@herussell's question about a photographic phenomenon (lens flare in her case) stirs me to ask about my own experience of a phenomenon - whenever I take photos of my gray kitty - the color turns out weird - there's a lot of noisy (not sure that's the right term) blues and pinks in her fur. I'd expect to see the browns that are subtly there, but what is the weird blue/pink deal? Today's photo I turned to B&W to get around the problem. Thanks in advance for the excellent info. i always get here.
The "blues and pinks" you describe are typically a result of using high ISO while shooting. Go back and look at one of your photos that turned out like that. What ISO did you shoot at?
@jasonbarnette - I think I've tossed all the really awful ones; I looked back at the ones I posted of her - can't remember now how much I processed them to try to correct. Almost all are shot at 200 ISO. I'll try some shots on automatic looking for the blue/pink thing and then adjust the ISO down - right? - to correct for the weirdness. Thanks for always sharing your expertise so generously.
What you are seeing is "color noise". Your photo was taken at ISO 800, and at higher ISO's you'll get more noise. Either use a lower (say 200) ISO or you can remove noise with most image processing software, with varying degrees of success.
Well, there is also one other time you get digital noise like that: low-light conditions. Different cameras will handle blacks differently. Sometimes while shooting at 100 ISO you will still have that noise. You can correct it a bit in editing by adjusting your black points. I don't know how you edit, but it does help.
@mikew@jasonbarnette - I'm thinking the ISO may not be the issue, but rather the lighting - I'll experiment with this some, including dropping the ISO below 200 which looks like what I've commonly used and know I'll just have to correct as I'm getting better at doing; in correction, it's helpful to know that working on the black points may be the most effective. Thanks!
@reba"I'm thinking the ISO may not be the issue, but rather the lighting"
Wise words indeed! :)
Mike and Jason are right about the causes of noise (low light and/or high ISO), and you'll find it is much worse on cameras with small sensors than larger ones, and older cameras than newer ones (generally speaking).
The way I see it, no matter what your camera, you won't get noise problems when you get the lighting right. My tip would be to aim to shoot your moggy in bright areas with soft, directional light (e.g. under an overcast sky, in a doorway or near a large window). Lighting is everything... :)
@chard - yes, that's it - this very morning I'm going to dye her pink. Clever. Hope she doesn't put up a fuss which would be just like her to do.
@dieter - Thanks. And how funny - I've now heard the term "moggy" for the first time and it happened two times in one day. Someone who looked at her photo yesterday also called her a moggy. I love it and I''m thinking must be a Brit term. You have all the best ones. I've learned so many here.
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Wise words indeed! :)
Mike and Jason are right about the causes of noise (low light and/or high ISO), and you'll find it is much worse on cameras with small sensors than larger ones, and older cameras than newer ones (generally speaking).
The way I see it, no matter what your camera, you won't get noise problems when you get the lighting right. My tip would be to aim to shoot your moggy in bright areas with soft, directional light (e.g. under an overcast sky, in a doorway or near a large window). Lighting is everything... :)
@dieter - Thanks. And how funny - I've now heard the term "moggy" for the first time and it happened two times in one day. Someone who looked at her photo yesterday also called her a moggy. I love it and I''m thinking must be a Brit term. You have all the best ones. I've learned so many here.