photos flat using s95-raw/manual

[beautybelow]

At just a quick glance I don't think the problem is in the camera or the post processing, but rather your manual settings. They are all over the place. One picture you had 1/15th of a second on the shutter speed, that will create a blurry photo every time.
Another was an f stop of 2.0 which will also not create your sharpest image, depending on the lens.
ISOs are all over the place too.
Start with a low ISO, especially with the strobe and Macro. If the strobe is so so then you have to get really close (you can tell the photos that were lit by the strobe and the ones that weren't easily)
Basically, if you want to shoot in manual you have to understand how to create the proper exposure, which isn't that hard, but not really what this thread is about.
In short...keep working on it. Every camera is different and yours will have it's "sweet spots" where you get the best pictures from these settings.

 

[Nemrod]

Not being mean, take it from somebody who admits not to fully understand digital processing and at best barely passable photographer, why are you shooting in Manual, because everybody says too or did you have a specific reason? I know why I would shoot in Manual but why are you shooting Manual in each of those photos? I see wildly varying f stops, ISO and shutter speeds. Why did you choose in one shot a 1/15 sec shutter? Why did you choose a f2.0 stop? What is the mental process behind each of those photos?

You have to first understand actually what the camera is doing. Some books or reading on the principles of photography would be useful to you so that you could understand the why of choosing a shutter speed or f stop or ISO/ASA and when to set what.

First, get rid of the RAW and the Manual and just shooting Av mode with a selected f stop. Most people would do better. There is no point in shooting Manual unless you understand what Manual does and how to use it and why--WHY and WHEN ---to use it, same for RAW.

Aside from poorly chosen camera settings, many of your photos appear dark and muddy. No, I don't mean the conditions, I mean the exposures. They are largely underexposed (maybe it is my goofy computer screen?).

It looks to me like you have some very challenging conditions to photograph in, low light, murky water, suspended particles, looks a bit deep too so the light you are getting, ambient, is very monocolor. Does not seem to me you are making good use of your external strobe(s) either.

If I am shooting Manual, old school (warning, warning--old fashioned thinking follows), I pick my shutter speed and set it in, 1/125 works well, and then I vary the f stop. If the lighting falls below what is useful with my chosen shutter speed then I shift one stop in shutter speed to 1/60 etc. When do I do that?, well, when my lens has to be working wide open all the time. Dropping a stop on my shutter speed allows me to get my lens back into the f4.0/f5.6 range. Why concern myself with that?--because most camera lenses produce better, sharper photos stopped down and the accessory lenses I often use do much better at something less than fully open. I am not saying what I do is right, there may not be a right or a wrong, but, you have to have a plan of attack otherwise you just wind up with flat, lifeless snaps, not photographs. Have a mission, set your camera up for that mission, then do it.

Oh, don't compete with bf as boys don't like being competed with by gfs, lol. He sees what he sees and captures it in his photos, you just need to understand how to express your vision. To do that you have to have a vision, by that, I mean, a photo should have a purpose/theme, it should say something, when a photograph does that, settings become mostly irrelevant. Grasshopper.

N

 

[bvanant]

Here is an after and before shot (click on either one to enlarge), with a simple levels adjustment. A bit different but maybe TOO processed for some folks taste. You have indeed gotten some good advice here. If you are going to shoot manual take Nemrod's advice. Stick with a shutter speed that won't blur your subjects like 1/125 sec. Stick with an aperture that gives you good DOF like f5.6 or f8. Then adjust your exposure with your strobe power. If you can't get your pics bright enough with your strobe at full power at these settings you can increase your ISO or get a better strobe. In any case I think you will be much more productive as a photographer by sticking with a group of settings and learn to use them well. I would also recommend setting up a nice flower on your kitchen table and practice, practice practice to get a sense of what all those settings are doing.

Bill

 

[Nemrod]

Stick with a shutter speed that won't blur your subjects like 1/125 sec. Stick with an aperture that gives you good DOF like f5.6 or f8. Then adjust your exposure with your strobe power. If you can't get your pics bright enough with your strobe at full power at these settings you can increase your ISO or get a better strobe. In any case I think you will be much more productive as a photographer by sticking with a group of settings and learn to use them well.

Bill

Yeah, what he said, I completely failed to hit on using the strobe to adjust your subject exposure and camera settings (particularly f stop) for your background--as desired.

N

 

[mantababe]

edited as hadnt read replies fully

 

[mantababe]

thanks guys you have really helped, your replies were just want i needed. bvanant that was really helpful as your "after" photo looks very much like bfs type and yes i agree i can now see it looks bit too over processed. ps are you trying to sell a table on ebay..hence free advert lol

nemrod your comments are very valid and thanks [your so right bout not competing with bf luckily hes not on here, so im totally safe with what i say lol ] the conditions we dive in over here are very much as you pointed out except they are not deep dives usually below 10mets, but yes the water is low light, murky water, suspended particles, with swell which doesnt help.

i did not realise that lens often dont work as well being fully open so that is something to bear in mind, however, how you work nemrod ie ss i25 and then choosen the fstops is how i had been shooting [usually setting it to f8, the different F.stops were usually when i was trying out different DoF], but i then find out the SS settings have changed and this is usually after ive taken lot more photos [and i havent changed the settings myself] the only thing i can think is that it is down to the swell and the way i hold my camera [right hand which is right next to the rear wheel, and thus my fingers inadvertently nudge the wheel???]. i must admit i dont tend to look at what settings were used post process so i didnt realise they were all so different [underwater at some point i notice they have changed but i realise now i need to keep a better eye on this ]

ISO...thats the same as SS in that it changes... i set it on 100 then at some point later [sometimes not until after the dive] i noticed its changed???? dont know if this happens when the camera is turned off as i certainly couldnt change that by accident, so again this is something i need to be aware with. i might go up to 200 in our waters but not usually any higher.

and nemrod ive been using manual coz ive wanted to, ive done some land courses and wanted to transfer what i learnt there underwater ie manual
and as for the strobe i could do with a more powerful one but first thing to change will be the bendy arm for a longer ULC set up which should help??

below is a photo [of six pictures in one photo] taken in egypt most on a night dive, just to show that i can sometimes produce reasonable ones lol [blenny taken with fuji ]
theresa_cloake01jpg.jpg photo - theresa cloake photos at pbase.com

and the link below are some more pics of mine some were taken with fuji f31 though
theresa cloake's Photo Galleries at pbase.com

right time to go and set up camera and kitchen table and maybe some plastic fish!