Coral Photography Question

[jbb]

Every time I take a pic, the color shows up great on the camera but then is very dull in the pic.

 

I have tried just a few basic editing modes (saturation / warmth / contrast / etc.) but I am extremely handicap in this dept.

 

I have photoshop, and lightroom , but haven't really learned the programs yet and need some help.

 

What does it take to get the color pop in photos like this :

 

 

 

 

 

help me get rid of dull pics.

 

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

and yes I am researching as well

[HarryPotter]

Post an example of the pictures you are not happy with

[jbb]

Here is an example (it was taken under blue light of an AI nano)

 

Looking through the camera the setosa shows up a very bright glowing orange, the palys show glowing red skirts with neon yellow mouth, zoas in the middle are bright glowing yellow. I snap the pic and get crap.

 

How do I get the true to life look?

 

Post an example of the pictures you are not happy with

[Lawnman]

Every time I take a pic, the color shows up great on the camera but then is very dull in the pic.

 

I have tried just a few basic editing modes (saturation / warmth / contrast / etc.) but I am extremely handicap in this dept.

 

I have photoshop, and lightroom , but haven't really learned the programs yet and need some help.

 

What does it take to get the color pop in photos like this :

 

 

coral.jpg

 

 

help me get rid of dull pics.

 

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

and yes I am researching as well

 

most photo uploading sites have effects buttons or saturation bars. Sellers like Jason Fox and Cornbred click those buttons or move the saturation bar to get that pop.

Here is an example (it was taken under blue light of an AI nano)

 

Looking through the camera the setosa shows up a very bright glowing orange, the palys show glowing red skirts with neon yellow mouth, zoas in the middle are bright glowing yellow. I snap the pic and get crap.

 

How do I get the true to life look?

 

[jbb]

closer, but no where near what is actually there.

 

 

maybe the LEDs have spoiled the eyes

[Lawnman]

closer, but no where near what is actually there.

 

 

maybe the LEDs have spoiled the eyes

 

I think you just need to play around with the software to get what you actually see. I know when I take pictures I just use my ipad nothing worth seeing really. I just hit the HD button on photobucket to make them a little more crisp. Sure Rehype could be of help shoot him a PM.

[bdevillier19]

also, what camera are you using? when you say that on the camera it looks great, is that through the view finder? or is it a digital view finder (like my sony nex5). i've also seen it recommended that shooting in raw format allows for more photoshop/lightroom flexibility.

[jbb]

also, what camera are you using? T3i

 

when you say that on the camera it looks great, is that through the view finder? or is it a digital view finder (like my sony nex5). Colors are MUCH better throught the view finder than on the digi screen, but the colors on the digi screen are still pretty much on par with what you see when looking at the tank (little more towards the dull side though)

 

i've also seen it recommended that shooting in raw format allows for more photoshop/lightroom flexibility. That's what I'm reading up on now.

[bdevillier19]

ok well you have an slr then, the view finder is just that, a view finder, so there is no difference between that and your eye other than the magnification of the lense, the digi screen should be closer to the actual pic, but depending on the settings of your camera, the results will vary. some cameras have a manual white balance setting so you can help to compensate for the high amount of blue. i saw a thread on RC a while back where people were using filter gels over the lens and it made for amazing photos. ill try to find the post.

here is one post about the gels

 

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2393674&highlight=filter+gels

and another

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2356487&highlight=camera+gel+filter

[CJJon]

Can you take a white balance image for color correction in the camera? Basically you take a picture of a white card placed inside the tank with the lights you will be using. The camera (or software) can take that image and color correct with it. It knows the image wants to be white and corrects out the blue. Fill the image with the white object. I use a piece of white plastic. My camera can do it on the fly.

 

Raw images no processing:

 

 

[bdevillier19]

or this ^^^^^, although, i dont think my nex5 allows for this

[pokerdobe]

Here is an example (it was taken under blue light of an AI nano)

 

Looking through the camera the setosa shows up a very bright glowing orange, the palys show glowing red skirts with neon yellow mouth, zoas in the middle are bright glowing yellow. I snap the pic and get crap.

 

How do I get the true to life look?

 

 

A minute or so playing around with settings. Sorry, best I could do.

 

[Zia]

 

 

I love that setosa btw!

[Mirya]

ok well you have an slr then, the view finder is just that, a view finder, so there is no difference between that and your eye other than the magnification of the lense, the digi screen should be closer to the actual pic, but depending on the settings of your camera, the results will vary. some cameras have a manual white balance setting so you can help to compensate for the high amount of blue. i saw a thread on RC a while back where people were using filter gels over the lens and it made for amazing photos. ill try to find the post.

here is one post about the gels

 

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2393674&highlight=filter+gels

and another

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2356487&highlight=camera+gel+filter

 

I also just posted a thread in this forum about getting free gels. They are small though so not entirely suitable for a DSLR camera lens, but you could play around with a free swatchbook to figure out which gel color works best for your set-up.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/363195-free-film-for-correcting-camera-phone-photos/

 

 

Love this macro shot!

[nidding]

When you have Lightroom, always shoot RAW!

Usually I get best results from underexposing with one full stop.

My workflow then is

1) Apply lens/camera profile

2) Adjust white balance

3) Set Black/White points (this is a crucial point and really makes a hell of a difference)

4) Play around with shadows/highlights

5) Adjust contrast/clarity/vibrance/saturation

6) Probably remove some noise

 

 

Random macro photo

Original

DSC_4225-2 by jonas_sandager, on Flickr

 

Post LR

DSC_4225 by jonas_sandager, on Flickr

[jbb]

Thanks guys there is a lot of useful information here . I will take some pics today and play with adjustments then report back this evening .

 

 

Thanks again

[HarryPotter]

Can you take a white balance image for color correction in the camera? Basically you take a picture of a white card placed inside the tank with the lights you will be using. The camera (or software) can take that image and color correct with it. It knows the image wants to be white and corrects out the blue. Fill the image with the white object. I use a piece of white plastic. My camera can do it on the fly.

 

Raw images no processing:

 

 

 

Can my iPhone do that?

[jbb]

Looks AWFUL, but I will keep working on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colors are pretty close though ... under actinics

[hey]

The main reason the colors look better in the viewfinder vs on screen is they are displayed to you in JPEG. If shooting in raw hop into Lightroom and after doing all of your editing change it from Adobe std to something like vibrant or landscape. Ofc if you don't like citing shooting in JPEG vibrant is probably the fastest way to duplicate what you see in the viewfinder.

[DaveFason]

Looks AWFUL, but I will keep working on it.

Colors are pretty close though ... under actinics

Shoot RAW and set a good white balance. I personally like to make the photos more white on camera and then adjust in post.

 

When in Lightroom try in this order...

• Adjust white balance
• Adjust exposure and contrast
• If the photo is dark slide the shadow bar to the right, if your photo is a little over exposed slide the highlights left
• Adjust your white and black settings ( I found this to be very important )
• Go into each colors Hue and saturation individually that seem off.

I always stay away from clarity, saturation ( slider ) and vibrance as they will blow stuff out.

[hey]

quick tip for adjusting the whites blacks shadows and highlights is to hold alt down while adjusting the slider... with whites you want just a hint of white speckles showing, with the blacks you want a bit more of the speckles showing. moderately crushed blacks tend to look better than any blown out whites.