Canon Rebel XTi images - not getting desired vibrant color

westerngirl14 · Apr 14, 2011

Hello all! I am new to using my Canon Rebel XTi... And though I love all the features and smoothness of operating, I am NOT satisfied with the color of the photos I am getting. They tend to be darker,and the bright colors I am photographing get flatted out. Basically what is showing up on my screen is completely different than what I am photographing. Is there any setting I can change to make the colors photograph the way are?
Example:

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see how awful the colors look in this picture? I am searching for a WARMER color, to put some "health" into the people's skin. It looks like I tinted this photo green or blue, and really, i just shot in standard.

Any help is appreciated!

P.S. I have fiddled with the WB SHIFT/BKT somewhat and that does help a little, but I have to change it with every situation I am in, to adjust the colors to my desire.

Just seems like a lot of messing around.... maybe it's just the colors that Rebel XTi's produce?

vtf · Apr 14, 2011

I think your issue is more about lighting than white balance. In a room such as this your on-camera flash is enough to adequately light someone about 6' away from the camera. Anyone further will be much darker. Either put brighter lights on the individuals in the background or use off camera flash on them. Lighting will also bring out the colors more.

gsgary · Apr 14, 2011

The problem is behind the veiwfinder, you need to learn how to use it properly shooting indoors with the pop up flash is not going to look good

westerngirl14 · Apr 14, 2011

Thank you for replying. As you can guess, I am a NEWBIE at this...still figuring out my camera!! Thanks a LOT for your help.. I do see what you mean. More lighting = better color. I'll remember that in the future.

Tim222 · May 26, 2011

For years I had been using a Canon G3 that took great photos in auto mode, so I had expected the same results from the XTi. Instead, the photos lacked the vibrant color I could get from the G3, and in some cases they were grainy. Here are some things I found out:

1) In auto mode the camera expects you will do post processing in software like Photoshop. If you don't want to do post processing, experiment with the ISO, Picture Style (see below), and other settings in the manual modes. "P" mode seems to do a good job for me, although others might want to set the aperture and/or exposure time themselves using "Tv" or "Av" or "M".

2) The cause of the color problem was the Picture Style setting. In "Standard" mode the sky is a dull grayish blue color. I found that "Landscape" mode makes the sky look brilliant blue. "Normal" mode seems to make skin tones look warmer in daytime light.

3) The cause of the graininess was the ISO setting (no surprise there). It took some time to get used to it because ISO 400 on the XTi seems grainer than ISO 400 on the Canon G3. I can see why the XTi only goes to ISO 1600. I shoot everything in ISO 100 now, and that helps a lot. I wish it would go down to ISO 50.

4) There are also some preset modes on the dial. They don't allow you to set the Picture Style although it seems to do that for you. "Night Portrait" seems to make skin tones look warm in a flash.

5) The kit lens is kind of junky, even though it's a Canon. The autofocus is inconsistent. A Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 is an inexpensive upgrade. It doesn't cover the focal range of the stock lens, but it's a good place to start.