Have you ever taken what looks like a great shot only to find out at home that the colors look muted or “flat”?  There are three cures, two easy and one that requires more attention.  Let’s take a look-

Use warm lighting, expose carefully & understand digital processing for colorful photos. Marsh trail by Gordon Campbell www.swfloutdoorphotography.com.

- The hard part… learn to understand exposure, at least the basics. For uniform colors and lighting you can use your matrix meter, if there are lighting extremes spot metering on your subject might be better.  Get familiar with your exposure value adjustment too.  Review your histogram for signs of over or under exposure then recompose and shoot if necessary.

- Getting easier… your richest colors come early and late in the day under the “magic hour” when the lighting is warm and leads to great saturation so do your outdoor photography then.

- Finally, using  digital processing software like Photoshop Elements or Lightroom understand simple enhancements including slight tweaks to contrast, saturation and shadow/highlight relief.

Let me know if I can help further.  You can explore the archives for other helpful posts or subscribe to future articles via email right here.  Gordon.

Professional Photography from Ft. Meyers & Sanibel to Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades.

gordon@SWFLOutdoorPhotography.com

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Gordon Campbell

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copyright 2011 Gordon Campbell/Southwest Florida Outdoor Photography.

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