New Shooter Needs Help...Shots in DC

[ayee007]

went and did a walk around in DC and caught these with my t1i and kit lens...i also have a fifty nifty that i didnt feel was appropriate for outside walk arounds cuz i like the reach range the kit lens gives me...here are two i like...

http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a473/ayee007/IMG_1395a.jpg
national building museum

http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a473/ayee007/IMG_1506b.jpg
national archives

now i need help with these two pictures. i had the biggest problem properly exposing buildings and subjects and still get the blue in the sky...it was such a beautiful day but by these pix, you cant tell...what could i have done differently?

first pix is the exposure id want on the streets, but not the blue in the sky...this was at 100 ISO, 1/25, f/16.
http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a473/ayee007/IMG_1499a.jpg

this pix has the sky bluer, but street seems a tad on the dark side...this was at 100 ISO, 1/40 and f/16.
http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a473/ayee007/IMG_1498a.jpg

neither of these pix has the blue like from either of the first two pictures, but the sky looked exactly blue in person...what could i have done differently? polarizing filter would do anything? these pix are straight out of the camera btw...thanks for all the help!

[Livinthalife]

Check out my site, I got quite a few photos from DC. They may help with other ideas.

Polarizers ARE awesome. BUT you lose 1-2 stops. Also try later in the day, that will help with the sky as well.

[ayee007]

thanks for the quick reply andy...when you say you lose 1-2 stops, what does that mean?

[Livinthalife]

Stops. Say if you are shooting at 1/60th If you add a polarizer, your shutter speed will become 1/30 or 1/15th of a sec producing shaky photos.

[ayee007]

do you think a polarizer would have made the skies bluer without darkening the streets and capitol building? is it worth getting a polarizer for a kit lens 18-55mm? these pix were taken around 4pm, so any later, and the sun would've been setting...i really want to be able to hav the bright blue and have the subject properly exposed...

[themadman]

To lose a stop means to have light cut in half by two, or 50% less. It is equivalent to dividing your shutter speed or iso by half or dividing your aperture number by root(2).

[ayee007]

To lose a stop means to have light cut in half by two, or 50% less. It is equivalent to dividing your shutter speed or iso by half or dividing your aperture number by root(2).

when he says u'd lose 1-2 stops, does that refer to aperture specifically or shutter speed? 1-2 stops = 1-2 clicks on the wheel?

in this case, would a polarizer have helped bring the blue out in the sky without darkening the street or capitol building? or is the blue in the sky meant to be brought out more through processing?

[saea501]

I have the same camera and lens. You can boost the color saturation, tone, sharpness in the menu if you haven't already. I like the colors a little more vivid as well. Look at page 88 in your manual and experiment with those settings. You'll probably end up with pics more to your liking.

[Livinthalife]

Polarizer would essentially help the sky. I don't recall a polarizer effecting any other objects with the exception of water and glass, by cutting the reflection down. BUT there is a lot that comes into play. A polarizer won't turn ALL skys blue. Your still going need good lighting. Mid day won't work. But 4pm such as these, just may have helped enough.

As for losing stops. SAY you shot F8 at 1/60, and shooting in AV (aperture priority). You put the polarizer on and rotate it till you get the desired effect. You will notice your new exposure settings will read F8 1/15. So to fix that;
A: You could open up the aperture (to a smaller number IF possible)
B: You could increase your ISO (say from 100 and move it to 400)
C: Use a tripod.

SAEA501 has an alternate route as well. Adjust in camera settings. It maybe that easy. You could also shoot RAW and do it post processing.

[mattaura]

Just to clarify ayee007, you should be able to get a rich blue sky and proper exposure of the buildings, streets etc with a polarizing filter in the situation you were in. I have one one my kit lens. As a matter of fact, its been on there for a few years lol.

[ayee007]

thanks guys. i will be looking into a polarizer...as well as the settings on my camera. whats the diff b/t a circular and linear polarizer, and does the polarizer lose or gain effectiveness, depending on how its positioned on the lens?

[Calindy]

People can help with post-processing your photo, but you have to add "image editing ok" for them to do so!

[ayee007]

haha i dont really have any post processing programs except iphoto and the software that came with the camera...not that many options there...i dont mind if ppl edit it and repost. could you tell me what program was used and what was done? that would be very helpful! thanks!

[vvDO]

Just so you know, if you place a polarizer onto your kit lens, it will rotate when the lens focuses.

[ayee007]

Just so you know, if you place a polarizer onto your kit lens, it will rotate when the lens focuses.

what does that do exactly? way around it?

[vvDO]

This link has some info that may answer your question and more...
http://www.great-landscape-photography.com/polarizing-filter.html

[Calindy]

These were done in Photoshop, with added plug-ins from Topaz labs, I am just learning how to use the new filters by the way:

http://DebMann.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p658248036-3.jpg

http://DebMann.zenfolio.com/img/v11/p766306847-3.jpg

[ayee007]

These were done in Photoshop, with added plug-ins from Topaz labs, I am just learning how to use the new filters by the way:

http://DebMann.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p658248036-3.jpg

this looks fantastic. i gotta learn howto use photoshop. was the editing you did rather simple or is it more on the complex side? what do the add ins do?

[Livinthalife]

FROM topaz labs. They have a FREE 30 day trail! SO give it a shot!

Here is one of mine using topaz labs
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=5472855&id=590226412

[ayee007]

FROM topaz labs. They have a FREE 30 day trail! SO give it a shot!

Here is one of mine using topaz labs
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=5472855&id=590226412

haha im not sure how useful it would be for me since i dont know how to use photoshop! someone teach me! lol

[Livinthalife]

There are a ton of presets. just use those as a base, and edit from there.

[ayee007]

are there any good youtube tutorials that will give me a good start?

[Livinthalife]

Try the program out first. It's pretty simple. There isn't much to explain. I think you can also download other plugins for that program as well.

[ayee007]

Try the program out first. It's pretty simple. There isn't much to explain. I think you can also download other plugins for that program as well.

haha are we talking about topaz or photoshop? i was talking about photoshop but i think u may be referring to topaz labs, cuz photoshop isnt simple for me at all. ive played around and didnt make it far... =(

[juanpafer]

Topaz has great plugins for photoshop, but you can improve the picture dramatically with just with the basic sliders of camera raw.
I moved the slider to recover highlights, lowered the exposure and then a little bit of clarity and vibrance. 30 seconds. I bet you can recover a lot more detail with the original raw version.

[ayee007]

Topaz has great plugins for photoshop, but you can improve the picture dramatically with just with the basic sliders of camera raw.
I moved the slider to recover highlights, lowered the exposure and then a little bit of clarity and vibrance. 30 seconds. I bet you can recover a lot more detail with the original raw version.

by camera raw, you mean the program that came with the camera and shooting in raw for more flexability?

[juanpafer]

Adobe Camera Raw is the Raw converter from Adobe. (If you don't shoot raw, you should start now!) It comes with Photoshop (I understand you have photoshop? when opening a file tell it to open with camera raw) and it is a very simple (but complete) software. It has sliders that let you control exposure, white balance, contrast, brightness, color saturation, and some other basic things. If you are looking for some good tutorials, I would recommend Kelbytrainigonline.com. They have a monthly subscription ($20 I think) and you have access to a TON of excellent videos covering photography, camera raw, photoshop, plugins... There is also a free trial in which you can see a few videos just to see how the videos work.
If you are new to post-processing I would highly recommend you start with those online tutorials.
Good luck!