How to get sharp, bright colors???

<p>I have a Nikon D40 and I have just started using it and I am wondering how I can get super sharp bright colors in my pics... I am taking them outdoors. I also am wanting to get pictures of an infant with flowers in the background that are kinda blurry looking, so you really just see a burst of color in the background... Can anyone help me figure out what I need to do to accomplish these shots???<br>

Thanks!!!</p>

<p>well, you can turn up the settings to 'vivid' in camera or adjust saturation in post-production.</p>

<p>Using a polarizing filter on the front of the lens may also help get some pop in your colors.</p>

<p>How are you handling the images once you shoot? Are you producing JPGs right out of the camera, or are you shooting RAW files, and working on them after the fact? If you're creating JPGs in the camera, then you need to look to the saturation, contrast, and sharpness settings in the D40's menu to create the look you're after. Obviously, if you have the time, computing hardware, the right software and the inclination to do it, you're better off shooting in RAW so that you can non-destructively work on those files in post production, and fine tune them as appropriate to each shot.<br /><br />As for those pleasingly out-of-focus backgrounds? There are two factors, there. First: you need to use as wide an aperture on your lens as you can (the lowest f-stop setting). If you're using a kit zoom lens, that's probably f/3.5 or higher, depending on what focal length you're using. The tighter the aperture (the higher that number), the more in focus your background will tend to be. I you try working with a faster, fixed-focal length lens (like Nikon's 50/1.4 AF-S or their new 35/1.8 AF-S, or their counterparts from makers like Sigma), you'll be able to throw the background even more out of focus. <br /><br />Once you get into fast prime lens territory, you can start getting picky about the <em>character</em> of those out-of-focus areas. Search this site for the word "bokeh" and you'll get an earful on that subject. Poorer quality bokeh (or, out-of-focus areas of the image) tend to look fussy or nervous or might show some of those background flower stems as double lines or with harder edges on them. Better quality - if you like this sort of thing, visually - might have a creamer, softer look to it. Specific lenses have reputations for these things, one way or the other.<br /><br />Alas, your use of the D40 means that you need to limit your choices to lenses that have a built-in autofocus motor - though you have more choices along those lines now than ever before.<br /><br />If it's portrait shooting you'll be doing, a nice 50mm prime like Nikon's 50/1.4G or Sigma's 50/1.4 HSM would produce lovely results - but those lenses are in the $400-450 range. An even longer lens might be better still, but that can put you at quite a distance from an infant subject. It will help to know what sort of lens budget you have in mind, to make better suggestions. You should certainly, for now, try shooting in aperture priority mode, and set the aperture as wide open as it will go for the focal length you're using. That might just scratch the bokeh itch for you for now!</p>

<p>Thank you so much for the response... To be completely honest, I have no idea what kind of lens I even have... I have whatever lens came with the camera. At the moment I have NO lense budget unfortunately... I am going to have to wait and save up a little...</p>

<p>For anything that you will want to keep, first of all, shoot RAW as well as jpg. That way in the future you will be able to go back to less saturated results if you find that you tire of the "zip-bang" effect.</p>

<p>For your jpgs, change, as Eric says, to "vivid"</p>

<p>Read Matt's post carefully -- lots of good stuff there.</p>

<p><em><strong>How do you get sharp, bright colors? </strong> </em> Take pictures of subject matter that have bright colors in them with bright lighting. The key to bright colors is always great lighting.</p>

<p>I recommend as many books as you can find by John Shaw (check your public library), at least for photography basics. I don't have any particular recommendations for books on digital processing. One good cheap lens that Matt Laur didn't mention is the 50mm f1.8 which can be had for around $100 tho it won't auto focus with your D40. Happy reading!</p>

<p>I should mention that there are some other things you can do to help with that out-of-focus background look. A very important factor is your distance to the subject, and the distance of the background (say, the flower) <em>behind</em> the subject. The greater those distances, the more you'll be able to differentiate the focus between subject and background.</p>

<p>Software such as Lightroom will give you exactly what you want if you are not doing anything grossly wrong.</p>

<p>Make sure your lenses are well wiped and clean.<br>

Use Tripod/monopod and hold to half breath technique (for hand-held shooting) for sharper pics.<br>

Bracketing definitely helps saturation or improving on colors in camera<br>

Be aware of the camera settings such as metering & focus modes, on camera settings if you change it often.<br>

Use a good software such as Lightroom or Capture NX to fine tune sharpness and saturation.<br>

Books help, but it is you who do it.<br>

google for the terms and you will get tons of stuff.....good lenses certainly help.</p>

<p>:-)</p>

<p> </p>

<p>To be honest I am not sure with respect that I agree with the advice about shooting RAW in these circumstances. Haily is new to this by the sounds of it and does not sound like an afficionado. She should concentrate on the basics first. I am not sure how "blurry" your shots are. It could be anything. It may even just be that you have the lens aperture set too wide so that everything in the background is out of focus. (For portraits believe it or not thats a good thing.) In this case set the camera to P or program - that should give better results then read up on aperture and depth of field in the internet.<br>

And if the blurring is mild it may just be that every digital photo really needs some post processing in an image editor on your PC. If you are not really into photography I would advise not getting Photoshop or Photoshop Elements just yet. Go to the internet and download one of the free more simple image editors - Photoscape is pretty good and includes tools to sharpen, adjust contrast and adjust color. Learn to use these tools and I promise you photos will improve. They are simple - for the most part just moving sliders on a scale and the effect in terms of final quality is remarkable. Later if you get into photography you may wish to learn some more complex "tricks" to further improve your photos - remember in this day and age it is no longer just about you and your camera. If you want the best photos you have to use a PC to tweak them afterwards, there really is no choice, but there is no reason to make this harder than it should be.</p>

<blockquote>

<p><em><strong>How do you get sharp, bright colors? </strong> </em> Take pictures of subject matter that have bright colors in them with bright lighting. The key to bright colors is always great lighting.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>To add to what Elliot has said, avoid the harsh mid day sun though. The best time is usually after dawn and before dusk.</p>

<p>As you are a beginner, I like the advice about turning up the saturation in the camera that Eric mentions, and the advice by Elliot is even better.</p>

<p>RAW is likely going to be a pain for you, as is much of the post-processing that some of us who are pretty savvy with our computer are into. I'm guessing that somebody who's not sure what lens they're using is not going to be into adjusting curves and/or levels in PS. (Nothing wrong with it... that camera was designed for you in mind, and is capable of taking GREAT photos)</p>

<p>Above all, experiment... Shoot a LOT!</p>

<p>Here's another thing. Once it looks good on your monitor, if you bring your pics to a place like Wal Mart to get prints made, made sure to check the box that over-rides auto-processing, otherwise your image will degrade. btw, Wal-Mart makes some pretty darn good prints up to 8 x 10. (Use the Fuji machine in their store, not the Kodak one...)</p>

<p>I agree with a lot of the above.</p>

<p>The settings that will help on your camera are to set colours to "vivid" and also where possible to shoot with lower ISO's (in the 100 to 400 range unless conditions don't allow). Also maybe play around with exposure compensation - I find for colours that very slightly underexposing is good.</p>

<p>But that's the 15%, as many have said the other 85% is the way you choose a subject. Look for good quality light, evenly distributed on well coloured subjects. And take multiple images each time - ditch the "one picture" P&S philosophy and take a minimum of 3-5 each time with a range of shutter speeds and apertures. After all, pixels are free!</p>

<p>I definitely have to chime in and say that lighting is crucial. Can't say enough about it. The same setup for a shot that floors people in the finished product because it was shot during the golden hour can look average or even hideous during the middle of the day. </p>

<p>If you're looking for bright colors, don't forget about slide film, particularly the extra saturated kind. I've gotten some brilliant colors from my Elite Chrome ES 100, combined with a 50mm 1.8 and my N80. </p>

<p>As was said, VIVID works best for me.<br>

Adam</p>

<p>Many have mentioned shooting with VIVID. I disagree. As the OP wants to shoot her child, the skin tones will not look correct. Good, or perhaps proper lighting is the key. I often take pictures of my kids at the pool. Whe the sun in behind them, their faces look dull, washed out. When the sun is in front of them, their faces look exactly like the OP is requesting. It is all in the lighting (and having colorful subject matter).</p>

<p>Hailey,</p>

<p>Some suggestions:</p>

<p>(1) Try shooting in different kinds of light. Some colors look best on overcast days. Others look best on sunny days. Early to mid-morning on a clear day is a great time to experiment. If you're shooting indoors, you'll get better color using FLASH than relying on household lighting which tends to make everything look orange. The LIGHT is the BIGGEST factor in how your photos will look, and you can learn a lot about light by trial and error.</p>

<p>(2) Try different White Balance settings. Sometimes Daylight/Direct Sunlight works best. Sometimes Cloudy or Shade are better, but be careful because they'll turn your pictures yellow to some degree. Indoors, you might want to try the Incandescent or Fluorescent presets depending on the lighting. A good practice is to take one shot with the Auto White Balance setting and another shot with a setting that you think might work, then compare the two and use the one that looks better to you. If you're shooting in RAW mode (or RAW + JPEG) you can adjust White Balance setting later IF you have the necessary processing software (Capture NX, Lightroom, Photoshop, Aperture, etc.).</p>

<p>(3) The Vivid shooting preset will make colors appear to be more right, but NEVER, NEVER, NEVER use the Vivid preset when shooting people. This preset gives people's skin a revolting orange-brown color. Unless you want everyone in your pictures to look like George Hamilton, avoid Vivid for portraits.</p>

<p>(4) Polarizing filters can help in some situations (and they're useless in others), but the most effective technique is selecting the best light for your subject. Try many different lighting conditions and see which ones work best for you.</p>

 

<p>Hailey,</p>

<p>Regarding the photo of the infant with the blurry flowers in the background, here's a quick and easy tip. Rather than standing close to the infance, move back as far as you can - I'm assuming that you're shooting this indoors without limited space - and "zoom in" on the baby. You'll be using a longer focal length, and this will tend to make the background look more out of focus, all things being equal. NOTE: If your lens has VR (Vibration Reduction) turn it on to keep the baby sharp in the photo. If you don't have VR, don't worry, just try to shoot when there's more light (e.g. a sunny morning).</p>

<p>If you need even more background blur, there's a more technical approach. You can put your camera into Aperture Priority exposure mode (A mode) and set your aperture to the lowest possible f-stop value (probably 4.5 of 5.6 on you lens). This, along with the "zoom in" technique, should help. </p>

<p>Sorry, two posts above I meant to say that the Vivid preset makes colors look more BRIGHT, not more RIGHT.</p>

<p>it seems really complicated, but when i learned photography it was pretty simple. i really don't think it hasn't changed all that much.</p>

<p>1. photography is about capturing light, if you have the right light on your subject you will capture the picture you want.</p>

<p>2. softer lighting (not direct, sunrise/sunset/overcast) that does not produce harsh shadows will give you more even and richer tones.</p>

<p>3. indoor lights are terrible, turn them off! don't use the flash on your camera, if you don't have lighting find creative ways to use the natural light available.</p>

<p>4. learn how to set your white balance. the "auto" settings just don't cut it if you really want nice colors. check out a kelvin chart if you haven't already done so.</p>

<p>5. i agree with the post above, slightly underexpose, but not too much or you will get noise. use your exposure compensation 1/3 or 1/2 step down.</p>

<p>6. shoot in RAW and process in adobe camera RAW, lynda.com or kelby.com has quick video tutorials that can teach you a simple way to bring out the best in the image that you captured.</p>

<p>i am old school and would go a step further and say if you learn to set your camera settings in manuel mode you may find more artistic freedom in your photography. at any rate if you can get it right in the camera, the rest is easy.</p>

<p>best of luck to you and happy shooting,<br>

Cindi</p>

<p>hmmm, it's possible that the OP has received too much information here. long story short, pick up a copy of Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure," use it as an interactive tutorial, and familiarize yourself with Manual, Aperture-priority, and Shutter-priority modes. the sooner you get out of Auto and Scene modes, the better off you will be, IMO.</p>

<p>that probably sounds like a lot of work, but Peterson's book will give you a better idea of how to make your camera and subject work for you to achieve the look you want, as you are learning about camera functions and composition.</p>

<p>there are really three parts to her question<br>

1): bright colors. easiest way is to take pics of bright objects, i.e. flowers in good lighting. adjusting in-camera settings to vivid, and adjusting saturation in post- can boost the colors. however, it can also result in unnatural-looking skin tones. shooting a fuji s5 in RAW with a fast prime would be optimal but unfortunately, with her current equipment, this could be an either/or situation. it's hard to recover skin tones once you've oversaturated them, so i'd maybe not go too crazy with the vivid setting for baby pics and try to use software to boost colors/saturation of backgrounds. RAW would help with giving more latitude in WB, but if that's too complicated for a beginner, you can try experimenting with different WB settings and attempt to 'get it right' in-camera.</p>

<p>2): sharp pics. i assume the OP has the non-VR 18-55 kit lens. this lens will be sharpest on a tripod, stopped down to f/8--use aperture priority and let the camera select the proper shutter speed for you. most blurry pics are the result of not using a fast-enough shutter and/or too wide an aperture. unfortunately, coaxing max sharpness out of this lens by stopping down your f/stop will make it hard to achieve out of focus backgrounds unless the flowers are at considerable distance from the main subject-- another either/or, equipment-limited situation.</p>

<p>you can try shooting wide-open for less depth of field at 18mm, which will give you a max aperture of f/3.5, but if you're shooting in daylight, you might run into problems here with too much brightness, causing overexposure. that's when you want to bump the shutter speed and/or dial down EV (exposure compensation). Also, when shooting in bright sunlight, make sure Auto -ISO is off and ISO is set to base value (100). you'll also get some distortion and possibly vignetting shooting wide open at 18mm, which can be fixed after the fact if you're willing to put in the time in front of the computer. here's where a neutral density or polarizing filter can help, if you want to shoot at large apertures in bright light.</p>

<p>3. blurred backgrounds. not a lot you can do here with your current equipment. if you also have the 55-200, you can shoot at long range, which will 'compress' the background. i'd highly reccommend something like the 35/1.8 (the most affordable fast prime which will AF on your D40; the 50/1.8 is less expensive and might work better for your purposes, but you will have to use manual focus, which can be challenging with subjects who move around a lot, unless you learn 'zone-focusing' technique, which is somewhat advanced), which would allow you to get reasonable bokeh, or out of focus elements, with decent sharpness at f/2.8--though again you'll need a high shutter speed to prevent overexposure. again, if you're willing to spend time working on pics in post-, bokeh can be applied after the fact with software.</p>

<p>if upgrading your equipment for the task is out of the question at this time, your best options are to improve your technique and compositional sense--this is where Peterson's $20 book can help--and to get inexpensive, well, free, actually, assistance from nature itself. as others have suggested, look for settings which offer favorable lighting conditions which lend themselves to the look you want to achieve. the more you shoot, the more you practice, the better at this you will be. don't worry about shooting 100 pics to get 3 or 4 perfect ones. as your experience level grows, your rate of keepers should improve. good luck!</p>