Washed out photos

Hi all:

Photo newbie here. I have a Canon EOS 20D. I feel like my photos are coming out really washed out. I've tried lowering the EV, raising the shutter speed, using the different presets, but I still seem to be getting real low-contrast, blah photos. Here's a link to some of them:

https://www.me.com/gal​lery/#100391

If you click on a particular photo, then click the gear icon up top, it will give detailed info, including the exposure and aperture settings.

Thanks for any info.

Sorry Brewster but it's requiring me to SIGN IN. Is this some sort of Mobile App gallery? Btw, welcome to POTN.

Brewster1234 wrote in post #12179078
Hi all:

Photo newbie here. I have a Canon EOS 20D. I feel like my photos are coming out really washed out. I've tried lowering the EV, raising the shutter speed, using the different presets, but I still seem to be getting real low-contrast, blah photos. Here's a link to some of them:

https://www.me.com/gal​lery/#100391

If you click on a particular photo, then click the gear icon up top, it will give detailed info, including the exposure and aperture settings.

Thanks for any info.

Me too...may I suggest you post a couple of pics directly...see sticky for instructions.

You will find that many of us are happy to help, but having to burrow into other sites is a bit off-putting.

The 20D is quite an old model... Did your photos used to look better when it was new?

Sorry, I posted the link wrong. It's a public page, there shouldn't be a problem viewing.

http://gallery.me.com …1&bgcolor=black​&view=grid

ChasP505 wrote in post #12179161
The 20D is quite an old model... Did your photos used to look better when it was new?

EVERYTHING looked better eight years ago.



Honestly, I don't think it's gotten worse. I think it's a user error of some sort. I've noticed when I bump up the contrast, it looks "normal". Maybe there's a low-contrast, post-processing setting on the camera?

Light was crap.

Your shooting in the middle of the day.

Crush your blacks in PP and it will pop more.

The 20D is a fantastic camera.

mikeassk wrote in post #12179236
Light was crap.

Your shooting in the middle of the day.

Crush your blacks in PP and it will pop more.

The 20D is a fantastic camera.

LOL, thanks. I'm using Aperture - what's the best way to do that in there?

(And thanks for the vote of confidence on the camera, I was thinking I was having to buy a new one!)

Your camera's sensor needs cleaning... Have you ever cleaned it?

ChasP505 wrote in post #12179288
Your camera's sensor needs cleaning... Have you ever cleaned it?

Now I feel guilty....

No, I haven't. I've tried to clean the lens, though. It's still giving me blotchy photos though.

I'm a terrible camera-owner, I know.

*hangs head

If you want to get some more intensity in the pics, bust out the levels slider and play with it.

Brewster, are you shooting jpegs or Raw?

If jpegs, try playing with your Picture Styles. If you, say, set it to the Landscape PS it gives the images more "pop".

If you are shooting Raw (strongly advised for most outdoor shooting) I'd install the Canon Raw processing software that comes with our DSLRs, Digital Photo Professional (DPP). That app lets you open a Raw image using your in-camera picture style and other settings, and then quickly play around with all of them to compare and enhance your final image. Cool stuff. Then, if you get an idea of what you are dealing with, you can go back to Aperture and use DPP to "apply your learnings".

Just some thoughts!

Brewster1234 wrote in post #12179387
Now I feel guilty....

Don't... It can be a very intimidating task. Sensors and mirrors can attract a lot of schmutz in 8 years, especially if you live in a windy or high humidity climate. And if you smoke... fuhgetaboutit!

Your local photography store should be able to do it for less than $20.

tonylong wrote in post #12179491
Brewster, are you shooting jpegs or Raw?

I'm using JPEGS. I'll give that a try!

Brewster1234 wrote in post #12179688
I'm using JPEGS. I'll give that a try!

Well, yeah, and in DPP you have a lot that you can play with that can help you to understand!

Of course Apertue has powerful tools for enhancing photos and goes way beyond DPP but I'm a firm advocate of someone working with Raw and starting with DPP if they get "stuck" on image quality.