indoor shooting crappy quality: blurry and bad colors

[karimmaalouf]

Hi,

was wondering what i am doing wrong while taking pictures indoor... almost all my pictures are blurry and color is off even with white balance modified.

i'm attaching a picture to illustrate and for the exif, any comment is welcome

thanks

 

[Dao]

The exif did not have the information reference to the aperture, shutter speed, ISO as well as flash fired or not.
Based on the look of the photo, the issue most likely related to shutter speed is too slow that cause motion blur. It seems like there are some windows lights mixed with some indoor lights and their color temperature maybe different. The color of the balloons that closer to the kid are different from those at the back. And those at the back maybe lighted by the ceiling light which could be warmer. Maybe that is the reason why color is not quite correct.

For the blur issue, you may need to use the flash or higher ISO value in order to increase the shutter speed to freeze the motion (or camera shake). As for the color issue, it is a little tough. You have sun light and ceiling lights mixing together.

 

[TCampbell]

As Dao mentioned, when trying to trouble-shoot what went wrong, it really helps to include the EXIF data in the images... or just type in the exposure info in your post.

I noticed that #2 seems to have left-right motion blur on his face as if he was turning his head when you shot this. But his lower body doesn't have the same motion blur. Based on this, I think the shutter speed was slow.

If you shoot in JPEG, picking the white balance mode works when there's one type of light, but you don't get to pick two modes for the same shot ... unless you use "custom white balance". CWB requires a neutral target (typically a "gray card" -- not just anything gray-ish, but a card with a color designed to be a perfect neutral gray (equal levels of all colors... so that it doesn't have a color cast.) It's an extra step, but if you're frustrated with color balance then you may want to get one. Essentially you take a photo of the gray card such that it either fills the frame or at least dominates the center of the frame (it does not need to be in focus... and sometimes it's better that it not be in focus.) Then select the CWB mode. The camera will usually prompt you to select the image to be used for CWB and you pick the image you took with the gray card. Just don't forget to turn off CWB or re-establish the new reference frame for CWB if your lighting changes.

If you shoot in RAW, just take a photo that has the gray card in it (no need to be centered or dominating the frame -- just make sure the card is in the same lighting conditions as your subjects.) You fix the white balance when you post process the image by telling your photo editing/adjustment tool to set white balance by clicking a point on that gray card. You can then copy the white balance adjustment to all other images shot in the same light.

Though you can buy gray cards from camera stores, you can use anything as long as it's guaranteed to be neutral (you could use a white piece of paper... but if that "white" piece of paper technically has a bit of a yellow cast to it, then the camera will compensate by trying to remove the "yellow" and you'll probably end up everyone betting a bit blue/cool.)

You can get fussier than just a gray card alone. But it's usually not necessary. If you were doing commercial work where product colors were critical, then you'd go beyond just a simple gray card.

 

[DiskoJoe]

Even without seeing the exif data I could guess that your shutter speed is too slow and the colors are probably off due to the lighting in your house. Are you photos casting a heavy yellow hue? Most typical lighting gives off a yellow hue. Get a better lens with a larger aperture and crank up the iso or buy a flash. Either would probably fix the problem.

 

[karimmaalouf]

Hi again, and thank you all for your feedback.
i must have made a manipulation mistake while compressing these 2 pictures so i lost the exif info... i am attaching the same pictures corrected.

Dao: yes i had that day windows lights mixed with some indoor lights. i understand that using a flash would almost eradicate my blur problem but in my opinion using the flash gives the picture an awful tint/colors/shades etc... i would love to avoid to use the flash, specially since i don't have an add on flash and should rely only on the built in flash...

Tcampbell: yes sorry about that, the 2 files attached to this message should have the exif info. i have my camera set to Large Jpeg and Raw. so i get 2 copies of the same picture saved: one in jpeg and one in raw. even if working with Raw file on color correction, the blur effect cannot be removed (correct me if i am wrong!). thanks for the gray card trick i will test it next photo shoot, but really i am not that professional i would just love the have clear/ good colored indoor pictures.

Diskojoe: again, i am attaching the correct pics with exif data. yes my pictures mostly turn out yellowish even with white balance modified. the lens might be an issue (it doesn't have IS), but before blaming the lens i am sure i am doing something wrong...

thank the 3 of you for your replies and any further clarification would be appreciated.

 

[Tony S]

Your photos are blurred because you were shooting at 1/30 second. That is way too slow to capture a child that moves, even if it looks like they are standing still. There is nothing in post processing that will fix it to a sharp image.

Your yellow probelms do come from mixed ighting, I can see two different light sources in the image, I'm betting there are at least four different lights going on here. Window, flourescent in the background, halogen spots in the background, and what ever light is over head above the table. Your best option here would be to try doing a custom white balance that is set up before shooting and even then you will have problems getting it all correct. Shoot in RAW and you can adjust the WB for the msot important part of the image.
Using flash should not give you tints and poor color if you are using the correct white balance for flash, For me it would be better to use the on camera flash to capture the moment than it is to have the moment blurred with a bad exposure. You have to pick what the best compromise is to capture the scene.

 

[AceCo55]

Sorry - but I can't find the EXIF data on these either. Might be my reader's fault?
Perhaps you could run through how you are posting these images (I don't use photo sharing websites, but I understand that some strip the data from all the photos uploaded to it. Therefore when someone posts from a link on those sites, the EXIF data is no longer there). But at this stage I am only guessing what might be happening.

 

[Tony S]

From the first image....

 

[karimmaalouf]

thanks Tony... here are the info:

 

[TCampbell]

Yes, definitely the shutter speed is too slow. Image stabilization features of lenses do help stack the odds of getting a shot free of motion blur in you favor... but they don't guarantee a blur-free shot.

 

[karimmaalouf]

allright so it's seems everyone agrees it's a shutter speed issue... i'm gonna try it

thanks a lot you guys!

 

[Dao]

A hotshoe flash that allow you to bounce the flash should help a great deal in shots like this.

 

[AceCo55]

Thanks for posting the EXIF - funny thing is I couldn't read it last night but I can access it tonight.
Already said but yes, shutter speed to low.
Good luck with your next shoot - that's the way all of us learn. Can't beat experience / reflection / improve.

 

[AceCo55]

Why does this look suspiciously like spam? :er:
Can someone please outline how I report possible spam to a moderator?

Edit: thank you moderators for removing that post :thumbup: