Picture help (Nikon D200)

[soldierswife006]

i just got my Nikon D200 back in december with a 18-55 and a 55-200 lens (or something of the sort) i havent messed with it much due to a complicated pregnancy but i have started using it more and the picture looks like something you would get with a regular point and shoot camera to me i am taking pics in both JPEG fine and RAW+JPEG fine....i am trying to figure out how to get my camera to take nice quality pics....

here is a pic from my camera (the only one on my computer right now)


and i want it to turn out something like this (this was taken with a D40 i beleive) when i take them...(or is this just with some photo editing? i know this isnt a prof pic and that the AM is photoshopped on there)


i know my pic isnt the best example but thats the only one i have access to right now

Any Advice? hopefully i didnt confuse everyone to much

TIA

[Franglais]

The camera and treatment can only do so much. You have to work on the first part - your setup when you do the picture.

The picture of Britt is done in ideal lighting - there is fairly even lighting from in front (probably a big white reflector) with balanced lighting coming from behind, just enough to burn out her hair a little. The image is done on a telephoto lens from about 15 feet which has put the background out of focus and given a dreamy look to the whole thing.

The picture of the baby is done using only the camera's built-in flash. This is the equivalent of being in a dark room with just a flashlight and shining it in the subject's face. The shot was taken on a fairly wide-angle lens which has given a feeling of abruptness to the whole thing, with the mother cut off at left.

If you had taken the baby out the the same location and lighting as Britt the result would have been much closer to Britt's picture. Rather difficult to organise in February

There's not a lot you can do indoors to improve the on-camera flash. I would have used an external cobra flash (SB800, SB600, SB200) at 800 ISO and bounced it off the ceiling. This is not great lighting - you have to experiment a bit to find out which way is the best to point the flash to get the best light. But it would look - normal, as though there was no flash at all.

[soldierswife006]

the picture of britt was taken with no flash whatso ever and no extra lighting/help..i have an SB800 flash for my camera and it drown the picture out when we tried to use it because we were in to small of an area and that pic was taken with no flash at all...so it must have turned out decent for using jsut the room light and camera....

yes it is very hard to get during jan/feb (the pic was taken jan 23rd the day after i had my daughter) especially when you live in the NW around mountians....

thanks for The info and replying i will mess around with my camera and flashes more keeping your tips in mind..once again thanks i really appreciate it.....

The camera and treatment can only do so much. You have to work on the first part - your setup when you do the picture.

The picture of Britt is done in ideal lighting - there is fairly even lighting from in front (probably a big white reflector) with balanced lighting coming from behind, just enough to burn out her hair a little. The image is done on a telephoto lens from about 15 feet which has put the background out of focus and given a dreamy look to the whole thing.

The picture of the baby is done using only the camera's built-in flash. This is the equivalent of being in a dark room with just a flashlight and shining it in the subject's face. The shot was taken on a fairly wide-angle lens which has given a feeling of abruptness to the whole thing, with the mother cut off at left.

If you had taken the baby out the the same location and lighting as Britt the result would have been much closer to Britt's picture. Rather difficult to organise in February

There's not a lot you can do indoors to improve the on-camera flash. I would have used an external cobra flash (SB800, SB600, SB200) at 800 ISO and bounced it off the ceiling. This is not great lighting - you have to experiment a bit to find out which way is the best to point the flash to get the best light. But it would look - normal, as though there was no flash at all.

[Frog]

The baby pic isn't all that bad considering the situation/environment.
How much experience do you have with a dslr? Is this your first one?
The camera advertisements always show wonderful photos with perfect backgrounds, exposure, and focus. What they fail to mention is that you have to learn the cameras controls and how to use them to get these shots. Auto is fine in some cases but all those other settings and functions are there to go beyond auto.
If they have a class at a nearby community college that you can get to, that would help or getting a beginners photography book.
These forums are also a wonderful place with good people that don't mind answering beginners questions.
Good luck and Keep Shooting!

[Sushigaijin]

Also what the ads fail to mention is the background, light and composition...these things are up the shooter regardless of if you shoot in full auto or full manual, with a good camera, bad lens, good lens, bad camera, etc. Understanding the elements of a good photograph is just as important as understanding how your camera works. The gear is really only a small portion of the shot.

To achieve that "dreamy" kind of look, shot with a large aperture (low F/number)...

[freygr]

Really I see no problems with the baby photo given the setting and equipment available. Not all photos you take are going to be prefect no mater what camera you us unless you are in a studio and have the time to compose the photo and even then there are retakes.

[Franglais]

[QUOTE=soldierswife006]the picture of britt was taken with no flash whatso ever and no extra lighting/help..i have an SB800 flash for my camera and it drown the picture out when we tried to use it because we were in to small of an area and that pic was taken with no flash at all...so it must have turned out decent for using jsut the room light and camera....

QUOTE]

OK I guess that explains what looks like noise on the baby picture.

You have an SB800? It's a great tool for lighting your subject but you have to master it. First thing - make sure that the flash and the camera are talking to one another. If the control panel on the back of the flash is saying TTLBL then all is well

If you point it straight at the subject then it's only slightly better than using the built-in flash - very direct with the background in shadow. It looks good for parties but this is not what you want for a baby.

Inside a room - try turning the head of the SB800 directly upwards or at 45 degrees or side to side or even behind you (press the rubber button marked "Push" on the right hand side of the head to unlock it). You'll find that this gives you a variety of lighting effects by bouncing the light off the walls and ceilings.

When you've mastered the bounce flash technique you could try a simple studio lighting setup. You need to buy a small photographic brolly (silver umbrella) with a stand and a flash holder. Put the SB800 into the holder, pointing at the brolly, and set it to slave mode. Set the built-in flash on the camera to master mode. This gives you a frontal lighting similar to the one used for Britt - indoors. I used a brolly as main light for my Avatar