[photolady95]

First time capturing lighted Christmas tree. Color isn't what I wanted, and shadows are annoying. I tried adjusting in PSE 6, but still isn't what I really should be getting here. AWB was at fluorescent white light because we have fluorescent lights. Bright white ones. I used a tripod with a remote.

Questions:
1. Would flash interfere with lights?
2. Which AWB would you use?

[Postumus]

Thanks and Merry Christmas..........................
Looks like jaundice on the image.

Definitely a balance issue
Fix the WB or else/and

I find for poorly lit interiors:
Use an 80C filter
drop the red
and increase the blue during processing
and they can turn out quite well.

Season's Greetings!...............

[Miguel]

There is only one AWB--average white balance. Perhaps you are confusing this with white balance, and then the different types of white balance.

Was this shot in RAW or jpeg originally? I would have shot RAW with AWB and not used a flash, following an approach you did pretty much. But I would have killed the florescent lights and substituted other types for indirect or ambient light--just some small incandescent lamps in key locations may have helped.

That all said, I kinda like this photograph as is. It reminds me of an old Kodacolor print one may have found in a parent's drawer from 40 years ago.

M

[photolady95]

I find for poorly lit interiors:
Use an 80C filter
drop the red
and increase the blue during processing
and they can turn out quite well.

Since I shoot RAW, the controls on camera don't help except for WB. In PSE 6, I tried adjustments but that didn't work well either. Actually, this is the finished result of my trying to fix it.

You're right, Miquel,

I meant WB was set on what I said above. I didn't confuse anything, just typed before I thought.

I always shoot in RAW. This was also shot in the day time, so I had filtered sunlight and indoor lighting, plus the lighting from the lights on the tree.

And I did kind of like this as is because of the oldish look to it.

I'm still going to try again tomorrow without the over head lighting. But I don't own any lamps I could use for ambient lighting.

[photolady95]

Here's a fixed version:

[Postumus]

Much better.............though the original yellow shadows do look very mysterious and a bit ghostly.......................

[photolady95]

I don't normally have any problems with lighting inside, until this time. And Miquel, AWB never works/ed right for me so I try to avoid using that setting.

Postumus, the original would look better without the shadow, true enough. I do like the old look to it. Sort of reminds me of some photos I scanned last year that were taken in the 40s. Norman Rockwell look, sort of.

[Sparkle]

Maybe the best thing to do is move the tree forward, temporarly, so you can blur the background by low aperture (dof) and by reflecting your flash, or lighting, off the ceiling to get rid of the shadow.

[photolady95]

Can't move the tree, there isn't enough room to do that. And bouncing light off a yellowed ceiling won't help either. I didn't use flash on this shot. Though I thought about using my homemade extender/diffuser, I wasn't entirely comfortable with that thought, either.

I used f4.5 because another member said that's what he used for some Christmas lighting he shot, course he was outside at night. And I know what lower aperture means.

[Ash]

Yes, #2 is an improvement, though I'd have had it very slightly warmer (looks just a tad too cool) but otherwise as good as you'll get for the setting.

[Sparkle]

May try draping a white bed sheet over the drapes behind the tree and bracketing a few shots.

[photolady95]

Ash, thanks. I thought it looked still odd but didn't know it was the "too cool" reason.

sparkle, I'm not going to be doing anymore with this for now. It actually was just a test to see what the shot would look like, using slower shutter speeds with a tripod and the remote. I'm satisfied that the lights aren't wiggly blurs which is what used to happen when I tried shooting lights of any kind.