My Neighbor's Garden

I used the cloudy white balance, on this cloudy day. The azalea bush

on the right is hot pink. Does anyone have any suggestions for me on

getting the color right? Thank you.

A beautiful composition with nice lighting and colors, Janice

Thanks, Tony. I am still learning about color and composition. I appreciate your compliment and comment. 

Janice, I'm not an expert on processing, but the best advice I can give regarding color is to use the RAW capture format (if it is available on your camera -- sorry, but I'm just not familiar with the Nikon D80).  One of the first steps in working with that RAW format is the option to set a specific temperature or white balance for your photo.  That can have a dramatic effect on the colors in your photo.  Right now, the camera is setting a single, pre-determined temperature to your photo based on the "cloudy" setting that you selected.  Working with RAW, you have unlimited choices in setting the white balance (i.e., temperature) for your photo.

I think the temperature in your photo looks pretty good, but I wasn't there and you were, and if you're not happy then something needs to change.  You have the greatest flexibility in making that change if you work in RAW.  [My son has been photographing for years, and he just starting shooting in RAW; his first comment was how easy it was to do the RAW processing.]

It has a color cast. Google color cast to see how to do this . I have included correction.

Cloudy white balance will give you a very warm cast to your pictures. I dont like it myself and use auto white balance instead with a A3 setting to warm up a bit. The picture setting I keep at standard and then post process ln photshop to my liking. I owned the d80 and always turned down the meter to -0.3 or even 0.7 just to keep highlights from blowing out. Love the camera but it just needs differrnt settings to get it right. good Luck

Nice compositon with beautiful colors.

Stephen -Thank you for your comment. I did use the cloudy white balance, because it was a cloudy day (I also over-saturated the colors), but the colors didn't look right. I should have taken several shots with different settings, and I should have brought a notebook with me. 

Mary - Thanks so much!! I learned something today! I did look up color cast. I have PHotoshop Elements: not the complete program. I will have to try that and re-submit the photo. I don't yet understand the "A-3 setting" and turning the meter down, but I will ask my husband, Doug Rickert, about it. 

Jorge - I am glad you like my photograph. Unfortunately it doesn't look like what I saw while I was photographing. This is why I asked for help. I guess this photo is more art than reality, which is OK sometimes. Thanks for commenting. 

Janice,

Its not difficult to work in CS5.

Here is my result.

If you want details, please email me.

Your original image is fine, I just wanted to offer my interpretation.

Regards,

Mike

I appreciate you attention and interpretation. Maybe I should carry around a white card for a test shot. Then I won't have to guess. :)