3. Off colour
Pitfall explanation
This fun photo captures a moment, and probably more important, is a pretty good picture of each of the girls; usually in a shot like this, someone looks really goofy. However, I strongly suspect that their true flesh tone isn't quite so pink. This is an egregious example of incorrect white balance -- mostly it's too yellow/orange or blue -- and from the look of it, I'd say the photographer forgot to change the current white-balance preset when she turned on the flash.
Can this photo be saved?
Yes. Generally, colour casts are relatively easy to correct, especially if they're strong in one of the primaries -- cyan, yellow, magenta, red, green, or blue.
How can I avoid this problem?
Tip 1: Keep white balance set to Auto. Ironically, this is one case where too much control can backfire on you. Most cameras have decent enough automatic white-balance performance that you don't really have to tweak it.
Tip 2: Use manual white balance sparingly and always set it back to auto when you're done. Since you usually use manual white balance in extreme circumstances that the automatic and presets can't handle, forgetting to reset it can result in some seriously odd colour casts in subsequent photos. Try to get into the habit of setting the white balance back to auto after every set of shots.
Which cameras handle these scenes best?
What it takes: A model with very good automatic white balance.
Suggested models:
Pitfall explanation
This fun photo captures a moment, and probably more important, is a pretty good picture of each of the girls; usually in a shot like this, someone looks really goofy. However, I strongly suspect that their true flesh tone isn't quite so pink. This is an egregious example of incorrect white balance -- mostly it's too yellow/orange or blue -- and from the look of it, I'd say the photographer forgot to change the current white-balance preset when she turned on the flash.
Can this photo be saved?
Yes. Generally, colour casts are relatively easy to correct, especially if they're strong in one of the primaries -- cyan, yellow, magenta, red, green, or blue.
How can I avoid this problem?
Tip 1: Keep white balance set to Auto. Ironically, this is one case where too much control can backfire on you. Most cameras have decent enough automatic white-balance performance that you don't really have to tweak it.
Tip 2: Use manual white balance sparingly and always set it back to auto when you're done. Since you usually use manual white balance in extreme circumstances that the automatic and presets can't handle, forgetting to reset it can result in some seriously odd colour casts in subsequent photos. Try to get into the habit of setting the white balance back to auto after every set of shots.
Which cameras handle these scenes best?
What it takes: A model with very good automatic white balance.
Suggested models:
 Nikon Coolpix 7900 Read review |
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Sergei Plishka
11/02/2006 01:21 PM
If you do notice a reflective surface in the background, simply take the shot at an angle to the surface so that flash reflects away from the camera instead of right back at it.
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