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kkowboy99 · Joined: 21 Jan 2012 Posts: 179 Location: Rockledge, FL

I took this shot at approximately 7:15 AM. The sun was off to the left and just coming up. It was a bit cloudy. I am using a Nikon D300 and a Nikkor 18-200 lens. I was set on about 135 give or take. I set my WB at 3600 (early morning per every thing I've looked at) I did vary it up to 4300. I took several shots with different speed settings and aperture between 8 and 10. This seemed to be the best. I used a tripod, shutter up, and remote trigger. I did no editing at all. My focal point was the Tiki Bar sign.

I know you guys are going to say OOF and WB off, but I don't understand why. Help!!

hhltdave5 · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 8:00 am

The white balance looks off because of what you set it at. If this is the effect you wanted then fine but it does look cold to me.

When it comes to the focus it is almost impossible to easily fix focus problems because we are not there to see just what you are doing.

Just saying you are using a tripod does not always mean you will have good focus. How sturdy is the tripod? If you were on a beach did you really push the legs into the sand until they were solidly in place? A slow shutter speed will also effect the focus especially if it were a windy day.

You said you focused on the Tiki sign. Were you using spot focus?

From the image it looks like if you were focusing on the Tiki sign that would be at infinity focus. Did you use Auto focus or manual? If you used auto focus that is dependent on having good light and contrast. If you didn't have that the focus could be off. If you used manual focus was your diopter adjusted for your eyes and if it was infinity focus did you crank the focus ring all the way over? On some lenses that is not infinity focus, you need to back off a touch. If you have an infinity symbol on the lens true infinity focus is when the focus line cuts the symbol in half.

So, as you can see without being there it is hard to determine just what may have gone wrong.

jhuls · Joined: 02 Jan 2012 Posts: 1047

This photo is overall too dark, it is hard to take a good shot this time of day without bracketing your exposures. You need to have one exposure for the sky and one exposure for the foreground.

As far as why the white balance is off and your photo is OOF I will leave that to the landscape experts. I have an idea it is partly due to exposure.

kkowboy99 · Joined: 21 Jan 2012 Posts: 179 Location: Rockledge, FL

Shutter speed was 250. It is a stout tripod and it was firmly dug into the sand. Metering was set to "center weighted" and single point focus. I now adjust my diopter everytime I go out thanks to you guys, but I was using auto-focus for this.

hhltdave5 · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 9:35 am

ruxpriencdiam · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 9:42 am

Here it is warmed up some.

digigandalf · Joined: 11 Jun 2005 Posts: 5419 Location: Twinsburg, OH

3600 is way too cool. That's almost for shooting under tungsten light. For outside shooting set the Kelvin at 5880 to 6250 and leave it there. If you're shooting in heavy shade, go even higher, 7000+. Higher numbers mean warmer images; lower numbers produce cooler ones.

Or use auto WB.

And as others have noted, it is underexposed, but that doesn't have anything to do with the WB.

greenfield54 · Joined: 21 Jun 2009 Posts: 2619 Location: Philippines

3600K is indeed too cool for this scene. You might be interested in the link below. It discusses almost the same situation that you encountered.

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/white-balance.htm

rinder99 · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 11:38 pm

dustine · Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 2:44 am

I've been here 3 years and I still struggle with the proper settings for oceans and snow and waterfalls on bright days (among other things). In fact, I usually do use my auto in those situations as well as taking various manual shots and it's usually the auto setting that gives me the best shots.

kkowboy99, I wouldn't say give up if you really are committed to doing this. I would, however, do what Rinder says as far as taking a class, or two, or three, and also shooting on automatic a lot, but do as I do and continue trying to learn the manual settings too.

Keep working until you can take shots that make you say WOW, regardless of whether they are taken on auto or manual... it's only WOW photos that are going to get you in here and these aren't WOW...they are more like WWYT?

semmickphoto · Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 4:39 am

If you are a little bit savvy, YouTube is your friend to get free photography classes, but if you do not understand what these fine people here are saying then a class is your best option to get an improvement in your photos. Dont get discouraged, but ask yourself if you are up for this and ready to make the commitment. Photography for commercial purposes is hard work and a lot of learning curves, but it can be done.

kkowboy99 · Joined: 21 Jan 2012 Posts: 179 Location: Rockledge, FL

I now have more time to dedicate since retiring from my last job 1 May. I appreciate all the inputs so far and will not be posting again until I start seeing the WOW shots you are talking about.

But I am determined to do this, so I will be continuing.

Lauren, I respect you opinions specifically and understand what you are saying. I will be looking into classes to improve my skills.

But, I WILL NOT GIVE UP!!

I have learned a lot here in the last 6 months and feel I have a lot of knowledge. I am not a stupid person, but I haven't figured out how to convert all this knowledge into those WOW pictures you are talking about.

I also feel I have a very artistic side, which I obviously haven't displayed here yet. I feel my artistic side has been repressed for a long, long time. But I now have the time to explore it and I feel photography is the vehicle.

Thanks again for all the input so far. As I said, I won't be posting pictures until they start to POP in my eyes. But I will still use the other forums to ask for advice about technical aspects.

dustine · Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 11:45 pm

I'd keep reading in the critique forum even if you don't post for awhile. I've learned so much from advice given to others in this thread, even if I didn't always agree. I also learn from the discussions between the pros in here, so love to see some discussion on why, or how, or how come.

Make sure you've good equipment too. A good camera and one good general lens can help your game, without a doubt. In the beginning I traded in my point and shoot for a Canon Digital Rebel and the kit lens and as I learned I grew from there.

If budget does matter, keep in mind you're better off to spend more money on a very good lens, and less on the camera. In otherwords, if you can't afford both get a good camera and a GREAT lens.

And don't be afraid of used if you know how to shop. I've had terrific luck with used and refurbished equip, especially when buying off Amazon. Right now my laptop is refurbished as is my camcorder. My Canon 24 x 105 L lens is used. All work well, have since I got them and I love Em!

kkowboy99 · Joined: 21 Jan 2012 Posts: 179 Location: Rockledge, FL

As a matter of fact I am browsing the critique forum right now. Thanks for the suggestion tho

ruxpriencdiam · Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 12:05 am

Post images all you want we dont mind.