August 16, 2010 7:33 am
Nikon D90, 50mm 1.8
Manual, No Flash, ISO 200, SS 1/60, f/2.5
RAW, Pattern Metering, AF-S, WB in Auto
We were in a big rush to get out the door on the second day of school (and on the third, fourth, fifth and today the sixth as well).
But they looked SO cute in their casual uniform I had to snap a photo, so I made them come over to the front door the only place first thing in the morning that has a little light.
I dialed in my settings when I took a close up while I was just inside the doorway (why am I still on pattern metering?!?), but all I caught then was a girl yawning.
As soon as I stepped out into the Texas morning humidity my lens fogged up just as I framed the shot & pushed the shutter.
This was such a cute shot I had to use it anyway for their Project 52 book.
And I did learn a few things with this little exercise.
1. Don't forget about the Texas humidity. Even if we had had more than 1 minute to grab a few shots, my lens fogging up would have caused a 5-10 minute delay to get the lens dry and clean.
2. The more important lesson - I should have opened my aperture more or raised my ISO to get back to that rule of thumb of 1/125 with kids (& my shaky hand) - I can see motion blur zoomed in.
Before I even opened it in Camera Raw I was pretty sure the best solution would be to convert to B&W.
So I piddled a bit with it before just deciding to use an action from the Pioneer Woman. I don't use any actions as part of my normal workflow, but if you're looking for an entertaining read or want to try some free Photoshop or PSE actions you should take a look at her blog.
post-processing
 | <-- The SOOC shot. I was able to remove most of the fog by adjusting the exposure in Camera Raw - moving the black in to the edge of the histogram shifted the most of the colors back to normal, but the photo is still soft as a result of my slow-ish shutter speed and the foggy lens. I ran Pioneer Woman's B&W Beauty action and added a color fill layer in a ultra-soft pink at 30% opacity using a channel mask (only affected areas less than 50% gray) just to change the tone of the photo. |
Good job! I have a similar story! The other day we traced M's body with sidewalk chalk and then colored in her clothes. I had her lay down beside her twin, grabbed my camera, and it totally fogged up! I thought I'd really messed up, but now I'll try to fix it!
ReplyDeleteSarah, you rock. I would have assumed the photo was ruined. It looks AWESOME!! Those girls in those uniforms...adorable. Just want to squeeze them. :)
ReplyDelete