Inconsistent colors- using canon eos 1v

[rachelrstricklin]

Hi all! I'm using a Canon EOS 1v, with Kodak porta 400 or fuji 400H, and shooting primarily portraits.

Any tips on shooting portraits without getting muddy colors, discoloration (esp on cloudy days), and inconsistent color? basically my pictures always come back with about half of the pictures spot on in terms of color and the other half slighty green/blue, hazy, or muddy. I can usually edit them to look consistent with the others, but just wondering what other people do

Thanks.

 

[tirediron]

Porta 400 is daylight balanced, so you may notice a slight warming on cloudy days, but it shouldn't make a big difference; any chance it's a particular lens or filter causing the issue?

 

[dxqcanada]

Are you referencing the print or the negative ... the neg will tell you more than the pictures (the print gets manipulated by the one who printed it).

What do the bad frames look like in comparison to the good ones ?

 

[webestang64]

""and the other half slighty green/blue, hazy, or muddy""


Have a look at the negatives. You described how a under exposed negative would print. When I shoot color print film on cloudy days I overexpose by one full stop. Also remember that in cloudy days or in a shadow, blue loves to hide there.

To remove blue from your cloudy day shots. Use this guide for filter use.
http://www.kodak.com/US/plugins/acrobat/en/motion/support/h1/H1_57-62.pdf

 

[Derrel]

Maybe your photofinisher is substandard? These days, with fewer and fewer rolls of film coming through, there is ever more temptation for labs to let chemicals go for "just one more batch"...

The quality of photofinishing has often been quite variable across the spectrum of labs. Some labs are excellent. Many are good. Many are erratic. A few are downright poor.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Typically I use 100 speed film outdoors and 400 indoors, so maybe the 400 was too light sensitive for shooting outdoors and didn't necessarily give the best color. I wondered if you shoot an entire roll at one time in the same lighting conditions or not, as that could make a difference.

I agree that it depends on the lab. They used to have to adjust more than they do now since the machine does more automatic adjustment, so the lab/technician might just run it thru the machine and let it do the adjusting automatically - if you shot in the roll in varying light they might need to adjust it instead of letting the machine do it automaticially.

 

[webestang64]

Maybe your photofinisher is substandard? These days, with fewer and fewer rolls of film coming through, there is ever more temptation for labs to let chemicals go for "just one more batch"...

The quality of photofinishing has often been quite variable across the spectrum of labs. Some labs are excellent. Many are good. Many are erratic. A few are downright poor.

True.....I know a lot about this from working in photo labs for 25 years. At my job now we have had to switch to "low volume chemicals" (5-25 rolls a day) and if you do not make the right adjustments for replenishment and still use control strips, the film being developed will be way off in terms of color control. We also view every image and make adjustments to the print for optimal color-density-saturation.

BTW, I only shoot 400 speed color print films and have no problem with color what so ever.

 

[rachelrstricklin]

Great point. I may try shipping my negatives to a more trusted lab and see if that helps. Thanks a ton.

 

[dxqcanada]

Great point. I may try shipping my negatives to a more trusted lab and see if that helps. Thanks a ton.

What do the negatives look like ... are those bad prints look bad on the negative ?