Problem with depth

B192734 · May 8, 2008

How would I go about fixing the depth on the following pictures? It just seems like there must be a way to get the depth to show. I took these in pretty bright sunshine, using a small aperture. Any suggestions?

christopher walrath · May 8, 2008

I think your perceived problem is in the midground composition. There is a lot of subject matter in the midground in these images that captivates the viewer's attention and prevents the recognition of the background portions of the images. Just happened to me as well and I tried to figure out why I couldn't get the feel for depth. That's it.

B192734 · May 8, 2008

Do you think slowing it down even farther, and tightening the aperture would cause it to "pop"? I like the pictures, but something about them with the depth issue that I see, just seems to me to make them just so so.

prodigy2k7 · May 9, 2008

Is it just me or do they look our of focus? or camera shake? they look very soft, i cant see what part of the picture is even in focus?

MarcusM · May 9, 2008

I think one of your main problems is the time of day you're shooting. It looks like it's around midday with a harsh light source.

Also, the shots all look overexposed to me and lack contrast. Usually with that harsh lighting you will have areas that contain almost no detail in the shadows, but I can see detail in almost every one of your shadows...meaning that the levels are off and you are having spots that are blown out.

Edit - I just looked at the EXIF data and I see one of your problems, is your shutter speed is way too slow which is causing the overexposure, and also the blur on the last shot - The last shot SS is 1/2.5 sec. That is waaaaay too slow for that lighting and also for handholding. You might want to read Understanding Exposure by Brian Peterson and also watch your meter. I'm not sure what kind of meter or modes that your camera has.

B192734 · May 9, 2008

So what are some things that I can do right off the bat to remedy this type of thing?

MarcusM · May 9, 2008

B192734 said:
So what are some things that I can do right off the bat to remedy this type of thing?

Read your manual

Read Understanding Exposure

Increase your shutter speed (faster)

B192734 · May 9, 2008

Part of the problem with where it was being shot from is that there was a lot of shadows. That was throwing me off a bit. I was trying to keep a small aperture to get the depth in the first place, but wouldn't I start to lose the ability to get that depth if it starts opening up to much? I believe that the ISO was set really low, trying to make sure to counter any noise that could have been generated. So possibly raising that a little bit would help as well?

prodigy2k7 · May 9, 2008

Tripod and small aperture (around F9-F11)

Iron Flatline · May 9, 2008

Also, no matter how great the shot, these kinds of images really work better printed. They will never develop their full potential as a highly-compressed jpg file being shown on a back-lit computer monitor at 72 dpi. You will need to print it to know whether you're hitting the true full potential of your image.

Senor Hound · May 9, 2008

They are very bright. Is the contrast on your camera set on high? If so, you might want to put it on medium. I had my camera on high contrast, and it was too much. There were always pure white spots, and the shadows were still almost totally black. It looks like your dark spots are good, but your bright spots are almost pure white (your highlights are clipping...lol)

Perhaps take your exposure compensation and lower it a step. Your shutter speed was really low, you could bump it up a step without changing your aperture or ISO. Or, put your camera in aperture mode, change the aperture one step bigger and take a photo over and over. You'll get about 10 different shots, but each one will be a little different, and then you can decide which one you like the most. See if that makes more detail come out and gives you that depth you're looking for. The lighting does look harsh, but that might not be a problem if you lower your brightness (It might look patchy and cool). Besides, if you're like me, you take photos when you can (I work second shift, so I don't get up early enough for dawn and I work through the sunset).

There are lots of details in your photos with all the foliage. That's cool and all, but I'm just trying to come up with ideas on why you're not getting your depth you want. You could try putting the foreground out of focus. That would make people look at the back of the photo, but it might also make them suck

I was always told to have some perspective up front in the photo so you can tell just how far away something is, but I think you've done that. Perhaps something bigger, like a dead log or something would make people realize just how deep it is...

Maybe one of these really smart people who have been photographing as long as we've been alive will help you out.

LateModelSedan · May 9, 2008

is this more like what you hoped to achieve as far as colors and exposure? this was handheld with harsh sunlight very similar to what i see in your shots.

Mike_E · May 9, 2008

Iron Flatline said:
Also, no matter how great the shot, these kinds of images really work better printed. They will never develop their full potential as a highly-compressed jpg file being shown on a back-lit computer monitor at 72 dpi. You will need to print it to know whether you're hitting the true full potential of your image.

Also this is where a spot meter helps! If you have a spot meter then take a reading off of the darker green grass (think healthy lawn) and lock that or just use manual because you've blown out the highlights in the far bank. You might also read up on HDR.

Here is an exaggerated photoshopping (I went overboard to illustrate the differences) of streem1. I lowered the exposure and upped the gamma and offset; in hue/sat I upped the red and yellow to regain some of the washed out color in the distance; tweaked levels and did a 20/60 unsharp mask. Note that this doesn't come close to fixing the shot but is illustrative in defining some of the issues with it. Also, in landscape shots like these you might play around with the "you've got to be kidding me" vivid setting.

chris · May 9, 2008

There are problems with exposure and a general softness of the images but I think that your biggest problem is the composition.

If you want to show depth then you need to give the eye something to lock onto in both the foreground and background. The first shot has the two trees at the right which stand out nicely and catch the eye but there is nothing in the back ground the to the left that has the same impact. The second shot has the fallen trees in the mid distance but nothing to grab the attention in either the foreground or background.

Alex_B · May 9, 2008

composition is not really bad in the first and the last. but going further down ... going on you knees while shooting the first one, might have given a more depth feeling to it. just an idea

yes, exposure and general softness are a problem here.