I shoot raw as well. 30-40MB? What kind of camera do you have? I thought that raw should give you an image that's approx the same size as the megapixels of the camera. IE, my Canon is 8.0 or 8.1, and my images are usually between 7.0 and 8.9

This one is so under-exposed, it'll be hard to fix. Also, since it's jpg and not raw, that'll make it even harder to fix.

If I had the raw image to work with it would have come out a lot better. Not only is this a jpg, but it's also only 18k which means that a lot of the detail has already been lost to the compression algorithm. The better the image that you start with, the better the end result.

Here's about the best that I could do with it. I'm far from a pro. I just tinker, novice at best really.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1198622018.jpg

Steve,
Thanks for the effort. I just wanted to show that software can only compensate so far. As in film, the elements of an image must be recorded in order to enhance it. Software solutions only go so far.

Minimum threshold light for proper exposure is the solution. Bracket if in doubt.

Sherwood

BTW, that's me (far left) sitting next to my son at my niece's wedding.

Fix:
Get a Nikon associated flash. Use a bounce or diffuser and you should be fine.
Get the best lens you can afford. Hopefully a fixed 2.8 or better.
Get a good filter (protection).
Use a lower ASA/ISO setting for 100 or 200.

Existing light is great, but for people shots, you really need people to pose and a tripod, etc...

FWIW, the last 2 nights I ended up using the D200 pop-up flash in CLS "commander" mode with an remote SB-600 bounced off the ceiling. It worked far better than the camera-mounted SB-600 I used last year. I have an SB-800 on the way so I can try some true multiple-flash stuff next.

Merry Christmas everybody...