Help!! what camera settings would you use in this setting? This picture is not "fixed" in any way.. Need advice please.... I have a Nikon D90.. thanks for your help...

gayellen Loc: Arkansas

what camera settings would you use in this setting? This picture is not "fixed" in any way.. Need advice please.... I have a Nikon D90.. thanks for your help

opposite wall with floor lamp

JimH Loc: Western South Jersey, USA

Here's the problem - the light from the back windows is gonna throw off your exposure. The table lamp isn't helping, but it's not as big a deal-breaker as the windows. I'd close the drapes, turn on some other lighting in the room, and make sure the foreground is as well lit, to get their faces. Also, clear away some of the clutter in the frame temporarily.

gayellen Loc: Arkansas

JimH wrote:

Here's the problem - the light from the back windows is gonna throw off your exposure. The table lamp isn't helping, but it's not as big a deal-breaker as the windows. I'd close the drapes, turn on some other lighting in the room, and make sure the foreground is as well lit, to get their faces. Also, clear away some of the clutter in the frame temporarily.

no overhead lighting in this portion of the room. just the wall lights to the left of the lamp and on every post between the doors.. 2 table lamps and 2 floor lamps.. this is all the lighting in this area.. there is a light fixture over the table on the far left of the picture but doesn't help light up this area.. If the wall lights are on they reflect back in the picture.. this is where we do family gatherings.. family home on the lake. do lots of Christmas pics here too.. that's a problem too...

patw62

I am soooo new but I don't agree with the previous comment. I love the outside shot, puts the inside shot in perspective. Warm and fuzzy christmas shot with a cold and blistery back ground looks like ice. With all those great sliding windows I really think that is what the shooter was aiming for. Don't know how to correct it, do you have a "backlight" feature on the camera? Did you use a flash. Photo has so much potential. I love it.

kruegewm01 Loc: buff ny

repositining to the right and shooting back in will also help. it will get rid of some of the outside light letting the picture lighten up a bit and it seems like you should still beable to capture some of the outside effect

gayellen Loc: Arkansas

patw62 wrote:

I am soooo new but I don't agree with the previous comment. I love the outside shot, puts the inside shot in perspective. Warm and fuzzy christmas shot with a cold and blistery back ground looks like ice. With all those great sliding windows I really think that is what the shooter was aiming for. Don't know how to correct it, do you have a "backlight" feature on the camera? Did you use a flash. Photo has so much potential. I love it.

no flash used..

JimH Loc: Western South Jersey, USA

patw62 wrote:

I am soooo new but I don't agree with the previous comment. I love the outside shot, puts the inside shot in perspective. Warm and fuzzy christmas shot with a cold and blistery back ground looks like ice. With all those great sliding windows I really think that is what the shooter was aiming for.

If it was what the shooter was aiming for, s/he wouldn't have asked for, and I quote, "HELP!".

The windows in the back make it difficult to get a correct exposure such that you can see the people's faces. S/he needs more light IN the room, and less light coming in from outside.. Simple as that.

bobmielke Loc: Portland, OR

gaye mgough wrote:

what camera settings would you use in this setting? This picture is not "fixed" in any way.. Need advice please.... I have a Nikon D90.. thanks for your help

Regarding the first shot: Understand how a digital camera, any camera, adjusts its exposure. It averages the brightest light source it sees. In this case its the light from the windows resulting in the people being too dark. Use "exposure compensation". Every digital camera has it. Read your book.

If you want the scene in the window and the people to be exposed correctly at the same time, take two shots, one with compensation, one without. blend the two together. This can only be done with a camera capable of "bracketing", which will shoot multiple frames with adjustments to exposure rapidly.

CarlR Loc: Brooklyn, NY to Santa Monica, CA

on my mac, I dragged your photo onto the desktop and opened it in preview.... I cropped the child behind the jar and opened the shadow detail.

CarlR Loc: Brooklyn, NY to Santa Monica, CA

Again in preview i cropped out the clutter and lightened the photo

bobmielke Loc: Portland, OR

CarlR wrote:

on my mac, I dragged your photo onto the desktop and opened it in preview.... I cropped the child behind the jar and opened the shadow detail.

Please understand that the poster didn't ask for these photos to be "fixed". What he wanted was advice on doing a better job of getting them right in the camera.

gayellen Loc: Arkansas

I would like to Thank everyone for your help.. and it seems to be a problem as to whether I am male or female.. I am a female my real name is Gay no kidding.. I was born in the 50's when the real meaning of the word was Happy...

I have asked Admin to change my name to Ellen which is my middle name...

Again thank you all for your input on my photos.. I love this forum I am learinging more and understanding things better now...

GTinSoCal Loc: Palmdale, CA

I would like to see the outside exposed proeprly too.
You would to meter for the outside and use flash to fill the interior.
If no flash is available, you can bring up the light levels inside by placing the aformentioned lamps in front of the subjects and as close as feasible.
With floor lamps only, you probable won't be able to get a balanced photo, with that lighting, but you could time the photos for near sunset when the exterior light levels will be dropping.

Gordon

gayellen Loc: Arkansas

GTinSoCal wrote:

I would like to see the outside exposed proeprly too.
You would to meter for the outside and use flash to fill the interior.
If no flash is available, you can bring up the light levels inside by placing the aformentioned lamps in front of the subjects and as close as feasible.
With floor lamps only, you probable won't be able to get a balanced photo, with that lighting, but you could time the photos for near sunset when the exterior light levels will be dropping.
Gordon

Thank you very much...

CarlR Loc: Brooklyn, NY to Santa Monica, CA

and you do not feel that "fixing" them didn't show a better photo. Except where the people in the second picture were looking.
I would suggest that she expose for the darkest face in the crowd, tighten up her image, or get the group closer together. (shot 1)
I would suggest that she expose for the just the people and have them look into the lens (shot2).