what am i doing wrong???

[Socrates]

ah, thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that's prolly the case with all my photos then.... i do need some quicker lenses.. that's for sure... i just bought one online as a matter of fact.. just waiting for it to come in... i guess i just need a better understanding of what is considered a quick shutter speed!! lol.

i got some of the settings as well right after you did!! lol...


i'm gonna try this stuff again when i get a chance...

It was easier in the days of film. 1/[focal length] is the minimum shutter speed that a normal human can hand-hold. If your lens focal length is 50 mm, then you need a shutter speed of 1/50 or faster. With non-professional dSLRs, use 1.5X the focal length. (Professional dSLRs have sensors the same size as 35 mm film frames.)

 

[MelsBels]

I would check to see where your focus are is set to. If it is set to center, then you may have to focus on the subject, then turn to include the flowers. If it is set to dynamic, then it will probably be a shutter speed problem or something...not my area of expertise! That crap is like a science! But yeah, focus on the statue (if you want it crisp), then move over to include the flowers/background (while holding the shutter half way down) then snap. Hope that helped.

 

[nicfargo]

Socrates, How does 1/focal length determine your shutter speed? Doesn't aperture take into account, and ISO? This just confuses me.

Mels, his problem isn't his focus point, it's his shutter speed. Well, it may also be his focus point but firstly it is his shutter speed. Your focus can be dead on, but the picture will be blurry if your shutter speed is too slow.

 

[chris]

If hand holding your shutter speed should be at no slower than 1/focal length for 35 mm or full frame digital or 1/1.5 x focal length for a 1.5 crop digital camera.

So if you are using a lens set at 50 mm then your shutter speed should be 1/50 sec or 1/75 sec respectively.

Note that these figures are a guide only - some people can hand hold at longer shutter speeds while others will always need to use shorter speeds.

 

[Miaow]

If you're wondering how I got your exif data, I have a plugin for Firefox that allows me to see exif data in photo properties. You can get the plugin by doing a search for "firefox plugin exif data"

Wow thanks for that info - I really need something like that
BTW this is the mozilla link for it for others
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5673

 

[Mav]

I saw mostly 1/6 to 1/10s shutter speeds which is way too slow, and then f/16 and f/22 apertures which is way too small. Most DSLR camera/lens combos will reach peak sharpness at f/8 to f/11, and after that you'll get soft pictures due to diffraction. So you need to open up the lens aperture by a few stops which will let in more light, and (killing two birds with one stone) also allow for a faster shutter speed which will solve your handshake blur issue due to too slow of a shutter speed. You may have needed to up the iso a stop or two also.

 

[passerby]

my iso was at 200 the whole time
oh i was using my kit lens 18-55mm with a polarizer on a nikon d70... also i'm not shooting in raw as i don't have the software to work with it yet...

I believe you should not use polirizer at all for the time being, it reduce the amount of valuable light. If I am not mistaken the weather was kind of overcast when you do this shooting. If this is the case you just increase the iso to 400 or 800 or even 1600 for trial and error.

Try focus the camera to the statue only with 18mm for the first shot, than 25mm than 35, than 45 and 55. And set the aperture at f5.6 for all shots. Doing this hopefully you will find if there is focusing mechanical error.

If the focusing results are ok, than you resume with your whatever activity. Give the polarizer a good rest and find with the utmost effort for the natural colours.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[gendarmee]

the exif shows that the shutter speed was b/w 1/10-1/6 second, so looks like a slight shake.

 

[Socrates]

Socrates, How does 1/focal length determine your shutter speed? Doesn't aperture take into account, and ISO? This just confuses me.

This has nothing to do with exposure. It is a "rule of thumb" for the slowest possible shutter speed where a normal human being can hold the camera steady. Even if your exposure is wrong and the picture is too dark or too light, at least it won't suffer from your hand shaking! For non-professional dSLR cameras, you need to use the focal length X 1.5.

 

[Socrates]

If hand holding your shutter speed should be at no slower than 1/focal length for 35 mm or full frame digital or 1/1.5 x focal length for a 1.5 crop digital camera.

So if you are using a lens set at 50 mm then your shutter speed should be 1/50 sec or 1/75 sec respectively.

Note that these figures are a guide only - some people can hand hold at longer shutter speeds while others will always need to use shorter speeds.

To clarify very slightly...
In your example, the shutter speed should be 1/50 (or faster) with a film SLR or a professional ($5000) dSLR. It should be 1/75 (or faster) with an amateur dSLR. Of course, you are definitely correct in that these figures are strictly a guide.

 

[Early]

First off, you should have a tripod or something steady to place your camera on. Then, if you can’t get enough depth of field stopped all the way down with the lens you’re using, try backing up, and then crop it during printing or in photoshop for the composition you want. Backing up even a couple of feet might give you the DOF you need.

 

[Mav]

There was most certainly no need for a tripod for these photos - just more appropriate camera settings.

 

[elemental]

If you're wondering how I got your exif data, I have a plugin for Firefox that allows me to see exif data in photo properties. You can get the plugin by doing a search for "firefox plugin exif data"

Just took 30 seconds and added this and it is fantastic!

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

You're shooting at 1/6th of a second handheld, that's the problem. 1/6th is slow.

use a tripod, read the manual and shoot in manual mode, you'll learn a ton.

 

[kidchill]

This may or may not help. Exposure is all about ISO, shutter speed, and F-stop. If you increase or decrease one of them, then you have to make changes to the others to compensate. One step faster than 1/focal length is a good guide. This sounds a little silly, but it may help. Get a newspaper or book or something and stand a good 10ft away (or so, there's no exact number) and then take pictures of the book/paper on a bunch of different shutter speeds while hand-holding. Now, open the files on the computer and see which speeds you can hand-hold and still see crisp letters. That's about as slow a shutter speed you want while hand-holding. Then, when you go out, use at least that shutter speed and then change ISO/aperture to adjust for exposure. I know it sounds kinda mundane to do all that, but at least you know what speed you'll still be sharp at!! Plus it gives you something else to do while you're at work...