[Geoff_M]

I thought gray cards were for metering exposure,,,, I learned to use a 4x6 white index card for checking white balance...

Gray cards are primarily known for metering, but for white balance you can either a gray or white card. Out of habit, if I have a gray card with me I use that, but absent that I often use a white wall, or white banquet table cloth, or any "white-ish" solid object. I think the main thing is that the preset assumes that whatever you are shooting has no distingishing color in it. In another words, something where the RGB values for the object are roughly equal.

 

[MICKEY88]

Gray cards are primarily known for metering, but for white balance you can either a gray or white card. Out of habit, if I have a gray card with me I use that, but absent that I often use a white wall, or white banquet table cloth, or any "white-ish" solid object. I think the main thing is that the preset assumes that whatever you are shooting has no distingishing color in it. In another words, something where the RGB values for the object are roughly equal.

hmmm interesting thanks for the info, I'll have to toss a gray card in my bag..

 

[PaulD]

You have to be careful using a gray card for white balance. I have a Kodak grey card that works reasonably well but when I bought it I compared it side by side with the alternative which had a distinct yellow cast to it. Since a grey card is designed primarily for exposure they are not necessarily balanced to be color neutral. If you get a grey card with a color cast to it then it won't do a good of setting the WB on your camera. There are companies that make cards for setting WB (i.e. http://www.rawworkflow.com/products/whibal/index.html )

Bottom line, don't assume your grey card is color neutral. It may work pretty well but it may just make your photos look weird.

 

[Madi100]

Unfortunately, you've hit upon one of the key differences between picking up a film camera and a digital. With a film camera, you usually pick it up, load the roll of film you want to use, and start firing. With digital it's a good idea to develop a mental "checklist" to run through before you start taking images. The two most important things to check are:
1) ISO Sensitivity
2) WB Setting

You can give yourself a lot of grief if you don't do that each time.

Last July I was half way through shooting a wedding rehersal when I realized that I had left my camera on ISO 1600 from the last time I used it. If that had been the wedding day, I would have been in trouble.

What is ISO sensitivity? I just got this camera, and I love the added features, but at the same time I miss knowing how to use my camera

 

[Aliki]

What is ISO sensitivity? I just got this camera, and I love the added features, but at the same time I miss knowing how to use my camera

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Digital_Imaging/Sensitivity_01.htm

Conventional film comes in different sensitivities (ASAs) for different purposes. The lower the sensitivity, the finer the grain, but more light is needed. This is excellent for outdoor photography, but for low-light conditions or action photography (where fast shutterspeeds are needed), more sensitive or "fast" film is used which is more "grainy".
Likewise, digital cameras have an ISO rating indicating their level of sensitivity to light. ISO 100 is the "normal" setting for most cameras, although some go as low as ISO 50. The sensitivities can be increased to 200, 400, 800, or even 3,200 on high-end digital SLRs. When increasing the sensitivity, the output of the sensor is amplified, so less light is needed. Unfortunately that also amplifies the undesired noise.

Compare:
ISO100

ISO800

 

[Geoff_M]

Madi100,

On higer-end digital cameras you have to normally explicitly set the ISO yourself. On most point-n-shoot cameras there's a "base" ISO setting that the camera may automatically adjust upwards if the available light gets too low. But on many P&S cameras you may be able to manually adjust the ISO if you can flip the camera to "Manual".

 

[MICKEY88]

You have to be careful using a gray card for white balance. I have a Kodak grey card that works reasonably well but when I bought it I compared it side by side with the alternative which had a distinct yellow cast to it. Since a grey card is designed primarily for exposure they are not necessarily balanced to be color neutral. If you get a grey card with a color cast to it then it won't do a good of setting the WB on your camera. There are companies that make cards for setting WB (i.e. http://www.rawworkflow.com/products/whibal/index.html )

Bottom line, don't assume your grey card is color neutral. It may work pretty well but it may just make your photos look weird.

on that note the gray card stays out of the vest.....

I'll just keep doing it my way..I look through the viewfinder while changing my white balance settings until the scene looks natural.., so far it's worked great...

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Why not shoot in RAW and alter the balance in Photoshop etc..?

 

[Charade]

on that note the gray card stays out of the vest.....

I'll just keep doing it my way..I look through the viewfinder while changing my white balance settings until the scene looks natural.., so far it's worked great...

Or you could get a Pringles lid!!! Seriously, people use them on the front of their lens to set WB. This assumes that your camera has a custom WB like my D70 does.

 

[PaulD]

Why not shoot in RAW and alter the balance in Photoshop etc..?

That's exactly what I do in difficult lighting situations or for photos that are going to be important (i.e. portraits of my family). But even when using RAW it's nice to have a shot of a white card to use as a starting point for adjusting white balance.

Most of time I just shoot JPGs because I don't want to take that much time with every photo. Some people don't mind spending the time but it got kind of old for me. Usually my camera does a pretty good job with white balance in the Auto setting. But, to each his own.