Color is Off: I got a Nikon P900 and have been learning the camera. This morning I took some close photos of flowers on our back deck. I was disappointed in the color rendition. I took...

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

I got a Nikon P900 and have been learning the camera. This morning I took some close photos of flowers on our back deck. I was disappointed in the color rendition. I took this one and it came out more red than the deep, almost maroon red that is actually is. I'd post a picture of it's true color but the camera won't take it. Any suggestions here would be appreciated. This flower should be a deep red. Thanks

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cmc4214 Loc: S.W. Pennsylvania

White balance?

R.G. Loc: Scotland

If I remember rightly the P900 doesn't shoot raw so you're stuck with how the camera interprets captures for jpeg images. If Auto WB isn't giving you what you want, you'll have to find a manual choice that's more suitable. Check that you haven't left WB set to something like Cloudy. For the following edit I decided that the WB was way too yellow so I gave it a large shift to the left, and I followed that up with a smaller Tint shift to the left. Since I don't know what the flower looked like in real life the edit is a guess.

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Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Wingpilot wrote:

I got a Nikon P900 and have been learning the camera. This morning I took some close photos of flowers on our back deck. I was disappointed in the color rendition. I took this one and it came out more red than the deep, almost maroon red that is actually is. I'd post a picture of it's true color but the camera won't take it. Any suggestions here would be appreciated. This flower should be a deep red. Thanks

Perhaps just a bit over exposed?

CO

I see that the settings were f/6.3, ISO 200, 1/40 second. That 1/40 second shutter speed seems slow for bright scene like that. It seems like it could be over exposed.

Do you have a light meter? You could take an incident light reading at the flower.

WessoJPEG Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Wingpilot wrote:

I got a Nikon P900 and have been learning the camera. This morning I took some close photos of flowers on our back deck. I was disappointed in the color rendition. I took this one and it came out more red than the deep, almost maroon red that is actually is. I'd post a picture of it's true color but the camera won't take it. Any suggestions here would be appreciated. This flower should be a deep red. Thanks

If you have camera on vivid, change to neutral or standard.
Hope this helps.

anotherview Loc: California

The Color Balance adjustment in Photoshop CC can correct coloration of an image.

Using the Curves Adjustment tool in Photoshop CC, you can set the black point and the white point precisely.
These settings might help.

Note that if you set White Balance to Auto, then the camera system will take account of the scene and render what I call "a best guess" at the true color.

For my part, I memorize the color of the subject and then later in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop CC, I try to match the subject color to my memory of it.

I once used a technique for achieving the best color rendition in camera, by setting the camera to spot metering.
Then I took a reading of the subject with only it covered by the spot. All the colors then came eerily close to their true coloration.

For each of the adjustments and settings I've referred to here you will have to consult tutorials on the Internet.
Look for simple explanations. None of what I've touched on is complicated or difficult.

Good luck.

Wingpilot wrote:

I got a Nikon P900 and have been learning the camera. This morning I took some close photos of flowers on our back deck. I was disappointed in the color rendition. I took this one and it came out more red than the deep, almost maroon red that is actually is. I'd post a picture of it's true color but the camera won't take it. Any suggestions here would be appreciated. This flower should be a deep red. Thanks

khorinek

I agree, the image looks overexposed. Try shooting shutter priority at a faster shutter speed, 1/125 to 1/250.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

OP has color saturation set to HIGH, sharpness to HARD, and white balance to CLOUDY.
https://www.get-metadata.com/result/04bfad06-0045-4b98-b9bc-d9bd9019dcaf

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anotherview Loc: California

These settings could skew color in the captured image.

Linda From Maine wrote:

OP has color saturation set to HIGH, sharpness to HARD, and white balance to CLOUDY.
https://www.get-metadata.com/result/04bfad06-0045-4b98-b9bc-d9bd9019dcaf

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Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Linda From Maine wrote:

OP has color saturation set to HIGH, sharpness to HARD, and white balance to CLOUDY.
https://www.get-metadata.com/result/04bfad06-0045-4b98-b9bc-d9bd9019dcaf

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Especially cloudy on a sunny day.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

R.G. wrote:

If I remember rightly the P900 doesn't shoot raw s... (show quote)

Checked the exif data: WB is set to Cloudy weather for this photo.

wingclui44 Loc: CT USA

CO wrote:

I see that the settings were f/6.3, ISO 200, 1/40 second. That 1/40 second shutter speed seems slow for bright scene like that. It seems like it could be over exposed.

Do you have a light meter? You could take an incident light reading at the flower.

By the rule of 'Sunny-16' in a bright day like this, if ISO at 200 with f6.3, the shutter speed should be 1/1000.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

R.G. wrote:

If I remember rightly the P900 doesn't shoot raw s... (show quote)

I see the improvement. Actually, the leaves on that particular plant aren't green green, but rather a grey green, and the flower itself is is a very deep maroon color. I may have to play around with setting the WB manually. And yes, the P900 only shoots in JPEG, so exposure has to be correct in the camera, as there isn't a lot you can do in post.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Architect1776 wrote:

Perhaps just a bit over exposed?

Can't say. I was shooting in aperture priority, ISO 200, and WB set to "cloudy." I took two others with WB set to AWB and they came out less yellowish, but the flower itself came out with a pinkish red cast.