Creative photography

[marsue]

I do not feel that I am not getting the best out of my indoor photography with my Nikon Coolpix 995.  I have read about white balance and have altered this to incandescent.  I have tried using the flash in different modes, but I am still not pleased with the results.  The colours are not true - much darker and quite "orange" in colour.  What am I doing wrong?

[Deb]

Hi Marsue,

White balance and flash settings can be confusing. Here's what I do when I'm shooting my 995.

I find that if I am shooting indoors with standard bulb (incandescent) lighting, then I set my 995 to incandescent white balance for non-flash photography. The camera adds blue which cancels out the orange-ish tone of that lighting.

If I'm shooting indoors with standard bulb lighting and wish to use FLASH, then I set my white balance to either AUTO or FINE. This achieves balanced results.

Let us know how these settings work for you.

Cheers,
Deb

[ShutterbugGail]

Hello Marsue,

Welcome! Here are some additional thoughts.

I'm wondering if perhaps you are standing beyond the reach  of the camera's built-in flash. Unfortunately, the flash in consumer digital cameras are usually not suitable when your subject is outside the flash range (consult your manual  for specifications). If that is the case, the incandescent room lighting will cause the orange cast.

I don't know the camera settings you used, but here are some suggestions, in no particular order:

- if you're using the lens fully zoomed in, it's probably  
better to use a wide or normal lens length with the flash, and walk closer to your subject;

- I don't think the 995 has a hot shoe, so if you take a lot  of inside photos you may want to consider a bracket and external flash if those accessories are available for the camera.

- If you're using a auto or 100 ISO, try switching to 200  
for inside photos. Your photos may be slightly grainer, but you'll get more reach using the flash. You can also try ISO 400 and 800, but take some test shots to see the results before any special shooting events.

- Try your camera's White Balance Bracketing feature. For every single shot you take, the 995 saves three images, one at normal white balance, one towards red, and one towards blue.

- experiment with the 995's White Balance Fine Tuning  
feature

- Remember, too, that the 995 lets you control the output level of the flash. Try setting the flash to a number of the plus side, which will increase it's intensity.

If none of these work, consider using the Reset menu to bring all the settings back to their factory default. This may or may not improve things but it's worth a try. If that doesn't work either, call Nikon Tech Support or visit the Tech Support area at their website:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/nikon-coolpix-5400/nikon-support.htm

For those digital photos you've taken, the orange color cast can be corrected in image editing software. Try a Color Balance tool or a Hue/Saturation Control tool. To adjust dark areas use the Brightness/Contrast tool, or Levels (levels can also adjust color balance).

Sure hope these and Deb's suggestions help. If so, let us know what worked. If you have further questions, let us know too.

Related reading:

White balance:
http://www.digicamhelp.com/white-balance/index.htm

Levels:
http://www.digicamhelp.com/what-is-a-histogram/levels-histogram.htm

What is a normal lens?
http://www.digicamhelp.com/what-is-a-normal-lens/index.htm

[marsue]

Thank you Deb and ShutterbugGail for your response to my problem.  I have printed the replies off and will experiment with all of these.  

I had some better results last night (when there was no natural light coming through the window).  I set N.995's white balance to incandescent, with non-flash - which is what Deb has suggested.  

Taking indoor photos, during the day when there is some natural light, would you suggest using the "spot" flash to lighten up the dark corners?

All this information will be very helpful and I thank you both for your suggestions.  What a wonderful website!  I have a manual but find reading this rather confusing and your "plain english" is something I can understand.

Cheers
Sue

[Deb]

Hello there, I had a couple additional thoughts.

If you are shooting WITHOUT flash, and your images are coming out too dark and orange-ish, then you're most likely underexposing these shots. You may be at the limit of your preselects. If you want that natural light tone and don't wish to use flash, then increase your ISO value so that you are in the range of proper exposure and hand-held shutter speed values (or use a tripod). Remember that ambient light does fall off, so you may want to increase lighting in those distant edges (or use a very slow shutter speed with a tripod).

Also, check your EV value setting. Had you set it to a negative value recently? If so, then you're indoor images may be dark for that reason.

Most likely, the solution is the simplest option.  

Let us know how things work out for you.

Cheers,
Deb

[Xeon]

Hi
I have Nikon Coolpix 5400 5.1 mpixel, I have tried out taking photos indoor on Manual mode, shutter speed 1/125 and EV+2.0 with fullcontrast and without flash, but still the images are very dark. How can I make the pics brighter or can edit it after transfering it to my computer ?

What the best shutter speed suited for Outdoors like I want to capture a very fast moving object. I still have to try outdoors on a moving object.

[ShutterbugGail]

Hi
I have Nikon Coolpix 5400 5.1 mpixel, I have tried out taking photos indoor on Manual mode, shutter speed 1/125 and EV+2.0 with fullcontrast and without flash, but still the images are very dark. How can I make the pics brighter or can edit it after transfering it to my computer ?

What the best shutter speed suited for Outdoors like I want to capture a very fast moving object. I still have to try outdoors on a moving object.

Hi Xeon, and welcome!

You didn't mention what aperture setting you've used. If you don't have the right combination of aperture and shutter speed, you'll get a poorly exposed shot. Also, is there sufficient available light in the room to take a shot without a flash?

You're using full manual mode but you may want go try a semi-automatic mode to help get a better exposed image.  Try P mode, shutter priority or aperture priority mode.

For Q&A Board readers who are not familiar with some of these terms, here's information about the difference between aperture and shutter priority modes:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/learn/camera-questions-and-answers/aperture-and-shutter-priority-modes.htm

[ShutterbugGail]

Xeon,

Here's some information relating to the second part of your question. It explains the effects of different shutter speeds on a photo. There is a chart on the page with recommended shutter speeds for motion action or stop action shots.

http://www.digicamhelp.com/advanced-digital-camera-settings/shutter-speed-effects.htm

[ShutterbugGail]

Bumping this thread because many people will be taking inside shots during the holidays. To date, this topic has been read more times than any other at the Q&A Board.