First night shot C&C

[tambrico]

Here's a photo I took of my cousin while we were hanging out a few days ago. Just wanted to see what you guys think of it and how I could have made it better.

I think it might be a little soft, and maybe I'd attribute that to camera shake since it was hand-held. What do you think?

 

[tirediron]

No EXIF data appended to the image, so I can't say for sure, but yes, I'd say camera shake due to low shutter speed is a very likely cause. The main issue with the image is the bright light just to the left of his head which is very distracting and draws the eye away. To be honest, this strikes me more as a shapshot rather than a planned photograph.

 

[UnderThePink]

Yeah....it's definitley too soft (out of focus) and the lighting is too orange. Nice rule of thirds though =)

 

[tambrico]

No EXIF data appended to the image, so I can't say for sure, but yes, I'd say camera shake due to low shutter speed is a very likely cause. The main issue with the image is the bright light just to the left of his head which is very distracting and draws the eye away. To be honest, this strikes me more as a shapshot rather than a planned photograph.

It was pretty much a snapshot, and to be honest I kinda like the way that light is there, but that's just me. Also, I'm not sure how to attach exif data, but I was shooting in aperture priority mode with an aperture of f/2.0 and shutter speed of 0.3 seconds at ISO 2000. My real question is what could I have done to make it sharper without the use of a tripod?

 

[tirediron]

My real question is what could I have done to make it sharper without the use of a tripod?

Since you were probably already close to your maximum ISO, your only option would be to add more light, as in: Flash.

 

[tambrico]

My real question is what could I have done to make it sharper without the use of a tripod?

Since you were probably already close to your maximum ISO, your only option would be to add more light, as in: Flash.

What are the downsides to using flash at night like that? Do you think changing the aperture to 2.2 with the same shutter speed in manual would have made much of a difference with the sharpness? I don't think a reduction that small would have made the photo underexposed.

This was kindof a one shot deal. He wasn't going to stand around while I played around with settings. Overall, I'd say I'm 70% satisfied with the way this photo came out. I'm just looking to get to the point where I can totally nail it on the first take. You mentioned before about how it looks like a snapshot rather than a planned photograph, and the more I think about it I'm not really sure what you meant by planned photograph. As someone who's looking to get into photography as a hobby, what really interests me is taking pictures of people in a more candid way, I guess; capturing photos of people's natural reactions to things (such as in this case, my cousin's natural reaction to me taking a photo of him) if that makes any sense. Now I realize there are certain types of photos that call for that, but in what I'm really interested in capturing, I don't really want to have to have people pose in a certain way for me. So I mean, I guess I can say that as of right now, I'm not really interested in taking "planned photographs" of people. I dunno, do you get what I'm trying to say?

 

[tirediron]

Once you learn how to do it, there aren't really any downsides, but it will take a little while to get those skills.

Since the blur in this image is motion-induced, no amount of aperture would help. The only way to have improved this would be to increase the shutter speed, which requires more light. Remember that 1/30 second is about as slow as most people can hand-hold a camera with a medium/normal zoom and still get a reasonably sharp image.

I understand what you mean, and candid shots are still planned; you're watching for the opportunity. As you're composing the shot, your brain is going through a checklist: Shutter-speed fast enough? Aperture shallow enough? ISO suitable? How is the background? Are there any distractions (such as the street-light)? This is all the sort of thing that comes with practice. A LOT of practice. Shoot lots, post lots and shoot some more!