kiwi2
Veteran Member
That's not going to address the underlying problem though. If you expose for the shadows then you will begin to blow the sky out.
It's better to first have the basic understanding of the properties and behaviour of light.
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What did I do wrong with these photos?
- Thread starter Owenk
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It's better to first have the basic understanding of the properties and behaviour of light.
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kiwi2
Veteran Member
Not always. Rules are made to be broken. You just need to understand the consequences of doing so though.
ToxicTabasco
Senior Member
One of the most important factor of photography is the light. Best light for outdoor scenes are twilight, sunset/sunrise. And night if you have the skills. To get compelling shots the light is the most important factor. Reason I say that is you already have the skills for focus and exposure. Thus, shooting at sunset/sunrise, or night will elevate your photography to a higher level. Keep in mind the techniques and skills are different when shooting at twilight and night. And it takes effort to learn how to shoot in creative light.
As for composition and subject/scene. You can improve what you do by editing photos and cropping for the best composition. Once you develop an eye for composition, editing will be easier, and cropping may not be needed. But until then, shoot wide and crop. This video will give you some tips on how to improve composition.
As for composition and subject/scene. You can improve what you do by editing photos and cropping for the best composition. Once you develop an eye for composition, editing will be easier, and cropping may not be needed. But until then, shoot wide and crop. This video will give you some tips on how to improve composition.
Gerry Winterbourne
Forum Pro
That isn't the sharpest point in the picture so there's something wrong. As I said, my guess is that you didn't allow time for the AF to settle at that distance. I could be wrong, of course (as I was when I guessed that you were letting the camera choose the AF points)
You need to understand what "in focus" means. It is not the same as "sharp", although something that is in focus through a good lens will also be sharp.
A lens can be truly in focus at only one distance. The reason you need to focus the lens at all is so that you can choose what you want in focus and focus there. Everything nearer or further is out of focus - and therefore blurred - to some extent.
Fortunately our eyes can accommodate a certain amount of blur and still see the image sharply even though it is, in fact, slightly blurred. The range of distances where things look sharp enough is called the depth of field (DOF); it depends (among other things) on the f-stop you use.
There are plenty of complications to DOF but for general shots like yours a guideline is to focus about 1/3 of the way into the scene - but the half you chose is near enough most of the time. But what really controls how much of the picture looks sharp is the f-stop you use, not where you put the AF point. As it happens the f-numbers you used are more or less OK- you could have gone one stop smaller but that's not a big deal.
Which is where the picture is sharpest, so in that shot it worked.
But (as I said above) not in this one ...
… and here there is nothing in focus. Which in the absence of any other explanation is why I think you weren't giving the AF enough time to work.
The EXIF on at least one of them says Auto exposure, not Aperture priority. But in the situation you were there was plenty of light whatever the aperture you used. Choose aperture for DOF; set ISO manually as low as possible and see what shutter speed you camera chooses. Unless it's too slow to suppress blur (which in the light you had there won't happen) just take whatever shutter speed comes along.thank you that makes senseSo set your camera to use a single AF point and make sure you put that pint of the thing in the frame that you most want in focus.
In two of them you used -0.67EC. That has inevitably made them look dark, and that is exaggerated because you were shooting into the sun. As someone has already pointed out, those dark shadows can be lifted in post processing; but making everything dark to start with doesn't help.However most of the pictures I cant put my finger on what I did wrong other than saying the photos just looksome of them look hazy and lacking in detail. Faces seem to lack contrast and when I crop 100% they don't seem sharp. In order to improve im trying to work out what did I do wrong. Can someone guide me in the right direction?
I know the photos aren't composed properly etc but at the moment im trying to improve my technique and understanding of light, camera settings etc.
From the below selection can you tell me if my settings were wrong,
at least I know what to work on now and can’t blame the camera
i was using aperture priority so had set it in the belief that the f stop I chose would let in enough light to not need a high iso or a long shutter speed and increase my chances of a good quality photo. the iso is on auto though
As I say, your apertures (f-numbers) are OK - apparently more by luck than judgement - but your ISOs are too high and shutter speeds unnecessarily fast.
thank you,
I was using a Fuji xt20 and the 14-45mm kit lens.
Thanks
NO FLASH
F6.4 1/800 ISO200 NO FLASH
F5.6 1/1000 ISO 400 NO FLASH
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Gerry
___________________________________________
First camera 1953, first Pentax 1985, first DSLR 2006
Galleries by Gerry Winterbourne
www.pbase.com
thank you the camera shows a focus distance indicator on the menu and I’ve noticed that sometimes it seems to be out for example I could focus on something 2 ft away and it’ll show 10ft, when I refocus it then corrects itself maybe this may have been the issue or maybe I recomposes without noticing.
im trying to learn about DOF sometimes I get it right and others I’ve use to small an f number and end up with important parts of the photo out of focus I think the lowest my camera can go is iso200 and generally I just leave it on auto maybe I need to be manually setting the iso instead.You need to understand what "in focus" means. It is not the same as "sharp", although something that is in focus through a good lens will also be sharp.
A lens can be truly in focus at only one distance. The reason you need to focus the lens at all is so that you can choose what you want in focus and focus there. Everything nearer or further is out of focus - and therefore blurred - to some extent.
Fortunately our eyes can accommodate a certain amount of blur and still see the image sharply even though it is, in fact, slightly blurred. The range of distances where things look sharp enough is called the depth of field (DOF); it depends (among other things) on the f-stop you use.
There are plenty of complications to DOF but for general shots like yours a guideline is to focus about 1/3 of the way into the scene - but the half you chose is near enough most of the time. But what really controls how much of the picture looks sharp is the f-stop you use, not where you put the AF point. As it happens the f-numbers you used are more or less OK- you could have gone one stop smaller but that's not a big deal.
Which is where the picture is sharpest, so in that shot it worked.
But (as I said above) not in this one ...
… and here there is nothing in focus. Which in the absence of any other explanation is why I think you weren't giving the AF enough time to work.
The EXIF on at least one of them says Auto exposure, not Aperture priority. But in the situation you were there was plenty of light whatever the aperture you used. Choose aperture for DOF; set ISO manually as low as possible and see what shutter speed you camera chooses. Unless it's too slow to suppress blur (which in the light you had there won't happen) just take whatever shutter speed comes along.thank you that makes senseSo set your camera to use a single AF point and make sure you put that pint of the thing in the frame that you most want in focus.
In two of them you used -0.67EC. That has inevitably made them look dark, and that is exaggerated because you were shooting into the sun. As someone has already pointed out, those dark shadows can be lifted in post processing; but making everything dark to start with doesn't help.However most of the pictures I cant put my finger on what I did wrong other than saying the photos just look
I know the photos aren't composed properly etc but at the moment im trying to improve my technique and understanding of light, camera settings etc.
From the below selection can you tell me if my settings were wrong,
at least I know what to work on now and can’t blame the camera
i was using aperture priority so had set it in the belief that the f stop I chose would let in enough light to not need a high iso or a long shutter speed and increase my chances of a good quality photo. the iso is on auto though
As I say, your apertures (f-numbers) are OK - apparently more by luck than judgement - but your ISOs are too high and shutter speeds unnecessarily fast.
--thank you,
I was using a Fuji xt20 and the 14-45mm kit lens.
Thanks
NO FLASH
F6.4 1/800 ISO200 NO FLASH
F5.6 1/1000 ISO 400 NO FLASH
---
Gerry
___________________________________________
First camera 1953, first Pentax 1985, first DSLR 2006
http://www.pbase.com/gerrywinterbourne
[email protected]
tedolf
Forum Pro
It looks like these photo's were taken in mid day. That creates harsh shadows which a camera has a hard time dealing with as it does not have the dynamic range to capture both the highlights and the shadows. Sometimes you can compensate for that by using fill flash to compress the dynamic range of the scene.
Also, some of them look under-exposed, maybe by 1/2 stop.
TEdolph
Also, some of them look under-exposed, maybe by 1/2 stop.
TEdolph
KCook
Forum Pro
When in doubt simply check the shot in the LCD with the magnification turned up. Then adjust the f-stop if needed for a re-shoot.
Kelly
Bassam Guy
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#1 & #3 are underexposed. With a bright sky and relatively dark subjects, exposure comp of -2/3 stops seems conterintuitive to me. I would have blown the sky a bit by over exposing by 1/2-2/3 stops. If you shoot RAW, though, you should be able to bring up the shadows enough.
I can't figure out the composition of #1. Is it of the people? Why their backs? Maybe cropping out the man to show only the two women with their hands on their hips and the woman in between. They are doing nothing interesting. Is it of the building? If so, get closer!
#2 Is a decent composition, albeit a bit too busy and nothing was in focus except, maybe, the railing.
#3 Is also too busy. Try cropping to the green mouse but, after a closer look, that is way out of focus.
I can't figure out the composition of #1. Is it of the people? Why their backs? Maybe cropping out the man to show only the two women with their hands on their hips and the woman in between. They are doing nothing interesting. Is it of the building? If so, get closer!
#2 Is a decent composition, albeit a bit too busy and nothing was in focus except, maybe, the railing.
#3 Is also too busy. Try cropping to the green mouse but, after a closer look, that is way out of focus.
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