Why do pics look great on my camera... then like poo on my computer?

The brightness of your LCD is probably set differently to how your monitor is, (mine does the same, the photos look bright on the LCD but are actually a little under exposed when I get them into photoshop) check http://www.epaperpress.com/monitorcal/ to make sure your monitor is calibrated correctly).

it's a shame you only have paint because tbh there's very little you can do with it, if you had photoshop or paintshop pro or the like you'd be able to adjust the brightness (CS2 actually lets you tweak your exposure too so if you're just a stop or two out you can correct it easily but even a few basic tweaks with the brightness/contrast would help).
I'd say the lack of an image editing program is probably your biggest problem =/

Do you have any examples? we might be able to help a little more if so.

 

I would love to hear from some other Canon A550 owners. I love the camera, but the results I get from it are random at best.

 

Or you could search for free downloads like Gimp (I'm not sure how well it works for photo editing, but I know quite a few people use it for art!) to edit your photos with.

 

I think it's cause the camera screen is smaller then your computer screen..it always happens to me....

-Jessie

 

Generally that should only make a difference with focus, it happens to me a fair bit too if I'm not carefull. If your having trouble with things looking in focus on the LCD but not in computer check your settings, if your exposure drops above 1/60th you're in handshake territory, you can avoid this a number of ways, either get more light into the shot or set your iso higher, idealy you don't really want to go over 400 (the ideal is 100) since the higher it goes the more noise you're going to get but on the flip side you get faster exposures.

 

I have monitor problems too. My home monitor is very bright and my work monitor is dark and old and cannot go any brighter. I figure when I get a photo that is a it too bright at home and a bit too dark at work, I'm OK.

A couple of things to check are your lighting and your camera settings.

(general because I don't have the same camera as you)

Lighting -
I try to use a more foolproof lighting like soft diffused light on the front of the doll and a medium-tone background. A very light background can cause the camera's autoexposure to take a darker photo. And vice versa. And I never ever shoot my dolls with a window behind them (sure bet for dark dolls with auto exposure). My photos come out best in soft daylight coming through a sheer white curtain, or overcast daylight. Some people manage to get great photos on a white backdrop but they are probably using multiple photo lights or daylight all around.

Settings -
When you take a photo, make sure you don't see anything like -1 (or -2 -3 -4 etc) on the LCD or in the viewfinder. If you see that the exposure compensation has been accidentally pressed at some time and I believe those minus settings are used to darken photos. If you see that, check your manual and turn it off (set to 0). Also check your mode settings (if any) and make sure you are using the camera in a general purpose mode like Auto or Program mode (and not fireworks mode or snow mode or some other setting).

If EVERYONE's photos look dark, then it is probably your monitor. Try fiddling with the brightness and the contrast.

Carolyn

 

its not your camera. It is your screen.

You have to properly calibrate your monitor. That site mentioned above will help a bit but it wont totally solve your problems. unfortunately good calibration tools cost about $200. I have the luxury of being able to check them out at school.

 

While I do have photoshop, I don't suggest dishing out tons of money when you don't need to-- it's overrated, honestly.
If you only have paint to edit your photos, you may need to look into getting one of or both of these programs: The Gimp (for Windows!!) or Paint.Net

The Gimp can do literally EVERYTHING photoshop can do, it's just set up differently. It can even handle the same brushes, patterns and pallettes if you convert them.

Paint.Net is a solid program, but doesn't seem to have the same power of Gimp. It can still do the editing you would need to "fix" your pictures to your liking.

 

I have the same problem.. they look amazing and once I upload them to my computer I can't get one that looks decent. I heard it was because the computer cant handle what megapixels the camera actually is.

 

To be honest that would have to be a VERY old and/or slow computer.