2 images, what SHOULD i have done

[matty]

took these 2(well took about 20, lol) yesterday at T'Hop farm, Bonkers Chinese Ribbon Dancing Thing Woman...

as you can see from both images there is a huge chav(or Crowd as im sure they would prefer to be called)problem.

http://www.thephotographyforums.com/albums/matty/colour_053.jpg

http://www.thephotographyforums.com/albums/matty/colour_038.jpg

I shot it in Sport mode as i cant get the ****ing focusing to work the way i want and it was at the full range of the lens(300d kit lens, 55mm)i know that i should have used DOP to blur the chavs, but would it have worked at that distance? Reebok zoom was on Max too, shame that the arena was surrended as it was...

Advice and direction needed to help me get it right next time... :(

[SDK^]

To blur the crowd at that distance you would either need to be very close or use a very long F2.8 Telephoto lens so quite tricky using the 18-55.

[Adrian]

I think that the first thing would be to try and isolate the subject by moving around. If that's not possible as seems likely here then as you say, using the DOF to blur the distracting background is a good technique. Distance is important but also so is the maximum aperture of the lens which needs to be really wide if you're shooting this close - f/2.8 would be good but on a wide angle lens it probably won't make a lot of difference anyway, and the kit lens isn't going to achieve this. The best way to isolate the background is to use a telephoto at it's widest aperture but you'd need some expensive glass (EF 300mm f/2.8 or similar) to get the background blurred at this distance. Hope that helps :).

[silkstone]

If all else fails, the only way is to, er, cheat. :D Freehand selection and gaussian blur may do the trick!

[SDK^]

If all else fails, the only way is to, er, cheat. :D Freehand selection and gaussian blur may do the trick!

Yup - A very quick attempt using the lens blur fiter.
With more time you could accurately select the ribbon

http://www.sdk2003.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/lens-blur.jpg

[matty]

hmm that makes a huge difference.....damn my crappyness

[silkstone]

hmm that makes a huge difference.....damn my crappyness
You ain't crappy, me hearty! :D At least, those of us who've been crappy for longer have discovered ways to disguise it. :P

TBH the sort of scene you were shooting would be almost impossible to do with a decent bokeh unless you could be 30 metres away and shoot with a long lens at wide aperture. So just go ahead and fake it! :D

[matty]

thanks Silky....PS skills will be tested tomorrow i think

[Adrian]

...At least, those of us who've been crappy for longer have discovered ways to disguise it. :P

All of us take crap photos. Some more than others but even the world's greatest have, and still do. They've just mastered the technique of taking more good than bad and ensuring the bad never see the light of day. I wish we'd been able to resurrect the contents of Henri Cartier Bresson's darkroom bin :wink: .

[CT]

Another quicky.

http://www.tomkinson.org/albums/Ced-Jan/colour_053.jpg

I didn't bother with too much effort around the scarf because of the aliasing (stepping) in your low res image. Just be careful of a very sudden cut off between sharp and blurred behind the girl (on the grass) which will look very false. Do a separate mask in mid field with reduced blur to look more natural. Any overlap between the two blurred areas can be taken out with the 'Soften' tool.

No reason at all why you shouldn't make a good job of these pics. :wink:

[matty]

thanks guys, i will select the best of the ones i have and launch a full assault on the chav lineup...

ive sold lots of tat on ebay too so a new lens is coming soon!

[Matt]

You could have lost some of the crowd or maybe all of it if you had got down really low (get that clobber dirty).
Don't be afraid to look daft trying to get your picture, it can be very rewarding. :D

[Arkady]

If you're feeling brave, why not approach the troupe and offer to do some publicity photos for them? Something like those wierd BBC links featuring dancers in various locations, perhaps?
A bit of urban grot would contrast nicely with the bright colours of their costumes...
You never know until you try.