blue problems

[pianoman12]

I am having a problem with the blues in my pictures. they always come out very pale. like this. What can I do to correct this. A graduated blue filter or a polerizing filter. Does it have anything to do with shutter speed or apature. could anyone help me?

 

[LittleMan]

Polarizing filter should help with that.
In that picture it also looks like there is a fog... that may be some of your problem.

 

[John the Greek]

Please post some other photos for examples... in this one, there seems to be a haze and it seems overcast, which both will interfere with the vividness of your blues. A UV haze filter and polarizer filter will both help you.

 

[Big Mike]

Besides the little bit of sky that may be showing through the clouds...I don't see any blue...or anything that should be blue. The hills in the background look a little blue because of some haze...but I doubt that they are supposed to be blue. A UV may help and a polarizer should really help.

If the sky actually was more blue than it looks here...then it looks like it is overexposed...and that's probably because the exposure was averaged over the whole scene which includes a very dark building and a somewhat dark foreground. If you had exposed for the sky, the dark parts would be almost completely black. You can't really have both in one exposure...there is just too much of a difference between the light and the dark.

Ways to get around this would be to; use a graduated filter while shooting, use image software to alter the photo or take multiple exposures and combine them with image software.

 

[pianoman12]

sorry that picture was not a good example heres one when it was clear. see how the sky is very blah. I know one way to fix this is by taking pictures in the Morning and evening but is there any other way

- Phillip

 

[Big Mike]

That's a better example. Yes, a polarizer will help this.

What camera & media are you using? If it's color negative film...it could be that the lab you take the film to is just not printing with a lot of saturation. Try different films and try a different lab. If it's film, how are you digitizing? Scanning can take make a photo loose some saturation.

If it's from a digital camera, maybe you can turn up the saturation.

Either way, once the file is digital...it is really easy to make it more vivid with image software like photoshop.

 

[pianoman12]

thanks what film do you think produces the best blues?

 

[Unimaxium]

Were these photos taken with a digital camera or a film camera? If they're film, then the problem could be from a number of sources, most of which have nothing to do with the exposure but instead the film itself or the processing or the digital scanning. My first recommendation would be to try a different film. The one you're using might just not handle blues well. Or try a different lab. They might just be doing a bad job.

edit: oops, I missed those last two replies to this thread that came before mine. So this one is kinda redundant. See below for my reply to your last question.

 

[Unimaxium]

thanks what film do you think produces the best blues?

What speakers produce the best music?

It's a very subjective question, and it depends a lot on whom you ask and what you want. There are many films out there, so it's very difficult to say which one makes the best color. But there are a few that are well-known to be good films. One of these is Fuji Superia Reala, which is a nice sharp film with pretty good colors. In my opinion its colors tend to be a bit redder than I would normally like, but I admit it is still quite good. Probably a lot better than the one you used for these shots. I'm sure other people can recommend some more good films out there.