Little C&C please

[RicJoe]

I took these on the weekend, like them very much and feel it is the best quality wise I have taken so far. There was this nice shady section with the sun shining in the back ground. Just looking for comments on how I did over all with lighting, composure and setting choices. I was trying different settings to see what I could come up with.

1. Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi, F/11, Exposure 1/15, ISO 100 Focal 110

2. Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi, F/4.5, Exposure 1/1000, ISO 100 Focal 110

3. Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi, F/4.5, Exposure 1/1000, ISO 100 Focal 110

 

[Stradawhovious]

The setting is nice, but the fence kind of ruins it for me. Personally I would have gone for a shallower DOF to try to erase it. In the second and third pic, the DOF is more shallow, and the fence is much less distracting in those. I would have closed it in even a little more.

FWIW, I'm not a professional fotografer, so feel free to disregard my .02.

 

[RicJoe]

I am reading Understanding Exposure and it was suggested to find a shady spot and take pictures at different fstops to show how it changes. So in a way seeing the fence and then it going out of focus and you noticing, that is good.

Thank you for the response as that is what I was hoping to hear, I am off Friday and want to hit downstown and shoot some of our monuments. I find when there are loved ones involved in your pictures people hang there head and think "gaaahhhh, another one" and I completly understand that

Any helpful advice on do's and don'ts for photographing statues and monuments would be great?

 

[starcluster]

Yes! i too agree about the fence and also the the tree that it was behind it, so i would also prefer the second and the third shots..
well done : )

 

[tirediron]

C&C << Izzat little enough?

Okay, now that that is out of the way, I think aside from your choice of background, the other main issue is that the subject is under-exposed. Remember that when you have a dark subject area with [relatively] bright backlighting you generally need to use spot or centre-weighted metering to get the best exposure. As well, watch your settings; 1/15 of a second is generally at least two stops too slow to safely hand-hold, and to ensure maximum sharpness and freezing of minor movement, keep it at 1/125 or higher.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[Vinny]

I don't see an underexposed subject but an overexposed background.

I'm impressed that you are taking the book and using it as a text book and trying what you're reading. That's a great way to learn IMO and you should do that with your camera and its manual if you haven't done so already.

I agree with the shutter speed especially when you are talking about a larger focal length. Remember that for sharp photos the "rule" is 1/focal length minimum. You may not be there yet but to make this photo better I would have exposed for the background properly and used the flash for fill in.

But at least you are experimenting and trying what you are reading!

 

[oldmacman]

I can see that you have made an effort with composition and what you have done is good. Next steps would be to get the correct exposure and white balance. This little edit also shows what controlling DOF could achieve. I don't recommend that you go back and do this in post processing, but show you as a means of what to go for the next time you have an undesirable setting.

What the edit addresses:
- colour correction to remove the yellow cast. I am guessing you had your WB set to shade.
- a bit of sharpening
- adjust exposure for good skin tones.

The coat goes from brown to dark grey (black?) with good skin colour. What is the original colour of the coat?
Original:

Edit:

 

[RicJoe]

I don't see an underexposed subject but an overexposed background.

I'm impressed that you are taking the book and using it as a text book and trying what you're reading. That's a great way to learn IMO and you should do that with your camera and its manual if you haven't done so already.

I agree with the shutter speed especially when you are talking about a larger focal length. Remember that for sharp photos the "rule" is 1/focal length minimum. You may not be there yet but to make this photo better I would have exposed for the background properly and used the flash for fill in.

But at least you are experimenting and trying what you are reading!

It's funny but in "Understanding Exposure" he states you read the manual to find out where the "M" setting is and throw it away, I did not do this. I carry the book and manual with me and read it on the bus,break,lunch and when my Daughter is at her events.

Okay, now that that is out of the way, I think aside from your choice of background, the other main issue is that the subject is under-exposed. Remember that when you have a dark subject area with [relatively] bright backlighting you generally need to use spot or centre-weighted metering to get the best exposure. As well, watch your settings; 1/15 of a second is generally at least two stops too slow to safely hand-hold, and to ensure maximum sharpness and freezing of minor movement, keep it at 1/125 or higher.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

The little c&c

Your $00.02 is appreciated. I like the background and when I get better I want to take my kid back and take it again . I used a tripod, my wife thinks it is a new arm I take it everywhere! I will have to read up on using the metering settings.

I have read the 3 first chapters 3 or 4 time, we get dark so early now that I want to remember as much as possible before going out this weekend, seen a boulder in a park I want to shoot Friday.

 

[RicJoe]

I can see that you have made an effort with composition and what you have done is good. Next steps would be to get the correct exposure and white balance. This little edit also shows what controlling DOF could achieve. I don't recommend that you go back and do this in post processing, but show you as a means of what to go for the next time you have an undesirable setting.

What the edit addresses:
- colour correction to remove the yellow cast. I am guessing you had your WB set to shade.
- a bit of sharpening
- adjust exposure for good skin tones.

The coat goes from brown to dark grey (black?) with good skin colour. What is the original colour of the coat?
Original:

Edit:

I never cease to be amazed what you all can do in post processing :thumbup:

Yes I had white balance on, the jacket is dark brown.

 

[oldmacman]

Yes I had white balance on, the jacket is dark brown.

It can be tricky getting the right colour when you don't know what the original colours are. I like the skin tones in the first edit, but would this be closer to the coat colour then?

 

[davisphotos]

I think the lighting looks nice, the composition needs some help. The second one would be pretty good cropped to just her arms and head-it gets rid of the fence and gives an overall better comp.

 

[Vinny]

Well, I've read the book as well and I learned some things but you really need to learn how your camera operates. I went from a film SLR that I got in 1980 to a DSLR that I recently got (stopped photography for a long time) and the DSLR is much harder to use due to all the functions it has. I touched something and I spot metered, touched something else and it changed it's auto focus point ... I had no clue what I was touching!

One of the great features of digital that it costs you next to nothing to take a photo unlike the film days. And you get instant results.

 

[RicJoe]

Well, I've read the book as well and I learned some things but you really need to learn how your camera operates. I went from a film SLR that I got in 1980 to a DSLR that I recently got (stopped photography for a long time) and the DSLR is much harder to use due to all the functions it has. I touched something and I spot metered, touched something else and it changed it's auto focus point ... I had no clue what I was touching!

One of the great features of digital that it costs you next to nothing to take a photo unlike the film days. And you get instant results.

I have to clear my recycle bin after I download the images from one session. I bought a 32 gig SD card (mind you it was on sale) so I go nuts every time. I think using the word C&C in my title may be misleading but not sure what would be more appropriate. Right now I am looking for critique on what ever chapter I happen to be on. At this point it is exposure and DOF. Going downtown Friday and can hopefully take pictures of our cities awesome core, will be more interesting hopefully for people to look at

With the advice I have been receiving, I hope I can show that I am reading it all