kja

Nice flutterby! I vote #2. #1 is too centered and he's lost in the background. If the bg was way more blurry all over the frame and he was supersharp (and not smack in the centre) it might work more for me. #2 is more dynamic, implies movement in the frame, gives context, isolates the subject pretty well and is simply more appealing to my eye. HTH

And don't forget it's not just the aperture - it's also the focal length and distance from your subject :rolleyes:

LOL I find it far less effort to just tell the camera what I want to do rather than hoping it will figure it out and then having to reshoot stuff :rolleyes: You can try Av mode on the Canon - set your aperture and let the camera have a punt on the shutter speed.

Have you had a look at the other thread? The same issue is in there and there's a link to a DOF calculator that lets you put in your focal length and distance and aperture so you can get a feel for what you need. It's a depth of field issue - you need a BIG depth of field to get the whole snout and eyes in focus straight on. So, use a smaller aperture, use a wider focal length and/or move back. :rolleyes:

photos!

40/365 Canon 40D, Canon 60mm macro bigger & better on the blog :rolleyes:

I LOVE the rushing shot! I totally would have used that for mine and kept Bert for another day since he's always there :D I've taken mine but didn't have time to download it from the card as I was already late getting to work (because of the subject LOL)

It's daylight here nice and early so you can get out before work. With daylight savings it doesn't get light til too late and you go to work in the dark, no time to take the dogs to the beach in the mornings. In the later part of the day now, it's still light until after 1930 and that means it's still HOT. With daylight savings, we would have light until 9pm and it was stinking hot until a couple hours after dark - terrible for sleeping. That hour change makes a difference. I totally see the value down south where the days are shorter, however, I'm still super duper glad we don't have it Each to their own - it's a moot point, it's gone now after years of having it and just like always, some love it, some hate it. No way to keep everyone happy!

Focus is almost always on the most important eye. If you have a group try to make sure they are lined up in one focus plane - so not too far front or behind what you are focusing on. Otherwise you have to compromise. All of photography is a tradeoff and sometimes you can't have everything. Use a wider lens - lenses with wider focal lengths (24 instead of 100 for instance) will have a greater depth of field at a given distance. Back up - distance will give you a greater depth of field at a given aperture. Stop down - a smaller aperture will give you a greater depth of field at a given distance. Play around with throwing numbers in that depth of field calculator - it might help solidify some of the concepts more quickly. Take more than one frame - essential. Not only if you change settings but sometimes you just need a couple extra frames to make sure you nail it. Have fun.

So how's it going, Sheena?

Daylight savings SUCKS if you live in the northern part of the continent. I am so VERY happy we don't have it any more!! 39/365 - Tilly could almost fly with those ears! Olympus 720SW This just might be my photo of the week, too. I just like it

I use the 365 for any old snap - could be thought out, could be a happy snap, could be with any of my various camera-type substances SQUEEEEEE - how adorable is that??!!!

Terra - you get yours done so early each day!! Very horror movie-esque

dA - love the shakin! Tangerine - gorgeous!

38/365 - Harry in colour Canon 1DIII, Canon 50 1.4 @ 2.2 wow, that looks super soft - yikes...

OMG awesome green froggie! I would have freaked out, but he's too SQUEEEEE

Terra - super fun! flick - cute puppy training moment! bjel - lovely butterfly/noth guy! 37/365 Harry considering giving me the stink eye Canon 1DIII, Canon 50 1.4

Forget the circle of confusion Looks like you are getting your focus dialed in - great job! Building your skills on a stationary subject is a very good way to get a good foundation when you go on to moving subjects. It's not impossible to focus on the eye on a moving subject. It just takes practice and patience. Pretty sure almost all of us do it regularly - just check out some of the threads in the main photo area To choose the correct aperture to get the whole dog in focus you're going to have to experiment as it will be determined by a variety of factors, so there is no one answer for all situations: - how big your dog is - how far away you are from your dog - what focal length you are using You can get into the ballpark by using the depth of field calculator - you will need to jiggle the numbers until your total DOF is just slightly longer (so you have some room for error) than your dog. Obviously, if you are shooting side on, your depth of field needs to be far narrower than if you are shooting head on and trying to get eyes and bum in focus. Does the whole dog need to be in focus? Rule of thumb is that if the eyes/head are in focus then it is acceptable, and even desirable, to have the rest of the body fall outside the plane of focus. Again, this is subjective and not always desirable, but it is a general guideline.

sarz - too cute pup! evolving - Your dog makes my heart happy kitti - thank you! I hope to stay back with you all! shell - those are awesome whiskers! terra - I love it! Such personalities you can feel it

Gosh, I envy you guys for the beautiful trees and plants and softer light you get!

how far away are you from the horse? what focal length are you using for a horse? how far away are you from a dog? what focal length are you using for a dog? I guess I'd assume mostly one was closer to the dog. Maybe not. That's why it's so important to practice and try different things to see what works in the conditions we shoot in. Unless you are shooting exactly the same gear and similar circumstances, generalizations will only get us so far. It's totally OK that what works for one shooter for one thing doesn't necessarily work for something else - it's all about a starting place. We need to remember that focus plane & Depth of Field (DOF - the amount of the image that is actually considered to be in focus) is determined not only by f-stop but also by focal length AND distance. So just saying such and such an f-stop should work just fine isn't the whole story and can often be totally inadequate and frustrating for a new shooter. sheena - this is one reason why it's so important to give as much of the number information as possible so we can troubleshoot and help narrow things down for you If you go to a depth of field calculator you'll see that using a 50mm lens on a crop body (like the OPs - and you can put in other bodies) and use it at f5.6 as per the OPs information earlier: At 3m the total depth of field is only .77m but at only 5m it jumps to 2.23m and at 10m it jumps to a whopping 10.5m. On a 100mm lens at 3m your DOF is only a measly .19m - at 5m it's .53m and at 10m it's a much easier to work with 2.5m. Got a 200mm focal length? 3m = 0.05m 5m = 0.13m 10m = 0.53m Crazy! Also remember that your DOF is 1/3 in front and 2/3 behind your focus point - helps with tweaking as you get dialed in. It might seem overwhelming and a lot to think about, but it does get easier - and it gets easier with practice You'll stop thinking about a lot of this in the front of your brain and it'll start to just be something that comes more freely. Like Pers said - practice, relax, enjoy, experiment and have fun I hope some of this helps

Go to POTN and ask for LA camera stores - those over there will know who to go to and who to avoid

You rock Thanks!

I'm more interested in focus on land stuff - day to day doggies, scenes, people - you know, all those things you happy snap away at. I won't be using it underwater really so that doesn't really come into the equation. And I'm not a video shooter anymore - now and again I do a little one, but video doesn't really do much for me. I just want to take happy snaps that are actually in focus and not so soft it looks like you shot them through vaseline!

Oh yeah - how fast is does it feel from pressing the button to taking the shot? My Oly stinks at this AND misses focus so anything will be a step up but I'm curious how long it feels. My baby Canon SD1200 is press and then a little pause and photo. The little pause is less than a heartbeat, but I can feel it. I don't consider it too slow - unlike the Olympus tough series that are press, go make a cup of coffee and come back then photo