Before and After Editing

julbelle · Dec 27, 2013

I just purchased my first DSLR camera a few weeks ago. I took photos at a friends bridal shower. I am learning the triangle...I shot these in aperture mode w the basic EF-S18-55mm. Picture (1) f/4.0, shutter 1/50, ISO 400 -- Picture (2) f/5.6, shutter 1/32, ISO 400 -- Picture (3) f/4.5, shutter 1/25, ISO 400.

I did just purchase the 50mm lens, which I am loving! Below are before and after photos I edited in Photoshop, would like to get some professional opinions. Please don't hold back, I am serious about improving my skills and take constructive criticism very very well. Thanks!

vintagesnaps · Dec 27, 2013

The shutter speed settings are awfully slow (which can make it more likely to get blur or soft images), shooting in low light is challenging to figure out how to adjust aperture and shutter speed with ISO to get the best results. The pictures you brightened up do look better but if you get a proper exposure you won't have to do so much work and spend time on adjustments later.

You'd benefit from learning about composition (getting good balance in your pictures of objects/shapes and colors; how you fill the frame and use space in your photos etc.), and notice your backgrounds and work on your framing- you don't want the edges of objects sticking into the edges of the frame etc. If you don't want something in your photo figure out how to change your vantage point and what you see in your viewfinder should be what you want in your picture.

KmH · Dec 28, 2013

Strive to get it as close to right in the camera as possible.
Most indoor photos will require using supplemental lighting to keep shutter speed fast enough so camera shake or subject motion does not cause blurring.

The short duration of strobe light (flash) is often shorter than the needed shutter speed and the flash of light can stop camera shake or subject motion so image sharpness is maintained. Flash has to be sync'd to the camera's shutter curtains, and most DSLR's have an x-sync shutter speed limit of 1/200 to 1/320 of a second.
The x-sync shutter speed is the fastest shutter speed that has both shutter curtains fully open during the exposure. At shutter speeds faster than the x-sync speed, one or both shutter curtains form a slit and block part of the image sensor at any given instant during the exposure. The faster the shutter speed, the narrower the slit is.

Constant lighting has a long duration and as such cannot do the same thing. Constant light is also often called ambient light.

Photo Editing Tutorials

Note the tutorials on how to read the image histogram.

A related histogram use concept is Expose-To-The-Right or ETTR in the histogram:
ETTR
Exposing to the right - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Optimizing Exposure

The reflected light meter in a DSLR camera is calibrated based on the assumption that most scenes average out to having a reflectance of 12% to 18% gray.
When you shoot a scene that has a lot of white in it, the average reflectance in the scene is greater than 12% to 18%.
So unless the photographer adds some exposure compensation, the camera under exposes the scene to make sure it has the 12% to 18% reflectance it is calibrated for.
Understanding Camera Metering and Exposure

CCericola · Dec 28, 2013

A nifty rule of thumb. Set your shutter speed at or above your focal length. So if you are shooting at 50mm don't go below 1/50sec. Unless I'm dragging the shutter at a wedding reception I usually don't go handheld below 1/125. But that's just me. Invest in a tripod and a remote trigger and shutter speed won't matter for inanimate objects.