Lisa’s Photos
- Thread starter Lisa Zee
- Start date
Blue439
New member
Your photo is mostly good. The eye is sharp, the bokeh is soft and nice-looking. There is a problem with overexposure on the white feathers on the back of the neck which you may be able to recover, at least partly, if you shot in RAW. Was it the case? If you shot in JPEG only, then there isn’t much you will be able to do...
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Clovishound
Senior Member
I particularly like the deep red eye in contrast with the black feathers.
Clovishound
Senior Member
As a piggyback on the other thread, I see you have these posted at 1000 pixels, and the metadata is in the file. 
I notice that your flower picture was taken at F5.6 1/1000 sec ISO 100. These are all reasonable settings and the image is sharp.
The cat picture (nice cat, by the way) was again, shot at F/22 with a high ISO of 9000 and a slower shutter speed of 1/200 compared to your bird photo. I'm beginning to wonder if you are choosing a wider aperture, but the lens is "stuck" on F/22. This image is likely in focus, but is not terribly sharp, probably due to camera shake with a 1/200 sec shutter speed. At 600mm I would probably choose a minimum of 1/500 sec handheld, unless I knew my camera's In Body Image Stabilization could handle lower, and my steady camera holding skills were up to a lower shutter speed.
I notice that your flower picture was taken at F5.6 1/1000 sec ISO 100. These are all reasonable settings and the image is sharp.
The cat picture (nice cat, by the way) was again, shot at F/22 with a high ISO of 9000 and a slower shutter speed of 1/200 compared to your bird photo. I'm beginning to wonder if you are choosing a wider aperture, but the lens is "stuck" on F/22. This image is likely in focus, but is not terribly sharp, probably due to camera shake with a 1/200 sec shutter speed. At 600mm I would probably choose a minimum of 1/500 sec handheld, unless I knew my camera's In Body Image Stabilization could handle lower, and my steady camera holding skills were up to a lower shutter speed.
Clovishound
Senior Member
In regards to the cat picture, the biggest issue was the aperture. If you had opened it up to F/8, that would have dropped the ISO to 1125. Then you have to address the shutter speed. Either steady things up with a tripod, or brace your elbows on something solid. The other thing that helps is to take lots of shots when the shutter speed is sketchy. Chances are, unless you are way too low, one or two will be sharp. If need be, choose a higher shutter speed and deal with the noise from a high ISO. Noise can be cleaned up with editing software, although best resolution is at lowest ISO. There's no free lunch. You need plenty of light to be able to stop down, have a high shutter speed and low ISOs. If plenty of light isn't an option you have to pay with one or more of the three, and choose what will give the least issues. It's not that complicated, but you have to become somewhat comfortable with the exposure triangle and what each of the three does.
It is also helpful to practice good shooting technique, breath control, slow easy press of the shutter button, bracing your body etc. Also, make sure your vibration reduction is on.
BF Hammer
Senior Member
Forgive me for uninvited criticism. In general, it is easier in post-production editing to make a dark photo lighter than it is to make a light photo darker. Once detail is lost in a light-colored area, it cannot be recovered. So aim for being a little dark if you are not afraid to correct it later.
The f-stop is your control for the focus depth of field as well as exposure. Lenses often are at their sharpest at or around f/8 (near the middle of the scale). Straying far from there is going to compromise something in the image. So I think the cat at f/22 is extreme, it might have worked easily at f/11 or f/13. It would have brought down that ISO for less noise. I think you got the right depth of field for the flowers, but it is exposed for the entire frame when using a spot-exposure on the white-ish flowers might of nailed this photo. Remember, a bit too-dark is better than a bit too-bright. What I mean about the metering is you are using Matrix metering (and I use this most of the time myself) which averages the entire frame in an algorithm to expose things. Spot metering measures the exposure around a single spot in the frame and references the entire photo exposure to that spot. So the flowers being the focus spot and the exposure spot would have made it all darker, and also recorded the details of the petals better. In post you can adjust the brightness or overall exposure a bit as required.
The f-stop is your control for the focus depth of field as well as exposure. Lenses often are at their sharpest at or around f/8 (near the middle of the scale). Straying far from there is going to compromise something in the image. So I think the cat at f/22 is extreme, it might have worked easily at f/11 or f/13. It would have brought down that ISO for less noise. I think you got the right depth of field for the flowers, but it is exposed for the entire frame when using a spot-exposure on the white-ish flowers might of nailed this photo. Remember, a bit too-dark is better than a bit too-bright. What I mean about the metering is you are using Matrix metering (and I use this most of the time myself) which averages the entire frame in an algorithm to expose things. Spot metering measures the exposure around a single spot in the frame and references the entire photo exposure to that spot. So the flowers being the focus spot and the exposure spot would have made it all darker, and also recorded the details of the petals better. In post you can adjust the brightness or overall exposure a bit as required.
Blue439
New member
Oh, all right... but then, in my “Dr. Temperance Brennan” manner, what should I do about the photo above? Simply praise, and otherwise remain silent? Genuine/naive question.With due respect to my fellow Nikonites, it has kind of always been understood on this forum that critiques should only be given if asked for by the original poster. If Lisa is okay with it, then no problem, but I thought I'd mention this.
Lisa Zee
New member
I picked up a camera for the first time two months ago. So I’m still learning. I wasn’t expecting CC when created my page but I guess I need it. So go ahead.Oh, all right... but then, in my “Dr. Temperance Brennan” manner, what should I do about the photo above? Simply praise, and otherwise remain silent? Genuine/naive question.
Thanks @Woodyg3 for pointing this out
Clovishound
Senior Member
For my .02 worth, I think that for only 2 months under your belt, you are doing very well.
The more you practice, the better you will get.
The more you practice, the better you will get.
Lisa Zee
New member
Thank you Clovishound
Blue439
New member
Everyone needs it. There is always something that one could have done better. And I'm not talking artistically, because in that field, it's strictly a matter of personal, subjective opinion.I picked up a camera for the first time two months ago. So I’m still learning. I wasn’t expecting CC when created my page but I guess I need it. So go ahead.
Thanks @Woodyg3 for pointing this out
So, technically, your photo of the little bird is generally good. Most of the EXIF seem to have been stripped off, so there isn't much I can tell as to the causes, but the first result I see is that the background could have been blurred more. It is not bad, yet it feels cluttered and distracts a bit from the main subject. Concerning the latter, I see two things. First, you were not truly at subject level and that is a bit detrimental to the final result. I say "a bit", because you were in fact not very far from eye level, and that's good. Second, the subject is too centered, and here I admit is it "according to my taste" as well. Generally, though, it is recommended to leave some more space in the direction the subject is looking, which would be the left of the frame in this case. Maybe you could re-frame a bit if you have enough pixels to crop in in your original TIFF file.
And finally, personally I would disappear the twig that's in the exact foreground and quite disturbing. But that's just personally. Otherwise, the image looks sharp and well exposed, and as I said above, is generally good.