Staranais Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 I quite like this one that I took the other day: It could be a little more in focus, but we're getting there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Looks good,colour is perfect and it's a lovely happy face ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 You can see the detail on the face. I think that setting has potential too, I like the colours and the weathered timbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted January 8, 2011 Author Share Posted January 8, 2011 Thanks guys, I quite like it too. I'd be super happy with it if it was in perfect focus - I guess my next mission with the camera is to learn how to take shots that are crystal clear & not slightly fuzzy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 I like the colours and the weathered timbers. YES!!!! with focus... esp. in animal photography (and humans I guess) always focus on the eyes . Eyes are what we look at first... and if they are in focus , then a bit of fuzzy elswhere is ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huga Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Well done. I'm totally jealous your little set up - I want to shoot there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 LOL, Huga - the set up was an old hunters hut we just happened to tramp to the other day! Not sure if it's worth a couple of hours to walk back there, but it did turn out to be a cool background for a candid dog shot. ;) Persephone, trying to focus on the eyes sounds like great advice, thanks - I'm not sure how to go about it yet though, it's autofocus & perhaps I haven't quite got the hang of the settings yet - I just pointed it towards her face & hoped! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kja Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 (edited) Persephone, trying to focus on the eyes sounds like great advice, thanks - I'm not sure how to go about it yet though, it's autofocus & perhaps I haven't quite got the hang of the settings yet - I just pointed it towards her face & hoped! IMHO focus is the #1 priority in 90+% of images. You can have the most beautiful exposure & scene & subject, but if the focus has missed the image isn't worth keeping the majority of the time. (Yes, there are exceptions, but they are exceptions ;) ) What camera do you have again? Every camera I've used has a little light up rectangle in the viewfinder. That is where your focus point is. You need to place that on the area you want to focus on - everything outside of this box, the camera pretty much ignores. If possible, try to place that little box over something with contrast as it will help the camera hit the sweet spot faster and more accurately. On many cameras, half press to get focus (or use your * key on the back of Canon dslrs, if you've set it up that way) and then smoothly press the shutter fully to take the shot. Take more than one frame! Especially if you have - mediocre or poor lighting conditions - moving subject - wide open aperture - concerns that you might miss focus ;) Have fun! You're doing great! PS - don't forget that virtually every image out of the camera (especially if you shoot RAW) will need to be sharpened to look it's best. If you are shooting jpeg, your camera may apply (ok, WILL apply) some sharpening that may or may not be to your taste/adequate. You just need to experiment a bit to see what works for you. original: two second sharpen: Edited January 9, 2011 by kja Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 Thanks Kja! I have a canon powershot a470. Fairly budget unfortunately! I'll try to stick the little box over the part I want to shoot, with high contrast - thanks for the tip! I think possibly this camera tries to find a face to focus on? Not sure if it can recognise a dog face or not, perhaps that is the issue. I loved what you did with the sharpening - how did you do that? And what does shooting RAW mean? I only know about feeding raw! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocco Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Well done. I'm totally jealous your little set up - I want to shoot there! ;) me too, wonderful spot. I love this shot, great looking dog too. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda K Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Looks great, very nice and simple background for your subject, and great job on the exposure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraNik Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kja Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Thanks Kja!I have a canon powershot a470. Fairly budget unfortunately! I'll try to stick the little box over the part I want to shoot, with high contrast - thanks for the tip! I think possibly this camera tries to find a face to focus on? Not sure if it can recognise a dog face or not, perhaps that is the issue. I loved what you did with the sharpening - how did you do that? And what does shooting RAW mean? I only know about feeding raw! OK, the A470 doesn't shoot RAW so ignore that part for now and just concentrate on what you have. Those little Canon Powershots totally rock - I have two plus one of the SD/Ixus Canons You may need to read the manual to see if you can control where the little box is and when you are shooting, you need to make sure that the little box is actually where you want it to be. With my little Canon SD1200 IS I can't move the little box - it is just in the middle. So I put the box on my subject, half press the shutter and then move the camera to recompose (keep the subject in the same focal plane for best results - there is a bit of leeway with these these compact cameras so you don't have to be perfect) and fully press the shutter to take the photo. There are many ways to sharpen - what software are you using on your computer? Lightroom? Photoshop Elements? Photoshop? Picasa? GIMP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 Thanks Kja! Turns out I can make the focus box either just be in the middle or find faces and focus on those - I'm thinking that perhaps it can't identify dog faces very well, perhaps it is really only designed for people faces, so I should use the other setting? I've only got Adobe Photoshop Elements (an older version too). Can't believe there's really a program called GIMP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now