Help wanted -- photographing reds

[FerryV]

Hi Everyone,

I am struggling with an issue that I have when I take pictures of red flowers.



The reds are always blending and there is very low contrast. Is that just my camera, NIkon D50 that has trouble with this, or should I do anything different with my settings?

Regards,
Ferry

[etaf]

i have had lots of problems with reds - even on film and tried different film types
I have also seen this reported on other forums with different Digiltal makes of camera regard to reds

I dont have an answer I'm afraid - so look forward to the answers heres - just to say I have seen the issue

[NimbusII]

Have you tried Raw with reds?

[FerryV]

Originally Posted by NimbusII

Have you tried Raw with reds?

Yes, I've tried that and the effect is a bit less noticable on RAW files I think, but it's still there. after post processing it will look the same.* (Could also be my poor PP technique of course... :P I'm still learning...)

Etaf: what are your experiences in Raw/JPEG?

[etaf]

It was only on film I had the major issue - before moving to digital and I have not really tried a lot of red - however, i have red other having issues - but not seen the solution yet.. I'll keep my eye open again and post back here

[Rense]

FreddyV,

I've not seen this problem sofar using my Canons, so I can't help you in that respect.
However I did a little bit photoshopping (actually paintshopping)

(procedure: Split chanels, use the red chanel for a selection mask, adjust the histogram (choose colors, red) and draw it both sides a little bit inwards).

Let me know if you like it.

[Max@Home]

Hi FerryV,

I think I know part of the problem: if you check the red channel only in your image-editor, you will find that the red channel is overexposed.

To deal with this (shooting JPG) *I* would try to lower saturation and contrast in-camera, and expose *very* carefull, maybe half a stop 'under'.

Then, you would have all the 'red data' of the shot in your JPG, and you can adjust more/better in postprocess.

And this could be done even better in RAW/NEF, IMHO...

Worth a try ?

...*my* €0.02 worth...

Kindest regards!

Max@Home

MODIFIED: some great info and tips overhere: http://www.photocamel.com/index.php/topic,11094.0.html

[scoundrel1728]

In this particular image, the reds are very saturated. Normally I would suggest underexposing saturated reds a bit, but there seems to be detail in the red channel over much of the flower and the green and blue channels border on black. Underexposure thus wouldn't help much. Cutting back on the saturation might help if you can get the other channels, especially the green channel, to respond a bit by doing so. The green channel has more detail in it than the other two. Shooting highly saturated subjects in RAW mode might also help retain detail in the weakly responding channels. You can then crank the saturation back up in postprocessing if necessary.

[FerryV]

@ Rense
I was actually looking for something to prevent the reds to blend, but I understand that you can't help me with that when you don't have this issue yourself. The technique you described could be a way to correct the pics that I've got already. So thanks for the information!

@ Max@home
That's a very interesting thread you've pointed out, thanks for that. I will try to figure out how I can change my in-camera settings. If I do that, would I just do that when I take pictures of red subjects? That's the thing: it's just an issue with pictures that contain a LOT of red. Probably the exposure tip will help a lot already. Definitely worth a try!

@ scoundrel1728
It sounds like I have to find out how to adjust the color levels in my camera. I will experiment with the exposure a bit as other people also came with that suggestion. Maybe that wouldn't have solved the issue for the picture that I've posted as an example, but it might work for others.

Thanks everyone for your help. I'll see if I can find some red subjects and post another example with perfect contrast and saturation! :P

[Kevin Barrett]

I tend to go along with what scoundrell has suggested. Maybe not in this instance, but often a little underexposure can help as well.

[FerryV]

Originally Posted by Kevin Barrett

I tend to go along with what scoundrell has suggested. Maybe not in this instance, but often a little underexposure can help as well.

Thanks Kevin, I'll give it a try!