Shooting in closed places

[binhashoots]

Hi! I'm new to this forum, so sorry if this thread is in the wrong place. Anyways, I'm not completely new to photography but I'm also not a pro and I don't know how to shoot in closed places with artificial lights, like lamps, without letting the colours turn out completely messed up. I've fussed all the manual settings of my camera and couldn't find a way to fix it, but maybe you do know? I don't have any flash further than the built-in one and my camera is a Canon Rebel T4i/EOS 650D.

 

[Overread14 2]

If you are getting underexposure you've 3 things you can do in camera:

1) Use a wider aperture (smaller f number) to let in more light

2) Use a slower shutter speed - of course when handholding you can only go down to 1/focal length in speed - any slower and you've got to have support (tripod) or good posture to avoid a soft shot. Moving subjects of course require faster speeds otherwise you get motion blue

3) Raise the ISO - yes you get more noise; but you get less noise with a good exposure at a higher ISO than with an underexposed shot at a lower ISO.

You can, of course, add flash lighting to boost the ambient lighting if you can. If you only have the popup flash you are mostly limited to just using it as fill lighting much of the time (that is it will work well for removing shadows under eyes, but won't be good enough to provide a good main light source)

 

[binhashoots]

Yeah, I know these stuff, but I still can't make the colours right ):

 

[tirediron]

Sounds like it's a WB issue; read the WB tutorial information here, and then re-read the section in your camera's on how to set a custom white balance; that should cure most of your issues.

 

[bratkinson]

Sounds like it's a WB issue; read the WB tutorial information here, and then re-read the section in your camera's on how to set a custom white balance; that should cure most of your issues.

Like the OP, I had color NIGHTMARES shooting indoors under all sorts of lighting...until I found out about white balance (WB). There are ways to correct it in-camera by setting custom WB as well as in post processing using a variety of software...my favorite being Adobe Lightroom 4.

 

[480sparky39 38]

If you 'shoot raw', you've got a much better chance of correcting the colors if you're shooting with multiple color temperatures.

 

[KmH]

If a Raw image file is made with mixed lighting, - multiple light sources having more than 1 color temperature - white balance can be accurately set for only 1 of the color temperatures.
White balance can only be partially corrected for each of 2 or more color temperatures.

As an example, a scene shot in a room that has both fluorescent and tungsten lighting can be partially corrected for both or fully corrected individually.
If one color temperature is fully corrected, the image will still have a color cast from the other color temperature. If both are partially corrected, the image will have a lesser color cast from both light sources.

In a case where fluorescent and tungsten light are present, a filter can be put on the lens to correct for one or the other light source, and the camera can then be set to the white balance of the not filtered light source.

In a situation where fluorescent light, tungsten light, and a flash are used, there would be 3 color temperatures of light. In that case a gel can be placed on the flash to make it's light match, say the tungsten light, in the scene, a filter would be put on the lens that corrects tungsten light, which then allows setting the white balance in the camera, or correcting the white balance post process, to fluorescent.

 

[480sparky39 38]

If a Raw image file is made with mixed lighting, - multiple light sources having more than 1 color temperature - white balance can be accurately set for only 1 of the color temperatures.
White balance can only be partially corrected for each of 2 or more color temperatures.......

Let's say you have three color temps.... daylight, fluorescent and incandescent. You correct for the white balance of each of the three, and save three separate images. Then you load those images as layers, and pick & choose the areas of the images that have the 'correct' WB. I've done this on occasion. It's time-consuming and tricky, but it's possible.

 

[Gavjenks]

If a Raw image file is made with mixed lighting, - multiple light sources having more than 1 color temperature - white balance can be accurately set for only 1 of the color temperatures.
White balance can only be partially corrected for each of 2 or more color temperatures.......

Let's say you have three color temps.... daylight, fluorescent and incandescent. You correct for the white balance of each of the three, and save three separate images. Then you load those images as layers, and pick & choose the areas of the images that have the 'correct' WB. I've done this on occasion. It's time-consuming and tricky, but it's possible.

Doesnt work if one side of an object is hit by 2 or more lights at once. If so you could have up to 7 color combinations to indiv. pick and choose from...

 

[kathyt]

Have you looked into using an Expodisc? It is a really great tool to get good WB from the start.

 

[TCampbell]

You can really only white balance for one color temperature at a time. You can 'gels' (a tinted cover) to go on a flash to help it match the color of the lights in the room. E.g. a slight amber color matches incandescent lights. That way the color of the flash and the color of the lamps are the same and you can set the white balance to tungsten/incandescent.