Reds are hard, they overwhelm the sensor.

Try taking photos when it is overcast or very early/late in the day. Taking pictures when the sun is on them will make it worse. Also try and under expose a bit. If you are still having issues, a "gray card" is what has been used for decades to get a correct photo, it 18% gray which is what the camera is trying to do. Imagine putting all the colors in a scene in a blender, they should in theory be 18% gray, there are exceptions, like a white snowman in a white snowbank (your camera will expose for 18% gray snowmen) or a blackcat on a black chair...also 18% gray cat.

Look in your cameras manual if you can change the white balance. You can change the settings for sunlight, cloudy and indoor fluorescent lighting. You can also take a picture of a white card to set your camera to the correct setting where you are.

I've learned a ton about my camera following *click it up a notch* on line photography help/insight. . . shes a great teacher and easy to understand. . . heres a link

Here is a link that might be useful: Click it up a notch

Yes. Foggy mornings are your friend.

But reds are a constant source of frustration.

Yes. Foggy mornings are your friend.

But reds are a constant source of frustration.

This is actually on good time to read the manual.

Canon has done a great job is setting up the manual to teach photography. It starts from basic and moves you on up through more control and ways to use the camera.

Decrease your exposure compensation; that's control on your camera that our photography instructor referred to as the "plus-minus thingy". You do the opposite for white roses.

All the above--plus use Photoshop on your computer to desaturate the red colors.

Oh--wasn't I supposed to mention that nowadays photographers use Photoshop to make corrections? Or at least rank amateurs like me do. : )

Kate

Thanks everyone! Great advice. I'm really enjoying the learning curve and experimenting with different settings.

We happen to be having a grey morning, so here are some test shots. The first is as the camera took it, with ISO on auto and slightly decreased exposure compensation. The second is the same shot after I made a few adjustments in Picasa.

This is fun! I'm going to need more time in the day...

{{gwi:311868}}
{{gwi:311869}}

Now you got it, redwolf. Yes, one can spend a heck of a lot of time playing with photos! It is fun, however.

Your two red photos are lovely. What rose is that?

Kate

Kate, as for your rank amateur status you'll be amused to know that when I asked a friend, who is a professional photographer, how to get a good photo of dark red roses, he said... "Photoshop".

Thanks Kate! And Ratdogheads, it's nice to know it's not just us 'rank amateurs' who doctor photos!

The rose is Veteran's Honor, new this year from Palatine. It is the only one my DH actually had a strong opinion about - I had no deep reds and he really liked the picture on the tag. I'm very happy he did - it's gorgeous!

redwolfdoc, your test pics are looking good! Have fun experimenting...

ratdog, thanks for back up support. : ) I run my photos through Photoshop anyway to quickly adjust the size--so it only takes a couple minutes more to make a few other adjustments to improve the picture--thank goodness!

Kate

I do what ratdog said, decrease the exposure setting by one or two clicks depending on how bright it is out so I shoot the pictures a little on the dark side and then lighten them up in photoshop to where they need to be using the levels. That works sometimes with reds but not always. I've also found that going full manual and then just playing with the settings and taking LOTS of shots usually gets me one good one, lol!

I should add that I shoot everything a tad dark not just reds. With that and the macro on full zoom is how I get my black/blurred backgrounds.

Thank you Seil - your photos are always so lovely - I'd actually wondered about how you got those nice dark blurred backgrounds!

...I think I might need a macro lens :)

You can use the aperture setting to blur out the background. Does your camera have that?

"Set your camera at "A" or Aperture priority mode. The basic rule here is the wider your aperture or the lower your f-number is, the shallower the depth of field. This will result in a very blurred background, but a sharp subject. In most cameras, the lens aperture range from f/1.8 to f/22. Set your aperture to f/1.8 for the most blurred background effect. Check your shutter speed if this will yield favorable results.

If you find that the image will be over-exposed due to such a wide aperture, adjust accordingly. You will find that up to an aperture setting of f/5.6, you can still achieve a blurred background. It may be a little sharper than images taken with an f/1.8 aperture, but you will still get the results you prefer."

Here is a link that might be useful: info from this site

Hoovb, that's one I didn't know. I'll try it!

If you can find Scott Kelby's series of paperbacks on photograph. They are really good. One side of each open pair of pages is canon and the other Nikon.

Macros are fun. If I had the $$$ I want the new 100mm but you can get a smilar result standing back, using a telephoto and zooming in using the smallest number your lens has for Aperture.

Any pro that says they don't photoshop is probably not being totally honest or never uses raw, has an assistant or uses a different program. In the old days you adjusted in the darkroom

Check out Lightroom. You can process a bunch of photos at the same time

This post was edited by Kippy-the-Hippy on Mon, Jul 28, 14 at 19:31

you can also compensate for over-exposure when you have a wide aperature by adjusting your ISO downwards. It can make for richer color, depending on light conditions. You might try futzing with the ISO anyway, it gives different effects that can be interesting.

I found a 55-200 mm lens--something in that range--much more useful than a macro. If you stand back and zoom in, all your backgrounds will be nicely blurred out, and you can still take extreme close ups as well.

This post was edited by hoovb on Mon, Jul 28, 14 at 20:24

hoovb, that photo is stunning!

thanks. just a lucky shot.