Practicing :)

JeffieLove · Feb 28, 2011

Not sure what you will want to CC on this. I wasn't going for composition by any means. I was using just a plain clamp light (desk lamp type thing from walmart) with a daylight rated CFL bulb camera left and level with my daughter's face and a little bit in front of her. I am using back button focus (first time! I love it!) and I used exposure compensation at +0.6 on the second one. The first one is NOT using EC.

These are SOOC other than having the eyes brightened a little in post

1. ISO 200, f/1.8, 1/160, spot metering (could I have used a different metering option? Spot metering stays in the center of the frame, not the focal point). I had the focal point set to the far right which would have been on her left eye (camera right).

2. ISO 400, f/1.8, 1/100, spot metering. Everything else is the same. I don't understand why the shutter speed is lower on this when I upped the ISO... I had to up the ISO to get a shutter speed that I could handhold because I don't have my tripod right next to me... This is also the one that I used EC on... Duh, that's why the shutter speed is slower because I was using EC to get the image brighter so the shutter speed needs to be slower... Grr! I think it looks like her left eye (camera right) in this one is OOF which I am going to assume is a DOF thing and not a camera shake thing because her right eye (camera left) looks pretty sharp to me...

I cropped for just the eyes because with the wide aperture and how close she was to me, her nose wasn't in focus and it looked like crap and it was distracting from what I'm trying to accomplish. I want to make sure I'm nailing focus on the eyes...

MissCream · Feb 28, 2011

1.8 was too large to get both of her eyes in focus. You only focused on one of the eyes in each picture.

JeffieLove · Feb 28, 2011

Grrrr. Maybe I'll set up ocf when we get back home from ballet...

SrBiscuit · Feb 28, 2011

i think misscream is spot on here.

have you messed around with ap?

go to 2.8...3.2 even. just because yor lens CAN go to 1.8 doesnt mean it has to

o hey tyler · Feb 28, 2011

SrBiscuit said:
go to 2.8...3.2 even. just because yor lens CAN go to 1.8 doesnt mean it has to

So true. Control your urge to shoot on a fat aperture.

KmH · Feb 28, 2011

MissCream said:
1.8 was too large to get both of her eyes in focus. You only focused on one of the eyes in each picture.

Because the DOF was to way shallow and both eyes were not the same distance from the image sensor.

Sarah,

Do you know what a scissor lift is? File:Hebebuehne Scissorlift.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia In my mind I picture that my subject is at one end of a scissor and the camera is at the other end such that without changing the foacal length of the lens, if I get closer to my subject, the DOF gets shallower. As I move away from the subject the DOF gets deeper.

The DOF and plane of focus is always parallel to your image sensor

JeffieLove · Feb 28, 2011

SrBiscuit said:
i think misscream is spot on here.

have you messed around with ap?

go to 2.8...3.2 even. just because yor lens CAN go to 1.8 doesnt mean it has to

I was shooting at 1.8 toget a hand holdable shutter speed. I'm going to try some with ocf when I get home and get the kids in bed. I'll use a baby doll... Lol

o hey tyler said:
SrBiscuit said:

go to 2.8...3.2 even. just because yor lens CAN go to 1.8 doesnt mean it has to

Click to expand...

So true. Control your urge to shoot on a fat aperture.

KmH said:
MissCream said:

1.8 was too large to get both of her eyes in focus. You only focused on one of the eyes in each picture.

Click to expand...

Because the DOF was to way shallow and both eyes were not the same distance from the image sensor.

Sarah,

Do you know what a scissor lift is? File:Hebebuehne Scissorlift.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia In my mind I picture that my subject is at one end of a scissor and the camera is at the other end such that without changing the foacal length of the lens, if I get closer to my subject, the DOF gets shallower. As I move away from the subject the DOF gets deeper.

The DOF and plane of focus is always parallel to your image sensor

I haven't ever heard of the scissor thing before but just having the picture in my head of the focal plane being parallel to the sensor makes sense...

Derrel · Feb 28, 2011

When using spot metering, even a very,very slight difference in camera aiming or subject positioning can cause the shutter speed or aperture value to change from frame to frame. When using spot metering, it is absolutely critical that the camera and the subject not be allowed to move one iota between different frames, if one wishes to compare multiple frames.

JeffieLove · Feb 28, 2011

Okay, so here's a couple more. Just snapped them at dinner. Again cropped into the eyes because the faces were distracting for one reason or another...

Spot metering, shot in full manual, 1/100, f/5, iso 100 on the brown eyes, iso 200 on the blue eyes. Again, these are sooc except for brightening the color of the eyes. Did not touch sharpness at all. Still using back button focus. I lit both of these using my vivitar 285 at full power. The histogram did show some clipping on the dark side, but also had the "small hills" in the middle which (if I remember correctly) meant that the midtones were exposed properly. In this case, I believe that would be their faces, right? If I am still misunderstanding SOMETHING, please let me know. I'm trying to get this and I'm trying to remember everything that everyone is telling me.

1.

2.

tirediron · Feb 28, 2011

I think you're getting there; those both look nice and sharp, and the exposure is good.

JeffieLove · Feb 28, 2011

Alright... so I've got the focus thing down (I'm really loving BBF instead of the half shutter press...) Definitely going to practice more still... Need to try and find a more willing, mobile model though... I was going to do the baby doll thing, but I understand what I need to do to get the focus right, now I need to figure out what to do when the model is moving...

I guess with a moving model, BBF wouldn't be the ideal setting?