Re: Blurry or soft full body photos when using canon 50mm f1.8 stm
R2D2 wrote:
muhdhumamkhan wrote:
Thank you for taking time and addressing each part of my question.
I just thank my lucky stars that I don’t have to shoot weddings any more! They’re HARD!!! I do still shoot a lot of events tho.
There is a member here (Alexis) who does shoot weddings with the M50 (Mark I), and does very well. Maybe reach out to him…
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4644739#forum-post-66128223
R2D2 wrote:
muhdhumamkhan wrote:
Hello,
I am a beginner wedding photographer, its only been couple of months since I started doing wedding as a second shooter with a friend of mine. The kit I am using includes:
Canon M50 Mark II + 15-45kit5
Canon EF 50mm f1.8 stm with viltrox ef-efm adapter
Welcome to the Forum! Weddings are manic alright!
I've owned a handful of the various "Thrifty Fifties," and two of the 15-45 kit lenses. They've all been fairly decent and quite useful.
I see.
Godox TT560 II Flash.
I have the (larger) V860 III. Nice flash.
The 560 is pretty marginal as far as power is concerned (but balances on the M50ii better than a larger flash). OK for the reception, but underpowered for large spaces.
Yes I am thinking of upgrading it.
The Godox AD200 Pro that you mentioned before is a very handy unit (I use one). I have a handle for it so that I can walk around with it (plus an X2T-C transmitter on the camera), but it is quite large and is more at home on a light stand. You can buy a “Bowens mount” adapter for it (it simply clamps on) so you can use any standard studio modifiers (reflectors, beauty dishes, umbrellas, softboxes, etc) with it. Plus it has a handy light stand mount on the bottom.
I actually always keep a 33 inch parabolic (umbrella style) softbox and a light stand in the back of my vehicle for location shoots, plus a big folding reflector. The AD200 and transmitter go in a cooler (with a bunch of thermal mass, and silica gel) to help keep the lithium batteries dry and at a fairly normal temperature during the day. Beats the heck out of a gas generator!
In the church the AD200 is much more suited to taking the formal posed pictures though, and not so much the ceremony/candids/casual portraits. A standard shoe-mount flash is needed here (mount it on a large flash bracket to get it up away from the lens). The more power the better (you’ll need modifiers). Godox is the value leader IMHO. I also have Canon flashes (more expensive), and Yongnuo (built cheaper). I also like that the majority of the Godox flashes/strobes have a built-in receiver, and they all work with the same transmitter(s).
Yes I actually bought a Godox S-Bracket couple of months ago and I am also considering getting a good light stand and Godox UB-130D, I wanted to go with UB-130W but its not available where I live and then save up some money and buy a good flash I have 4 flashes in mind TT685ii, V860ii, AD100 pro and AD200 pro.
you are absolutely right about godox value, for the price of one canon 600 ex rt one can get a full kit from godox with better recycle time.
I know this is very basic setup and I shouldn't expect top notch quality but it should b good enough right?
I would consider it serviceable at least.
Really? thank you. It actually makes me feel kinda good cuz most people around me are telling me that its a bad investment and I should have gone for canon 5D M III or sony a6500.
Full frame would be the next step up. If your upgrade roadmap includes FF, then take that into consideration when selecting lenses. Maybe a used Canon 35mm f2 IS would be your next lens then.
Yes, once i recoup the money I used to buy M50 and save some more I am thinking of upgrading to FF and it will be dream come true if I could get my hand on sony a7iv or canon R5 with 85 1.2 and 28-70 f2...🤤🤤🤤
Now here is my problem if I have to take a full body shot with my 50mm which on m50 becomes 80mm I need to stand away at least 10ft to more from the subject.
Yup. Typical wedding shots range from 10 - 20 feet or more.
where I live most wedding are arranged at night time inside wedding venue where light is not always ideal so i use my flash to bounce off the ceiling (which is always 30ft or more high) the settings I use are:
Ouch! That's asking a lot of any on-camera flash!
Aperture f2-f2.8
Shutter Speed 1/125
ISO 500
Flash Power 1/2
I'd suggest practicing a LOT with your flash in various situations.
Now with all of this combined when I try to take full body shots thay come out blurry or soft, why is that?
In the shot you posted, the flash contributed next to nothing. Therefore you need to treat this shot like any other (low) ambient light shot.
Thats what I thought too maybe my flash is blending with the ambient light and is unable to do what its supposed to be (freezing movement)
A tall order. If you want to freeze movement (without ghosting), then your flash will need to provide the vast majority of the light. Consider what that’ll do to your backgrounds. Also keep in mind the different color temperatures.
I tried it today I actually just got back from an event and the light their was utterly disgusting and was quit darkish but the good thing was that the ceiling were lower about 10 feet tall so what I did was set my SS to 1/160 aperture to f2.8 ISO 800 or 1600 (cuz I read somewhere that canon does a good job of handling ISO if you increase it by a full stops instead of 1/3 or 1/2 incriminates) and my flash power to full and then when I took a photo guess what they better then the sample in this thread. Now I have to just test it in bright venues with an umbrella pointing at the subject.
There is subject movement evident in your example (maybe a little camera shake too?). The focal plane is also slightly behind the subject (his face and hands look OOF). What were your autofocus settings? Did he perhaps walk through your depth of field by the time the shot was taken?
for long shot my autofocus setting is set to 1-point (the smallest point) autofocus with AI SERVO enabled.
Sounds good!
is my flash not properly balanced with ambient light?
Right. However even a properly balanced exposure will exhibit issues if you don't take into consideration the effects of the low ambient light level. My first suggestion would be to increase your shutter speed to max sync. Bring the ambient light level up with your ISO setting.
Speaking of ISO, the blur you are getting isn't due to over-zealous noise reduction.
However, going forward you will need to be raising your ISO's above what you're currently using, and therefore will need better noise reduction than what either the camera or Adobe can provide. I highly recommend investing in DxO's Photolab 6 for processing your RAWs. DxO Deep Prime and Deep Prime XD are the best out there.
yes I have PhotoLab and I am also considering instead of bouncing flash I should use Octabox or an umbrella to direct all of flash at my subject.
Bingo. If you have lower ceilings at some venues, then bouncing is great. In those cases, at the very least use an Omnibounce pointed straight up, or a Gary Fong Light Blade (these are your most compact options when you can’t do a larger modifier).
is the 50mm lens not good enough?
How does it do with the same aperture in good light? Is the IQ high enough?
When I taking half body shots with Eye AF enabled and the subject is lit well either with ambient light or flash the images are tack sharp.
Good. Then your lens is not the culprit. Concentrate on adding light. No matter what, consider your shutter speeds!
is 24Mp resolution not enough?
The MP isn't your problem.
am I crossing the limit of how far the camera can focus?
You haven't included any details of your AF settings or technique.
I think this was a silly question I asked. I am using Eye AF for closeups and 1-point for long shots.
Great.
and will replacing the canon 50mm with sigma 30 f1.4 dc dn for efm will make any difference.
It'll change your perspective. Do you want a wider angle lens? The Sigma is recommended. The Canon 32 is more popular.
I am struggling if I should invest in it or not cuz the sigma lens costs me around Rs.60,000 (USD to PAK Rupees) and the canon one is even more expensive even in USD, it would cost me around Rs.90,000.
I have the Canon 32mm and it is spectacular. Others have the Sigma 30, and like the bokeh even more. Do consider that 35 IS that I mentioned earlier if you have FF in your future.
If you can deal with a little longer focal length, then the Sigma 56 is excellent.
Any help is appreciated.
50mm f2 ISO500 Flash 1/2
Nice shot. You could also crop this into a square (IMHO).
Hhaha Thank you I really appreciate it.
Two different compositions, two different things communicated.
here if you zoom on his face you wil see that is soft focused.
Yup, focus is off, and shutter speed is too low. Flash is ineffective.
Your equipment is likely fine. But your settings need a lot of work.
A different camera or a different lens will not address what's fundamentally at fault.
Holler back with questions!
R2
Thanks you for your help I'll try experimenting again and see what happens.
Best of luck. Get out there with someone and practice your butt off!
R2
Thank You for the help man its was great talking you.
