Magicians Hat - C&C PLEASE

[istaycrisp]

Hi All,

Got this shot of a street performer the other day and I really like it, I know there are aspects of it that are 'not quite right' but overall I think that it captured the moment quite well. I wish that my equipment was good enough to allow me to have gotten some 'bokeh' on the crowd which would've resulted in the hat being a lot more prominent, and also his right hand is slightly out of focus. I'd love to see what you guys think...

 

[Foxx]

Nice action shot! The guy just to the left of the magician's head has a priceless expression.

I don't think you used the term bokeh correctly in this situation, though who knows I am a noob too and maybe I don't understand it fully either haha.

I do know, however, that if you want objects that are relatively close together to be more distinctly seperated(narrow DoF on the subject) you can always step back and zoom in more with your lens.

All in all, a good snapshot :thumbup:

 

[Stradawhovious]

What was your gear/settings?

 

[istaycrisp]

Thanks Foxx,

As far as I'm aware 'bokeh' is the Japanese word for the blurred area in an out of focus area of a shot, or something to that effect! Unfortunately I was already zoomed in quite a bit and on my crappy Point & Shoot I have no control over aperture so I was out of ideas Really appreciate the feedback!

 

[480sparky]

What was your gear/settings?

Camera Maker: SAMSUNG
Camera Model: SAMSUNG PL200/VLUU PL200
Image Date: 2011-06-04 20:27:02 (no TZ)
Focal Length: 21.8mm (35mm equivalent: 121mm)
Aperture: f/4.9
Exposure Time: 0.0045 s (1/224)
ISO equiv: 80
Exposure Bias: none
Exposure: program (Auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No
Color Space: sRGB
GPS Coordinate: undefined, undefined
Copyright: Copyright 2010

 

[istaycrisp]

What was your gear/settings?

Hi, thanks for looking! I'm currently using a Samsung PL200 Point and Shoot, I have control over ISO, exposure bias, and White balance but unfortunately no control over aperture and shutter speed! The camera automatically set me at 1/224s and f/4.9, I reckon approx. f/3 would've given me a nice bit of blur on the crowd...?

 

[Gaerek]

Thanks Foxx,

As far as I'm aware 'bokeh' is the Japanese word for the blurred area in an out of focus area of a shot, or something to that effect!

It doesn't refer to the blurred area itself, it refers to the quality of the blurred area. Bokeh is essentially a descriptor of the blurred area, not a name for the blurred area. Granted, most people understand what you're getting at when you use it in that way, but it;s technically not the proper way to use it.

And as far as the image itself, it would have been great if the background was either more OOF, or less busy.

 

[480sparky]

Hi, thanks for looking! I'm currently using a Samsung PL200 Point and Shoot, I have control over ISO, exposure bias, and White balance but unfortunately no control over aperture and shutter speed! The camera automatically set me at 1/224s and f/4.9, I reckon approx. f/3 would've given me a nice bit of blur on the crowd...?

Assuming the lens is focused at 10', the DOF the image was taken at would be roughly 8-14 feet. If you were able to open up to f/3.3 (the spec from Samsung's website), the DOF would still be just 9-12½ feet. It would have blurred the background more, but I doubt it would be enough to keep the background from being a distraction.

 

[The_Traveler]

Hi All,
1) I really like it, and overall I think that it captured the moment quite well.
2) I wish that my equipment was good enough to allow me to have gotten some 'bokeh'

1) If you want honest opinion, don't tell what your feelings are, that prejudices any response.
IMO, this is a candid shot of no particular photographic value for a variety of reasons - the moment itself is just a hat in mid-air, the colors are rather drab, the sharpness is just ok and the background is very intrusive.

2) This is the major issue with P&S.
It is virtually impossible to isolate the foreground from the background by managing aperture.
If this shot is sharp enough and you have the PPing skills you could de-focus the background but, imo, the end result may not be the magical image you expect.
You have to do one of three things; either accept the limitations of your equipment and find subjects/content that you can capture reasonably well, get better equipment or accept that you can't pursue photography as a hobby at the level you would like.

 

[istaycrisp]

It doesn't refer to the blurred area itself, it refers to the quality of the blurred area.

Thanks for clearing that one up Gaerek!

 

[istaycrisp]

Hi Traveller,

Thanks for your comment and yes I totally agree! In all honesty I knew that my camera wouldn't b able to capture the shot that I wanted but being new to this I wanted to try it anyway!! I am going to continue using my current equipment and hopefully within the next few months funds will allow me to move on to something bigger and better! As far as the subject matter I honestly believe that the same shot with a beautiful blur on the crowd and a crystal clear magician would b a great shot!

 

[KmH]

Gaerek failed to mention that in the context you used the word bokeh, you were in fact refering to depth-of-field (DOF), or more specifiically a shallow DOF.

 

[Geaux]

The right hand isn't OOF, it's a case of motion blur. (I know, it can still be considered oof, but the cause of this oof is due to slow shutter.)

Personally, I think the hat gets lost in the crowd too much. I also realized there isn't much you could do to prevent that, so its good for the equipment you had and situation.

 

[KmH]

Photograpahy is all about the light. Strobed light (flash) would have helped separate the magician from the background. I did a quick and dirty edit, so he and the hat are not accurately selected. I added a lens blur, increased the exposure on him and the hat, while reducing the exposure on the background. The now blurred background elements are still distracting, just not quite as much so. The hat is probematic, because the dark background elements behind it make it tend to get a bit lost.

 

[istaycrisp]

Photograpahy is all about the light. Strobed light (flash) would have helped separate the magician from the background. I did a quick and dirty edit, so he and the hat are not accurately selected. I added a lens blur, increased the exposure on him and the hat, while reducing the exposure on the background. The now blurred background elements are still distracting, just not quite as much so. The hat is probematic, because the dark background elements behind it make it tend to get a bit lost.

Hi KmH,

Thanks for getting involved! Your edit definitely emphasises that a nice bit of blur would've really enhanced the shot but I think that you're right, the background is a bit distracting either way! To be honest I am not amazing at PP but apart from slight colour and lighting tweaks I don't really like altering the dynamics of a shot too much anyway! I would've loved to have been able to get the effect but I guess that when I am at a better level of photography it'll be good to look back at shots such as this one thanks again!