Hercshel, Try to stay away from the in-camera sharpening feature. Do any changes you need in PhotoShop. This feature is known to cause more noise, larger files and takes away your control. Also, learn you WB controls. They are one of the best features in the digital realm. If your rebel is like my gear, you should be able to pick the WB that corresponds to the conditions, for example "clouds." Then you can minus or plus that setting toward the warm or cooler light temperatures. You will find this is far better than manual as these features can bring the color temps closer to reality than changing your f/stops. Try this one, shoot the light coming from inside your house at night, being reflected in the snow. You have incandescent light reflected on white snow with dark (daylight) shadows. If you simply shoot it for incandescent, your shadows will be very blue. If you shoot for daylight, your lighting is too warm. If you shoot in WB = incandescent or cloudy, minus 3, you lose the coolness of the shadows, and the shot looks more natural. Take care, Gregory david Stempel FIREFRAMEi m a g i n g www.americanphotojournalist.com
