rodder

Contrary to national news we in Buffalo have had a mild winter and I have been able to photograph a couple times a week. My problem is sun, contrast, is hard to come by, made worse by my shooting an old format raw, lumix FZ 300, is there any way that I can enhance the contrast in the camera? relying on pp can be garish.

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An in-camera fix is likely to be as "garish" as
your PP fix ... cuz basically the only difference
is the physical place where it happens but the
digital actions are pretty much the same.

So, better to beat the problem BEFORE it gets
recorded as an image file. An in-camera fix is
still after the fact. Fixes before the recording
are all optical, not electronic.

Optical problems include:
Ineffective lens hood.
Dirt.
Inferior filter.

Certain ranges on your built-in zoom lens may
be more vulnerable than others. Experiment.
And avoid maximum aperture. Obviously, be
careful how you aim it.

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Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Contrast is high in your image. I am pretty sure you don't what MORE contrast. With certain subjects, you can make two or more exposures and combine them using a software package capable of HDR merging. The result will be creating a wide dynamic range then using tone mapping to bring the tones into a balanced, yet credible image. With a gentle approach, the result will be pleasing. The other approach is to expose for the highlights, letting the dark areas get noisy, and then apply noise reduction more aggressively locally to those areas, the use the shadow correction slider to balance the darker areas. You should be familiar with both approaches, as both are perfectly valid. High contrast subjects are generally very challenging.

Also, if your software does not have a lens profile for your camera/lens, you'll need to adjust for chromatic aberration, which is pretty visible in this image.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Could you post the image before PP? Also what were the settings you used? Did you use a filter? If so what filter?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Good lighting usually helps avoid flat images.

repleo Loc: Boston

There is too much contrast in your image unless you were going for a pure silhouette. You need more front lighting - either fill flash or some sort of reflector or move around to a side with more light. You could spot meter for the bark but the sky will still be blown out. Do you have any sort of in-camera HDR - might help.

Also, there is an awful lot of fringing on the twigs crossing the highlights and focus seems to be on the front twigs instead of the bark

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Below are two of the OP's photos posted elsewhere on UHH. My suggestion is to learn how to recognize when HDR, fill flash or manual exposure may be necessary.

Build a strong foundation for the future by learning how the different camera metering options, how to set the exposure for the result you desire, and how to work with existing light - whether flat or contrasty, backlit or other.

NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

If by flat you mean that everything is in focus, then two things to consider. If possible change your aperture to a shallower depth of field to bring the vines or small limbs in focus, but the tree slightly out of focus. The other is to possibly consider if your composition is at fault and a different "look" would give a better feeling of depth to the subject. Both can help control what the eye is attracted to and gives the perception of depth.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

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What on earth are you talking about ?
Did you read thread title ?

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