Ugh... so irritated... noise in pics? *pictures*

[paniologal]

Hi everyone

So I'm getting so frustrated with my camera right now that sometimes I want to cry or chuck it out the window. It wouldn't be such a big deal if I wasn't starting to do photography professionally for people. The photos frequently turn out grainy and I can't figure out why. I know it has to do with light (or lack of) and that using a tripod with lower ISO would help, but I'm doing corporate photography where a tripod wouldn't really be ideal to use. I'm going to post a few sample photos so you can see where I'm coming from.

So, the first ones were taken at the same time and location as the second set. That's why I'm so confused as to why some pics are grainy and the others aren't. The first ones were taken a few months ago.





And the ones from tonight (5pm-6:30pm)





The close up ones came out fine, all of them:



And the point and shoot did better than the expensive DSLR




I have many more pics I can post if anyone needs more examples. Granted, I probably shouldn't have taken pics with the sun behind the subject like it was but even when I put them where the sun was behind my back they still turned out grainy - and dark. I was thinking it was my fault but I'm starting to wonder if it may be the lens. We've had problems with it lately but, as the heart picture shows, it can also take immaculate photos. I have the Nikon D70 and plan to upgrade in the future soon but I have a feeling this is more user error than camera error. The lighting was horrific today. There was a dark rain cloud on one side of the sky and a really bright sky on the other. But I can't imagine why out of two hours of shooting not one turned out perfect. How can I prevent this in the future? Would an external flash have made a night and day difference or no? I don't mind paying more money for good equipment, but I don't want to spend mega bucks and still have my photography turn out this way.

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

EDIT: You'll probably have to make the pictures bigger to see the grain/noise, but I promise it's there.

[TPF Sponsor]

[ann]

Underexposure increase grain. Most of these all suffer from this problem.

I would agree it is user error not the camera. You need to learn to meter more effectively and how to deal with various lighting conditions. Photography is all about light and form, not cameras. The camera is just a tool that will perform at a high level if we use it correctly.

[Triple A]

Yes, an external flash would help. It will take time and practice to learn how to balance the subject and background, but your pictures will look better. And I don't know if you shoot in jpeg, but if you do, try shooting in raw. Raw files respond much better to PP. What editing software do you have?

[ann]

RAW is a great tool and very useful, but it is not meant to rescue badly exposed images, it can only do so much.

Software can make a good photo better, a great photo , fantastic, but it can't make .......... good.

[The_Traveler]

Here's some of what you are doing to increase color noise.

Shooting a backlit subject against a bright sky and the color noise is greater in shadows.
Underexposing.
Using a very small f stop - f16 - when you could open up significantly and have much more lattitude in speed.
Using a 5 generations past sensor, the D70, which is not known for great sensor response in underexposure situations.
It doesn't show ISO but my guess it wasn't 200

Corporate work may not allow a tripod but a monopod would be fine.
You are shooting at 1/500 with a 28 mm lens that could be easily handheld with good sharpness that would allow you to shoot at 1/100 with a low iso and proper exposure and relatively no color noise.

[Triple A]

RAW is a great tool and very useful, but it is not meant to rescue badly exposed images, it can only do so much.

Software can make a good photo better, a great photo , fantastic, but it can't make .......... good.

I wasn't suggesting that the OP just shoot and fix everything PP. Obviously you should shoot it right to begin with, but if he's going to shoot in low light at high ISO w/o a tripod or a flash, then he'll be able to salvage underexposed photos better using RAW files.

[paniologal]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I know I need to learn a lot more about shooting photos and lighting situations, but the pictures I got are just not acceptable. I've shot under the same exact conditions but the photos weren't nearly this bad. No matter how bad I did they should have a better result... like I said, the point and shoot did better than the D90. I kept it on automatic most of the time, however, I also opened up the f stop and the results were no better. I agree with the posters who said there would be little reason to shoot in RAW. You can't make a bad picture good, though I've been trying. I will try experimenting with RAW to see how it works though.

Any more tips would be appreciated. I'm still thinking it's the lens. It has been having a lot of problems and the bigger lens gives much better results even under the same conditions.

[The_Traveler]

Any more tips would be appreciated. I'm still thinking it's the lens. It has been having a lot of problems and the bigger lens gives much better results even under the same conditions.

No, it isn't the lens. It is, to be blunt, that you don't seem to know what you are doing.

[paniologal]

Any more tips would be appreciated. I'm still thinking it's the lens. It has been having a lot of problems and the bigger lens gives much better results even under the same conditions.

No, it isn't the lens. It is, to be blunt, that you don't seem to know what you are doing.

Considering I haven't even started college yet that could very well be the case. I'm taking a photography course this fall. I'm not saying the lens is low quality and I'm not blaming it. It's actually a very good quality lens. But it's BROKEN. That's a proven fact; the CPU connectors are broken and none of the connections were working correctly last night. When connected, it sometimes acts like a non CPU lens and the F-- blinks at the top, and it won't even shoot unless it's in manual mode. That's not causing the noise directly but it was messing it up to some degree - it went from working one minute to not working the next. I bought a cleaner/lubricant that seemed to fix the problem but it stopped working once I got to the destination site. I'm not saying a working lens doesn't have the ability to shoot low-noise photos, but since this one is not working correctly, it's not consistent. And for everyone saying I should use low ISO - I would, but since most of my photography includes moving images and backgrounds (such as a crashing wave and lots of candid shots) lowering the ISO is not the best option for me, even with a tripod.

"Using a 5 generations past sensor, the D70, which is not known for great sensor response in underexposure situations."

Does this not suggest the camera/sensor was at least part of the problem?

So, considering I had my f-stop open to about 4(in some of the pictures, though not all), and the pictures still turned out noisy, and I can't use a much lower ISO, what are my options?

Sorry to come across as argumentative.

[Destin]

Using a d90 on auto mode is like putting a toddler behind the wheel of a Ferrari. You just aren't going to get good performance out of it that way.

You need to learn about the exposure triangle, and many other elements of photography.

As far as raw files... I refuse to shoot in jpeg anymore, because with raw files you simply keep your options open more, and it preserves greater detail in your photos, giving you more control over your final outcome.

[paniologal]

As far as raw files... I refuse to shoot in jpeg anymore, because with raw files you simply keep your options open more, and it preserves greater detail in your photos, giving you more control over your final outcome.

Thanks for the info! I definitely want to try shooting in RAW next time. I'm curious to see how they would turn out.

[jritz]

Hate to say it, but you have no business doing pro photography with your level of knowledge...

[The_Traveler]

Rent stuff, borrow stuff or don't do the work.
If your equipment is faulty, don't do the work.
If you can't take the responsibility for doing a good job, don't do the work.

[paniologal]

Hate to say it, but you have no business doing pro photography with your level of knowledge...

If I must post all the wonderful testimonials and reviews from countless people who say my photos are better than those who have been in their profession for years, I will, but that seems a little unnecessary.

[paniologal]

Rent stuff, borrow stuff or don't do the work.
If your equipment is faulty, don't do the work.
If you can't take the responsibility for doing a good job, don't do the work.

I mentioned to the clients my lens wasn't working correctly and that I wouldn't charge for the photo shoot, but they didn't mind. I'm working at a professional photography studio now who I'm hoping to borrow equipment from them. I'm getting a new lens as soon as I get back from vacation.