Why is my photo terrible?

[jockohomo]

Hey there guys. New user, go easy on me.

So I went out today testing my new camera. It's a Canon 5D with a 50mm 1.8 lens. I have a good grasp of f-stops and aperture (I think?), but after going over test shots I found my camera has a strange, almost "impressionism" thing going on. The photos look like they were drawn by hand. I attached one so you can see. It's shot at f-16. Any idea why this could be happening?

Here is the photo: bad | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

If you download the original (8mb) file you can really see the problem.

Thanks.

 

[Rekd]

You may not get as many answers as you hope. See here. I might suggest putting an 800 wide pict here with a link to the original.

 

[BuS_RiDeR]

Yeah you will get much better results if you post pictures instead of links (If they are in fact your pictures... Which I am sure they are).

Other than that... I find the photo you linked to be rather dull and unexciting. But I wouldn't say it looks "bad". Maybe a bit over-exposed and "soft"...

 

[tirediron]

Can you pls post the EXIF data for your image? It rather looks to me at first glance that your in-camera processing settings (saturation, hue, WB, sharpness, etc) need adjustment.

 

[jockohomo]

Sorry, I'm not sure how to upload the photo into my original post.

Bus Rider...I was testing the camera. I know it's boring. But do you see how it looks like an impressionist painting rather than a photograph? It's as if the pixels break apart, blur etc. f-16 @ 1/400 of a second should be okay to hand hold, no? I shot f-11 @ 1/200 and had the same problem.

 

[BuS_RiDeR]

Sorry, I'm not sure how to upload the photo into my original post.

Use the

tag... instead of the tag.

 

[AverageJoe]

I'm not sure the 50mm 1.8 is ideal for landscapes, try stopping down to f2 and take a photo of a still object, set your focus to the center dot.

 

[jockohomo]

Can you pls post the EXIF data for your image? It rather looks to me at first glance that your in-camera processing settings (saturation, hue, WB, sharpness, etc) need adjustment.

I took a screen shot of the exif data as displayed by Adobe Bridge. Here you go:

Thanks.

 

[jockohomo]

There are a couple of issues I can see. The photo itself the composition doesn't work, the post processing is bad. It needs more contrast for a start. When you do that you will see that you sky is a tad over blown which then detracts from the foreground (not to mention the woman with her back to camera is distracting).

If you want more comments then post the picture in the thread. People don't like going to sites.

here I have fixed a few things and you will see what I mean about the sky. Still it not a very good photo.

Yes, I understand it is terrible. I took the camera out to test it, nothing more...the shot was an afterthought.

Your point about post processing is a good one--there was none done to the photo, but it looks as if there is. It's why I think the gentleman above might be correct in saying the in-camera settings are off. Hopefully he will get back to me with an opinion on that. I understand why the composition is terrible, but I don't understand why the shot looks like a drawing.

Thanks.

 

[Tulsa]

Yes, I understand it is terrible. I took the camera out to test it, nothing more...the shot was an afterthought. I don't see the need to tell me it's terrible when I know that already.

Thanks.

He gave you fair c&c, your gonna have to thicken up your skin. You needed some fill light for the girl, and even with that, the comp. just is not the greatest, by that I mean, it says nothing. No point of interest, just some hills and the sky, maybe if there was a sunset, lake or snow, something.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Yes, I understand it is terrible. I took the camera out to test it, nothing more...the shot was an afterthought. I don't see the need to tell me it's terrible when I know that already.

Thanks.

He gave you fair c&c, your gonna have to thicken up your skin. You needed some fill light for the girl, and even with that, the comp. just is not the greatest, by that I mean, it says nothing. No point of interest, just some hills and the sky, maybe if there was a sunset, lake or snow, something.

Uhhhhh...he never asked for C&C! :roll:

Jocko, I can't really tell what you are talking about, I'm on a hand held device. It doesn't look hand drawn though.

 

[SageMark]

I must not be seeing this the way others are.

1. I agree 50mm 1.8 is not a good landscape lens. With that said,...

2. I don't think blown sky takes from the image. I don't think the foreground landscape is the subject.

3. I see it as the law of thirds has been ill forgotten, and the subject has been cut in half and underexposed.

4. The camera settings are fine, IMHO. I think you need to pick up a copy of Perterson's Understanding Exposure and reading the necessary headings for how to correctly meter for exposure.

5. If it doesn't look good in the lens, it isn't gonna get much better in pp. Take an extra second and determine your subject. If it's the girl, get them in the law of thirds. If it's the landscape, the underexposed girl doesn't add. However, meter accordingly. The 5d manual isn't going to tell you how (IMHO if it does, correct me now, because I haven't read it past looking for the m switch)

 

[jockohomo]

Yes, I understand it is terrible. I took the camera out to test it, nothing more...the shot was an afterthought. I don't see the need to tell me it's terrible when I know that already.

Thanks.

He gave you fair c&c, your gonna have to thicken up your skin. You needed some fill light for the girl, and even with that, the comp. just is not the greatest, by that I mean, it says nothing. No point of interest, just some hills and the sky, maybe if there was a sunset, lake or snow, something.

I apologize how that came off. I'm not angry or anything that he said it sucks. I agree, it is terrible composition and an overall horrible photograph. It's just frustrating to ask why the photo looks like an impressionist drawing and receive responses about composition. Basically I just want to fix whatever is causing that so I can go shoot tomorrow (and make better compositions).

 

[Tulsa]

Yes, I understand it is terrible. I took the camera out to test it, nothing more...the shot was an afterthought. I don't see the need to tell me it's terrible when I know that already.

Thanks.

He gave you fair c&c, your gonna have to thicken up your skin. You needed some fill light for the girl, and even with that, the comp. just is not the greatest, by that I mean, it says nothing. No point of interest, just some hills and the sky, maybe if there was a sunset, lake or snow, something.

Uhhhhh...he never asked for C&C! :roll:

No, but he did ask why it was terrible, first thing he asked, so I answered.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I understand what you are saying Jocko, but I don't really see it.
Could you post more examples?
Could you crop a small section at 100% resolution, and post it?