My first "non-family" set....

[misstwinklytoes]

I'm not sure why everyone is under the impression that I asked for money for these?...

Usually when someone says the client was happy with the pictures, it's pretty obvious that it's a direct reflection of the clients expectations? Right? Does saying the client was happy mean that I'm automatically thinking I'm great? No.

I'm well aware that some of these were soft. I am aware of the shutter speed being too low. (Hind sight is 20/20.) I have looked at these (and the ones I deleted) and learned. Yay. Go me!

There is a big difference in what you see here (and on flick, cause yeah, they're the same image) and what the high res pictures look like. Why? I don't know? I don't normally resize before uploading, but I did this time. Maybe I'm not good at resizing and keeping quality. Or maybe because I used PSP7 to do it this time instead of PSP10.

I do want advice to fix what I've got going wrong. I've worked on the sharpness. I've gotten better and all of that, I'm not great, I'm improving and I'm okay with that for only having been shooting for less than 4 months.

What a weird comment from mishele:

Yes, it is just easier to push the blame. I thought she might jump on the chance.

What's the point of that? Do you often read threads just to see if people will jump on the chance to :hug:: you back? :lmao:

I'm aware of the fact that there's nothing wrong with my camera (other than I'm still learning it) and even if I did want to blame it on the equipment I wouldn't need you to encourage me to do so. I'd have done it to begin with and I sure wouldn't have posted the EXIF data for people to tell me I was wrong.

 

[ababysean]

Do you back button focus or focus and recompse. It is pretty easy to see where the focus is in every pic you post, and it is nto on the eyes, but it is pretty much in the direct line of where the focus is.
What is your camera set on focus mode?
I also wonder again what your F-Stop was set on, because that makes a big difference in focus as well.

 

[misstwinklytoes]

Yes, back button focus and recompose. Focus mode is one shot auto focus. Fstop is in the OP.

 

[gsgary]

Yes, back button focus and recompose. Focus mode is one shot auto focus. Fstop is in the OP.

Do you only use center focus point ?

 

[misstwinklytoes]

No, I use whatever point is closest to the eyes. (only one point, though)

 

[ababysean]

I think the problem with the photos is the recompose issue.
Moving slightly on the same plane or level, recompose works but when you have a curved subject it is going to also move the focus.
You can totally see this in the one with the boardwalk/fence. You focused on her eyes but then recomposed the shot and the focus then fell on the plane of the fence because that is closer to the lens.
Focus and recompose works, but there is a big debate on if it works well.

 

[Overread]

I generally only use focus + recompose when using my lenses with USM/HSM focusing motors - that is those that allow you to adjust the focus even when in AF mode (though of course only in one shot AF and not continuous otherwise I'd be fighting the lens motors). This allows on to make small adjustments to the focusing should recomposing move the plane of focus off the main subject. The other downside is noticing this problem since DSLR viewfinders are notoriously small (esp in the more entry level camera bodies) which makes it more tricky to in from out of focus.

 

[RauschPhotography]

No, I use whatever point is closest to the eyes. (only one point, though)

Try manually focusing and keeping your shutter speed high. I don't think you'll have such a problem anymore.

 

[Flash Harry]

Try using unsharp mask at each stage of your resizing for the web, if your already doing this then there is definitely something wrong somewhere in your workflow, whether you just don't get it, whether the camera is still selecting focus, whether you need faster shutter, deeper DOF or you have release priority selected, whatever, something is not right in your flow and you need to sort it before you do the wedding. I suggest you reset the camera to default, then select a single focus point, centre, lock it, then select aperture priority, no manual, stick it on autofocus, 200iso, no **** up modes, do this with your 50mm lens, go out on a bright sunny day open the lens to 2.8, your shutter speed should be quite high, take some portraits, close the lens a stop, take some more, another stop, take some more, another, take some more and again, you should now be at f8 and 1/60-1/250, fast enough, ideally anything over 1/100 should rule out camera shake. Load them into the computer and examine them at 100%, if any are soft like these you then need to think what you did, are you wobbling about when shooting, are you locking focus then stepping backwards or forwards before following through on the shutter are you swaying back or fore, correct stance is just as important as any other thing but something is very wrong with your methods/settings/stance/modes etc which you need to rule out well before you turn up at someones wedding to make a mess of it. H

 

[Flash Harry]

No, I use whatever point is closest to the eyes. (only one point, though)

Try manually focusing and keeping your shutter speed high. I don't think you'll have such a problem anymore.

I've seen two answers by you, both were idiotic, this girl is a complete novice who can't get to grips with autofocus and you suggest manual, go play with the traffic. H

 

[misstwinklytoes]

I only have one step to resizing for the web. And no, I didn't unsharp it. As I said, this may be where some of the image quality is lost because I don't know how to do it.

I don't try to wobble around and no I don't step/lean back or forth after focusing.

The bride has seen my work and knows what to expect. As long as I'm not going backwards I won't "make a mess of it". I've improved since I told her I would do it and sure that makes me happy. Hopefully I continue to do so from now until then.

 

[Flash Harry]

No, I use whatever point is closest to the eyes. (only one point, though)

Lens are sharpest, any lens, in the centre, use the centre point to focus, lock it, recompose, shoot, get sharp pictures. H

 

[gsgary]

No, I use whatever point is closest to the eyes. (only one point, though)

The center focus point is the strongest it is the only point i use on any of my cameras 1Dmk2's and 5D and never had any problems and before that my old 10D, also the 50mmF1.8 is not that great at auto focusing

 

[Derrel]

I'm not sure why everyone is under the impression that I asked for money for these?...

Usually when someone says the client was happy with the pictures, it's pretty obvious that it's a direct reflection of the clients expectations? Right? Does saying the client was happy mean that I'm automatically thinking I'm great? No.

I'm well aware that some of these were soft. I am aware of the shutter speed being too low. (Hind sight is 20/20.) I have looked at these (and the ones I deleted) and learned. Yay. Go me!

There is a big difference in what you see here (and on flick, cause yeah, they're the same image) and what the high res pictures look like. Why? I don't know? I don't normally resize before uploading, but I did this time. Maybe I'm not good at resizing and keeping quality. Or maybe because I used PSP7 to do it this time instead of PSP10.

I do want advice to fix what I've got going wrong. I've worked on the sharpness. I've gotten better and all of that, I'm not great, I'm improving and I'm okay with that for only having been shooting for less than 4 months.

What a weird comment from mishele:

Yes, it is just easier to push the blame. I thought she might jump on the chance.

What's the point of that? Do you often read threads just to see if people will jump on the chance to :hug:: you back? :lmao:

I'm aware of the fact that there's nothing wrong with my camera (other than I'm still learning it) and even if I did want to blame it on the equipment I wouldn't need you to encourage me to do so. I'd have done it to begin with and I sure wouldn't have posted the EXIF data for people to tell me I was wrong.

You have been shooting photos for less than four months??? And you're going to shoot somebody's wedding with a kit zoom and Canon 's dismal 50/1.8 Mark II...wow...and you cannot seem to get accurate focus on a standing-still teenage girl in her prom dress...and you KEEP insisting that there's some quality loss due to "uploading"....NO, no,no--the quality loss is because your focus is off AND you have subject movement because you seem to have absolutely no idea of what a safe shutter speed is.

I've been around the web since the 1990's...I can look at an image and spot problems with compression artifacts, bad re-sizing of images, and many other image faults. You say these images look pin-sharp on your computer. But sorry to say, 1,2,and 5 of this set are just flat-out rookie mistakes....there is no amount of re-sizing that would alleviate the fundamental flaws you're having.

I do not currently have your images up on my screen, but I do know that you botched the shoot badly. I can see it in the images. 1/60 second is a borderline safe speed with a 50mm lens, and f/2.8 is a very sketchy aperture to rely upon...it is too wide of an aperture to "rely" upon, unless you know exactly how and where to place the very limited depth of field it gives with a half-body figure from close range. Seriously...until you become better at handling the camera and focusing, you need to start jacking the ISO UP so that you get a safe shutter speed, and a depth of field band that is deep enough to cover your own mistakes. I am simply agog that somebody who has been shooting photos for four months is coming on here and disagreeing with the comments and advice of so many different people; how much can you have improved in 120 days? I have cheese in the fridge that is older than four months...it has improved slightly, but was already aged over one year when I bought it...

I'd suggest that with four months of active photography under your belt, you might want to stop defending out of focus images and blurred images as being the result of "uploading"...

 

[vtf]

I'm not sure why everyone is under the impression that I asked for money for these?...

Usually when someone says the client was happy with the pictures, it's pretty obvious that it's a direct reflection of the clients expectations? Right? Does saying the client was happy mean that I'm automatically thinking I'm great? No.

I'm well aware that some of these were soft. I am aware of the shutter speed being too low. (Hind sight is 20/20.) I have looked at these (and the ones I deleted) and learned. Yay. Go me!

There is a big difference in what you see here (and on flick, cause yeah, they're the same image) and what the high res pictures look like. Why? I don't know? I don't normally resize before uploading, but I did this time. Maybe I'm not good at resizing and keeping quality. Or maybe because I used PSP7 to do it this time instead of PSP10.

I do want advice to fix what I've got going wrong. I've worked on the sharpness. I've gotten better and all of that, I'm not great, I'm improving and I'm okay with that for only having been shooting for less than 4 months.

What a weird comment from mishele:

Yes, it is just easier to push the blame. I thought she might jump on the chance.

What's the point of that? Do you often read threads just to see if people will jump on the chance to :hug:: you back? :lmao:

I'm aware of the fact that there's nothing wrong with my camera (other than I'm still learning it) and even if I did want to blame it on the equipment I wouldn't need you to encourage me to do so. I'd have done it to begin with and I sure wouldn't have posted the EXIF data for people to tell me I was wrong.

You have been shooting photos for less than four months??? And you're going to shoot somebody's wedding with a kit zoom and Canon 's dismal 50/1.8 Mark II...wow...and you cannot seem to get accurate focus on a standing-still teenage girl in her prom dress...and you KEEP insisting that there's some quality loss due to "uploading"....NO, no,no--the quality loss is because your focus is off AND you have subject movement because you seem to have absolutely no idea of what a safe shutter speed is.

I've been around the web since the 1990's...I can look at an image and spot problems with compression artifacts, bad re-sizing of images, and many other image faults. You say these images look pin-sharp on your computer. But sorry to say, 1,2,and 5 of this set are just flat-out rookie mistakes....there is no amount of re-sizing that would alleviate the fundamental flaws you're having.

I do not currently have your images up on my screen, but I do know that you botched the shoot badly. I can see it in the images. 1/60 second is a borderline safe speed with a 50mm lens, and f/2.8 is a very sketchy aperture to rely upon...it is too wide of an aperture to "rely" upon, unless you know exactly how and where to place the very limited depth of field it gives with a half-body figure from close range. Seriously...until you become better at handling the camera and focusing, you need to start jacking the ISO UP so that you get a safe shutter speed, and a depth of field band that is deep enough to cover your own mistakes. I am simply agog that somebody who has been shooting photos for four months is coming on here and disagreeing with the comments and advice of so many different people; how much can you have improved in 120 days? I have cheese in the fridge that is older than four months...it has improved slightly, but was already aged over one year when I bought it...

I'd suggest that with four months of active photography under your belt, you might want to stop defending out of focus images and blurred images as being the result of "uploading"...

I expected better than insults for a frustrated beginner. :thumbdown: