Focus Setting??

Hello all... I posted to the Canon forum too but I'm thinking this is a very basic question -

I'm trying to get some photos of some jewelry my mom makes for a website for her... I am new to dslr, trying to learn as much as possible - can anyone help me with why this photo (and lots more... with the jewelry in particular) has the blurring on the top and bottom and seems to only focus on the center? I know there is a setting to correct this but I'm not sure what to use? I am wanting a photo that has everything in focus...I'm sure this is very basic as well - bear with me I'm headed to school very soon! Thanks for any help!

Erin

Taking this type of a shot at an angle gives you a depth of field issue. Try shooting at a smaller aperture (higher number) and less of an angle. Better yet, shoot straight down & use a tripod.
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Dave

erinr27 said:

can anyone help me with why this photo (and lots more...
with the jewelry in particular) has the blurring on the top and
bottom and seems to only focus on the center? I know there is a
setting to correct this but I'm not sure what to use? I am wanting a
photo that has everything in focus

Click to expand...

You need to use a smaller aperture, smaller f-number. The aperture affects the depth of field. I would try f/14. Unfortunately beyond f/16, the diffraction effects will soften the image quality, but some times you need more depth of field and may be willing to put up with a less sharp image. You will need a tripod and remote release, because the shutter speeds will be a lot slower.

Even at higher f-stops, you are unlikely to get everything in good focus. To get around this you can shoot at less of an angle (more overhead in this case). Or you can spread the jewelry less from front to back and more sideways. Since sensor size has an effect on depth of field, most P&S type cameras will give a greater DOF for a given aperture than dSLRs.

Canon and Nikon also have some specialized lenses (manual focus only) that allow you to tilt the plane of focus. The Canon TS-E 90 mm lens, for example, is often used for small product shots – they are expensive though.

Brian A.

As Dave says this is a depth-of-field issue. to see how it works, look at these useful sites which have simple on-line calculators:

http://www.silverlight.co.uk/resources/dof_calc.html

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

For example most common DSLRs have an APS sensor (first drop-down box on the first site). If you used a 50mm lens at f/5.6, and the item was 1 meter away, the depth of field only extends from 95cm to 106 cm, and anything closer or further away will be out of focus, exactly as you see.

To avoid this:

1. Take the picture 'face on', e.g. with the item on a table and the camera looking straight down. Then every part will be about the same distance away.

2. Stop the lens down: in the above case, at f/16 the depth of field becomes 87cm to 118 cm. of course this will mean a longer shutter speed, so...

3. a tripod is really essential for this sort of work.

Best wishes
--
Mike

I agree with other post. Have a look at this site.
http://www.photonhead.com/exposure/
and this SIM CAM http://www.photonhead.com/exposure/simcam.php

It is a personal taste but I like to see the items positioned as they would be worn so I know how the necklace/earrings will lay when on. I like the artistic impression you have captured but wonder what it would look like on.
--
ckb
Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
visit my sites at http://www.photographybychris.net
and at http://www.pbase.com/ckb

Thanks so much for everyone's input, I will try again today! Thanks again, I appreciate it very much!

-erin