Baby Session - C&C

[tiffanylee]

1)

2)

3)

Thanks

 

[punch]

i think the first thing to work on is making sure your focus is correct. nothing else matters much if there isn't good focus.

 

[cgipson1]

Shot at F1.8 (don't tell me!) It's because you wanted pretty Bokeh.. and that is how the pro's do it... RIGHT?

What IDIOT is out on the Internet telling all these New Camera Owners to use the biggest aperture they have to try and shoot with, when they don't have a clue! The #1, Numero UNO, Biggest mistake we see with new people is that they just HAVE to shoot wide open!

BTW.. all your shots are out of focus (OOF) becuase you didn't have a big enough DOF (Depth of field) to cover your subject... not to mention you shot at 1/40 of a second.. probably handheld.. so you have camera blur also...... (why didn't you kick it up to 400 or 800, or even use FLASH?)

 

[punch]

if you use a nifty fifty on auto or P and you're indoors... it's nearly always going to default to 1.8... and it's the first time they're seeing that awesome DOF and blur and they keep going with it. we've all done it... that's how 1.8 gets to be the primary aperture used.

just takes time to learn.

 

[cgipson1]

if you use a nifty fifty on auto or P and you're indoors... it's nearly always going to default to 1.8... and it's the first time they're seeing that awesome DOF and blur and they keep going with it. we've all done it... that's how 1.8 gets to be the primary aperture used.

If you know how to read Exif data.. you will see she shot on MANUAL at F 1.8 at ISO 200... with shutters of 1/40 and 1/50!


EDIT: DDDDUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

And... NO.. we have not ALL done it! Even starting out way back when (1976) with a K1000 with real FILM.. I didnt shoot 1.8 unless I had a reason to.


Edit: Get an Exif reader.. google it... or go to http://www.photome.de

 

[punch]

manual, eh? i didn't look. and 1/40? ouch.

 

[blackrose89]

#1 is badly exposed and very dark. Wb looks off but that might just me be.
#2 I like the idea, but way too OOF and it feels like she is tilting to me.
#3 much better. Again I really like the idea and background looks great IMO, but unfortunately is still OOF.

I'm pretty new so take everything I say with a grain of salt!!!

 

[punch]

regardless, my explanation for how MOST new photographers end up at 1.8 stands. just because this one did it purposefully doesn't nullify what i said.

DUHHHHHHH.

 

[MLeeK]

1 is a bit underexposed and extremely contrasty/high on the blacks level. The moment is adorable. The over cooking of the eyes is a bit on the creepy side.
Focus actually fell on mom's eyelashes and not baby's eye.
2. Those christmas lights are freaking me out with a baby putting them in the mouth. That's NOT safe and NOT something you should be allowing. Your shutter speed was at 1/40. That's too slow to hand hold for still life, let alone an active little one. Because the shutter speed is so slow you have a completely out of focus image. You had plenty of room in ISO to go up so that you did not have to use a shutter speed that low. Your exposure looks good here. Composition is dead center and tilted to our right making us want to tilt it back some. Definitely had easy placement for rule of thirds as she is looking off to our left. A little negative space there would have allowed for perfect placement for exposure, a feeling that she is looking to something and great balance.
3. The eye to our left is a bit over brightened and looks like it's bugging out of her head because of it. It's slightly warm on the color, but not horribly so. Exposure is good. The entire thing is out of focus again which is a result of the same settings the last one was with. She's placed nicely for composition again, you just needed to back out a bit and allow for a bit more open space in the direction she is looking.

Rule of thumb for shutter speed:
If it is still life no slower than 1/80 (some teach 1/50) to hand hold
If it is alive and sits still no slower than 1/125
If it is alive and wiggles no slower than1/250 (toddlers and moving children)
If it is alive and runs like the wind no slower than 1/500 (sports like basketball or football)

Your aperture is also at f/1.8 in these. That will make your depth of field so incredibly shallow that if you hadn't had the camera shake and movement to deal with, you would have had most of your subject out of focus anyway. On top of that the lens is NOT it's sharpest at f/1.8. It's actually pretty tough to shoot at f/1.8 and achieve GOOD focus. Bump up to a minimum of f/2.8 with that lens. You will still get the shallow depth of field and some nice bokeh, but your subject will be much sharper. Use an appropriate shutter speed and don't be afraid to raise your ISO to accommodate it.

 

[Natalie]

I think a lot of new photographers shoot with very large apertures because they are afraid of bumping up their ISO for fear of it creating noise. Consequently, we see a lot of shots posted at f/1.8-f/2.8 with ridiculously low shutter speeds and the almost inevitable results of that (at least for new photographers), motion blur and out-of-focus subjects.

 

[cgipson1]

manual, eh? i didn't look. and 1/40? ouch.

hahaha... that tells me you didn't even read my post.. since I put that in there! lol! No hard feelings though.... I just get so D*** tired of seeing that!

 

[PictureBox]

That looks terribly unsafe...christmas lights in a baby's mouth... dayum.

 

[punch]

manual, eh? i didn't look. and 1/40? ouch.

hahaha... that tells me you didn't even read my post.. since I put that in there! lol! No hard feelings though.... I just get so D*** tired of seeing that!

yea, i know HOW to look... i simply didn't.

i see it's the number one issue for most people though... the 1.8. that lens is so inexpensive... if no one tells you wide open isn't fabulous. i can see why you're tired of giving that advice out.

 

[MrsLittle]

I rarely use 1.8 even though my lens is capable of it. At f4 I still get sharp images with great bokeh, as long is the subject is a few feet from the background.

 

[GeorgieGirl]

Ditto on the lights in the mouth. Yikes I am still freaking about it....