robru
newbie
Reged: 18/04/2008
Posts: 3
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Hi All,
I wonder if anyone can help me. I tried taking some portraits using an Olympus OM2N and a 70-210 zoom lens on a tripod. I was in our conservatory on an overcast day. There appeared to be plenty of light. I was using a pale curtain as a background. I set the camera to manual as set up the camera accordingly. The result was that the shots were all washed out looking and grainy. I guess it is something to do with the light and exposure settings. The rest of the film was fine taken in bright daylight and indoors with flash. What I wanted to do was use the natural light yet have sharp, properly exposed pictures. I tried to load an example to this post but could not figure how to.
Thanks, Robert
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AlexMonro
addict
Reged: 05/06/2006
Posts: 675
Loc: Exeter, Devon (and Somerset so...
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Welcome, Robert.
So what exposures were you actually giving, what film were you using, and how were you metering the light? A pale background could possibly fool centre weighted metering to underexpose by a stop or two. How was the film processed?
The term "washed out" usually refers to overexposure, but I'm wondering if you actually severely underexposed colour print film and had it processed by a minilab, which attempted to "correct" the exposure, giving the washed out, grainy look.
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robru
newbie
Reged: 18/04/2008
Posts: 3
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Thanks for this. I was using Fuji Superia 400 ASA print film and the meter in the camera. I'm sorry but I don't remember the exposure. I got it developed at Boots.
In order to avoid this again, should I be taking a reading from my subject's face and using this to determine my exposure? What I am trying to do is get the same sort of sharpness of the image that I get outside but with the softer light.
Thanks, Robert
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beejaybee
Marvin
Reged: 18/07/2007
Posts: 4117
Loc: Really Here In Name Only
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Quote:
I was using Fuji Superia 400 ASA print film and the meter in the camera. I'm sorry but I don't remember the exposure. I got it developed at Boots.
Is the negative exceptionally thin i.e. more or less a uniform orange colour all over? That would be severe underexposure. If the negative is thicker than the others then the exposure is way over.
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PeteE
enthusiast
Reged: 23/08/2005
Posts: 376
Loc: BRENTWOOD,Essex
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My boy was GIVEN an Olympus OM2n by a widow lady with 50mm f1.8 and 70-150mm Zuiko lenses and he has had no trouble with the exposures; I showed him how to compensate for subjects against a lighter or darker than normal background or white subjects using the 'auto' exposure setting. If you are using the 'manual' setting are you sure you are lining up the needle in the centre of the + and - signs in the viewfinder correctly ?
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Got COMPUTERISED at last and now Digitised but FILM still RULES!
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