Vincent First steps

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Vincent

Senior Member
Hello,

Climatis-edited - Watermark - sml.jpg

My thoughts:
1) Need to leave more room around the subject.
2) Issue with depth of field, the subject has parts that are not sharp.

Any comments? Tricks to avoid issues in the future (e.g. the original was too dark, using all automatic)?
Should I keep one thread, or create a thread per picture?
Best way to include pictures (e.g. embed or upload)?
 
D

Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
Vincent said:
Hello,

View attachment 44911

My thoughts:
1) Need to leave more room around the subject.
2) Issue with depth of field, the subject has parts that are not sharp.

Any comments? Tricks to avoid issues in the future (e.g. the original was too dark, using all automatic)?
Should I keep one thread, or create a thread per picture?
Best way to include pictures (e.g. embed or upload)?
Click to expand...

Start a thread in the 365 section for all your daily photos. It is a nice way for someone to see all your photos in one place. It is great for seeing how you are progressing as a photographer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
 
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mikew_RIP

Senior Member
Difficult to be sure but it looks like you may not have been square on to the flower,from a picture point of view it may be better sometimes not to be, if you are struggling with DOF though and the flower is fairly flat, square on could be better.

mike
 
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WhiteLight

Senior Member
You used the 50mm on this am guessing looking at your signature.
Could you provide Exif datat to see what your settings are?

It's always better to fill the frame with your subjects, but that can be subjective based on your composition.

Just straight off the bat, i notice a couple of things you can improve on-
a) the focus seems to be off somehow. even if you were to focus on the center of the flower (as you have) wide open, the DOF is not that thin in the 50mm.
b) seems a tad overexposed.. to be able to see the finer details on the petals of the folower etc, it's better to be slightly underexposed.. you get opportunity to work on it during PP
 
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Vincent

Senior Member
Thanks for the DOF examples and tricks (being square), it will help if I remember.:eek:

Exif data : was on auto: F/1,8 1/800s ISO-100 50mm(prime) 1,6 Maximum opening

* the focus seems to be off somehow => was also auto, it looked good in the viewer, it is certainly a point I need to train on.
* seems a tad overexposed.. to be able to see the finer details on the petals of the folower etc, it's better to be slightly underexposed
=> it was PP, where I normally do not do that, I just liked how it turned out, but have no clue what I was doing. I agree though: contrast improved but details were less clear.

detail - climatis.jpg
 
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Deezey

Senior Member
Vincent said:
Thanks for the DOF examples and tricks (being square), it will help if I remember.:eek:

Exif data : was on auto: F/1,8 1/800s ISO-100 50mm(prime) 1,6 Maximum opening

* the focus seems to be off somehow => was also auto, it looked good in the viewer, it is certainly a point I need to train on.
* seems a tad overexposed.. to be able to see the finer details on the petals of the folower etc, it's better to be slightly underexposed
=> it was PP, where I normally do not do that, I just liked how it turned out, but have no clue what I was doing. I agree though: contrast improved but details were less clear.

View attachment 44971
Click to expand...

F1.8 and 1/800's is pretty wide and fast for flowers. Also wide open is not the sharpest setting either. Stop down four or five stops to really start dialing in the sharper images.

I usually stop down to get my shutter speed into the mid 100' to low 200's. Just fast enough to freeze the breeze. Haven't had a flower run away yet! :D

Sent from my SCH-I405 using Tapatalk 2
 
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WhiteLight

Senior Member
Right... As deez just noted, the aperture is too wide which would result in a very shallow dof..
Also every lens has a minimum focus distance.. So if you get too close to your subject, the image won't be clear

Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk 2
 
wud

wud

Senior Member
Vincent said:
Hello,

View attachment 44911

My thoughts:
1) Need to leave more room around the subject.
2) Issue with depth of field, the subject has parts that are not sharp.

Any comments? Tricks to avoid issues in the future (e.g. the original was too dark, using all automatic)?
Should I keep one thread, or create a thread per picture?
Best way to include pictures (e.g. embed or upload)?
Click to expand...

Try photographing the flower with different apertures, to see what happens. Best way to learn. Also move back and forth, this also have a huge impact on the final image.

About the autofocus - you still have to control WHERE to focus, thats the one thing the camera cant do for you.

And last, the original was properly to dark, because you are shooting a bright flower against a somewhat dark background. Your camera may have been trying to compensate for this. Welcome to aaaall this stuff you have to think about before taking a picture :)

Your off to a good start.
 
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Vincent

Senior Member
Deezey said:
F1.8 and 1/800's is pretty wide and fast for flowers. Also wide open is not the sharpest setting either. Stop down four or five stops to really start dialing in the sharper images.

I usually stop down to get my shutter speed into the mid 100' to low 200's. Just fast enough to freeze the breeze. Haven't had a flower run away yet! :D
Click to expand...

You know it is pretty frustrating in the beginning, did I get it correct?
f1.8 is a fast lens, however when you use f1.8 you are using your fast lens in a wide setting.
1/800 is a fast shutter speed, you need a wide setting of your fast lens to do this in limited sunlight.
Stopping down a few stops is going to f4 - f5.6.

I guess I did buy the f1.8 to try f1.8, now seeing that this is not suitable for all situations, I was amazed with the Kodiak pictures, seeing their f settings.

@WhiteLight The lens does not focus at all on AF when you are too close, I noticed that. But you are right, I will have to learn to take a bit more distance anyway.

@wud thanks for the positive words. Indeed a lot to look into still, and I really should take the time to experiment, but I tend to be easily distracted.

P.S.: There are some great shots coming out :smug: of my experiments, but a lot is still quite frustrating :sulkiness:.
 
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Vincent

Senior Member
Sorry to triple post, but the content is different (had to install software to look at the Raw shots):

File Info
File: Harvest 2013 Side - watermark.JPG
Camera Info
Device: Nikon D7000
Lens: VR 70-200mm F/2.8G
Focal Length: 160mm
Focus Mode: AF-A
AF-Area Mode: Dynamic
VR: ON
AF Fine Tune: ON(0)
Exposure
Aperture: F/2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/6s
Exposure Mode: Manual
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Exposure Tuning:
Metering: Matrix
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 1250
Flash
Device:
Image Settings
White Balance: Auto1, 0, 0
Color Space: sRGB
High ISO NR: ON (Normal)
Long Exposure NR: OFF
Active D-Lighting: OFF
Auto Distortion Control: OFF
Picture Control
Picture Control: [SD] STANDARD
Base: [SD] STANDARD
Quick Adjust: 0
Sharpening: 3
Contrast: 0
Brightness: 0
Saturation: 0
Hue: 0

Harvest 2013 Side - watermark.jpg

It seems the best I could do (handheld supported by car). This one was shot in jpg.
I guess on these shots some movement is to be expected due to the slow shutter speed, somehow hope in races to have more light and probably try a monopod.
 
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Vincent

Senior Member
I´ll start a 365 thread after this.

Impossible to get get some kind of angle or overview without my superwide, it finally came into good use:

Ferrari California.jpg

Device: Nikon D7000
Lens: 11-16mm F/2.8G
Focal Length: 16mm
Focus Mode: Manual
AF-Area Mode: Single
Aperture: F/5
Shutter Speed: 1/400s
Exposure Mode: Manual
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Metering: Spot
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 100
White Balance: Auto1, 0, 0
Picture Control: [SD] STANDARD
Base: [SD] STANDARD
Quick Adjust: 0
Sharpening: 3
Contrast: 0
Brightness: 0
Saturation: 0
Hue: 0
 
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