MilanoMan

Hey, I have a Fuji FinePix 3.2 MP that I got, and the pictures are not that great. Can anybody walk me through on how to set the camera up right? Also, for night shots should I use the flash? Whenever I do, it looks like a flashlight is just pointing at one part of the car, and not the rest, and ends up looking really bad. Also, if someone could walk me through on how to make my pictures look better through photoshop (colors and sharpness) I'd appreciate it.


I want my pics to look something like this:

Nightshade

OK first things first.

Don't take any of this personal because this is just how I am and I will be commenting from personal experience when I do so.

Onboard flash is crap....don't use it. This in itself is known fact and even on high end DSLR models you never use onboard flash systems. You have to get an external flash for any real useability or softness out of a flash.

However, you can attempt to soften the flash by using (don't laugh) pantyhose. What you can do is take a neutral color pantyhose (white works great and biege is useable too) cut into smaller strips and place over the flash testing different amounts of layers. The onboard flash is oddly powered and doesn't truly adjust for the best shots while using it. You can also play with deflecting the flash by placing a small piece of card stock (white in color) under the flash and play with different angles of deflection.

Do not take pics at high sun. It just doesn't work and will blow out nearly every time. If you must shoot in high sun find shade to do it in.

Do not shoot into the sun or with the sun at the front of the camera (sunsets are not applicable in this comment) it doesn't work and creates generally crappy shots with lack of vibrancy....trust me this has been proven for many years to be universally true.

If you have the ability to take the camera off of the auto settings unless in high speed needs. The more you can control the input the more appealing the final results will be.

Get a good editing program...Photoshop or anything similiar is going to be your new best friend, so get comfortable in it.

Most common used functions in PS:

Levels and Auto Levels
Curves
Layers (use them they are your friend)
Hue and color
Brightness and contrast

Get used to each of these items and play with them a lot. Go to extremes and you will learn the fine points of each of them and what they do.

honda_pilot

I think that pic is a great start

MilanoMan

Hah, that pic is not a start. Someone took that pic and messed around with it.

I don't know how to take the camera off auto, can anyone teach me?

Thanks!

Nightshade

Ok I just looked up your camera and it has no manual mode. Not a big deal really because you want to get composition down then deal with the rest anyways.

The rest can be adjusted in PS.

axemansean

Is this the S5000? Its a great beginner camera, but its got a lot of limitations. The manual mode doesn't give you enough freedom to work with.

MilanoMan

No, I believe it is the Fuji FinePix 3800. 3.2 MP.


I can't get the Photoshop to look real, maybe it just takes time.


Anyone else?

Nightshade

post a shot and lets see what you got to work with. It kinda helps to see shots so that it can lead someone to tell you how to correct it a bit in the future as well as how to adjust it in PS the best way. After a few shots and getting help you kinda pick it up and go with it.

MilanoMan

I figure it'd be better to not resize, you might need it big?

[IMG]www.we-todd-did-racing.com/wetoddimage.wtdr/wNjMwNTI0NnM0MTNkZmQzMXk1NDE%3D.jpg[/IMG]

Nightshade

Well here is the car with a crop, levels adjustment, and some curve adjustments (and of course a resize).

I would mess with the sky a bit but I am not real great at seperating it off and still making it look natural. The sky in the background is pretty flat and looks a bit blown out (too light in color).