1st attempt at portraits CC welcome :)

You'll generally get more response if you display the images in the post and don't require readers to follow links to and fro between the forum and Flickr ;)
 
There's a lot to critique here and I don't want to sound like the total a******e who rips them to shreds. So I'll start with there all soft as butter. I can't tell if it's because of camera shake, poor lighting or what...

I would say though my first studio portraits were crap and my second attempt is my profile photo < So it's amazing how much you can improve if you want to.

One thing I did was look at the work of others I thought was good and went about recreating it. So maybe look at maternity photos from some of the worlds best and dissect it - how it was posed, lit, composed etc.
 
Yeah I thought they all looked soft and lighting needs to be better to remove shadow for starters. If I didn't want honest critique I wouldn't post. I can take it and want to improve
 
Were these hand held using the available lights? Is there an opportunity to reshoot?

You could try to use a tripod or something else to steady the camera. Make sure your focus is bang on, you could try manual focus and live view if your camera offers it.

It's often surprising how good the human eye is in poor light compared to a camera.
 
They were yes. Flash didn't make them look good and for off camera waiting on umbrella to arrive.

Will try with tripod if I can see her again before she drops. It's my sister, lives 100 mile away. Made a good test subject done over xmas maybe more time was required to get them better. I used the af then mf once locked to sharpen looked good in view finder think just camera shake took sharpness away with poor lighting and wide aperture
 
Basically you probably need to be as large an aperture as you can (small f number), don't be too afraid of increasing the iso as well. The other thing is take a few shots, as sometimes you'll get one that's sharper than the others when camera shake is an issue.

I do really want to like that first shot, it's just a shame about the blur.
 
I thought the first was the best but did feel soft.

I understand aperture and f number :) just the practical side I'm failing at atm lol

I got my wb right pushed ISO up to 800 I think as felt images looked better there. Just need to nail the focus
 
Check what's in the background too. If the images were sharper, the radiator would be more distracting.
 
Yeah the radiator one was an oversight. Was trying to catch a natural movement which looked good other than the radiator being there
 
chrisboswell said:
They were yes. Flash didn't make them look good and for off camera waiting on umbrella to arrive.
Click to expand...

Did you try bouncing the flash at the ceiling? It would create a much softer light (I'm assuming it didn't look good, as you pointed the flash at the subject).

chrisboswell said:
used the af then mf once locked to sharpen looked good in view finder think just camera shake took sharpness away with poor lighting and wide aperture
Click to expand...

I'm a bit confused... but it might explain why the images are out of focus. Why did you switch from AF to MF?

Single point AF should be perfect in most scenarios - you just need to ensure you're controlling the focus point, not the camera.

Do you have the exif data, so we know what settings you used? The softness looks like a focussing error, rather than camera shake to me...
 
Was having issue with the external flash working on the camera hot shoe (wasn't firing ) on camera flash made image look rubbish.

Meant used af turned on and used mf ring to fine tune. Looked perfect in VF and on screen just didn't come out in final image.

Was using af point but with lighting was making af hunt constantly.

If click links above exif data is on each pic on Flickr.
 
Ok thanks. Looking at the exif, coupled with the soft images I would say your shutter speed is too low, in all but the 1st inage tbh. You do need to be careful when shooting handheld and/or shooting subjects that may move slightly, at such low shutter speeds.

Also, in the 1st image you've shot at 1.8, which for a portrait of two people, is brave - even if you do have their faces on the same focal plane...

I would recommend not fine tuning the focus manually also - there should be no need. The camera is likely to do a better job than you will in most scenarios too.

As a tip if you're struggling to focus in low light, check your AF assist lamp is enabled, and failing that shine a torch (perhaps your phone) just so you can get focus.

Finally, unsure on the capability of your camera, but you should have been able to go beyond ISO800, to get a better exposed image. It would have also enabled you to bump your shutter speed.

Hope this helps - keep practicing :)

Grant
 
Thanks for the input :) trying to get used to the different settings.

Have been using Av and TV modes most to get better shots but find even when using tv it still changes the shutter speed when shutter half pressed.

ISO goes up to h2 12800 just been afraid of going high as people saying about noise ect or does that occur when it's really dark.

Don't think it has an AF assist lamp...

This was first attempt put them up knowing not great to get CC and learn from what I'm doing wrong.

Have rest of things I need now (shutter cable, flash remote, umbrella) since taking these so hopefully be able to do a better job next time.
 
A noisey shot, is better than a shot that is not acceptably sharp :)

Learn the capability of your camera - same room, same lighting, and bump the ISO up until you reach a limit that you're happy with from an IQ perspective - but don't be afraid of noise.

I would actually recommend using manual mode, as you will have full control over the camera, and it's not that difficult once you understand the effect that aperture, shutter and ISO have. I personally found aperture priority etc confusing when I started out, as settings would change wildly between photos, dependent on the light.

For example, with a simple portrait you may decide you want a relatively shallow depth of field at f2.2, but still keeping face in focus. You can then adjust your shutter to an acceptable handheld speed for a non moving subject (say 1/200) and then raise the ISO until the image is exposed properly.

If the exposure is still too dark you would essentially drop the shutter speed or open your aperture - or add more light!

If you're over exposed, you could narrow your aperture, increase your shutter or lower your ISO.

I've over simplied things really into a couple of paragraphs, but hopefully you can see it's not too complicated to put into practice, once the basic concepts are grasped.

Good luck with it :)
 
Thanks mate will try and put it all into practice and use manual.

I used manual today for some landscape and definitely appear better in camera and less confusing as the settings don't change unless I do it.

I have a base line of crap so only way is up. See how I progress over next few days/weeks/months :)
 
chrisboswell said:
My camera screwed then..

The face which is focused on looks sharp to me... I need my eyes testing lol
Click to expand...

Can see it's been shot at 1/3 sec, almost impossible to get a sharp picture of a living, breathing creature at such a slow shutter speed.

Your ISO is only at 250 too, so I'd suggest upping that as needed to get a decent shutter speed (y)
 
chrisboswell said:
My camera screwed then..

The face which is focused on looks sharp to me... I need my eyes testing lol
Click to expand...
There is no chance that you can shoot a handheld picture of a living thing with a shutter speed of 0.3 sec and have it sharp.

You move so much that at 50mm you should use a minimum of 1/80, and the dog laid down, probably nearer to 1/100.

If you're really lucky you might get away with less, but I have rock solid technique practiced for 30 years and I have my camera set to a min of 1/250 as insurance for sharpness.

If I'm shooting at 0.3 sec, it's to purposely capture motion.

Cross posted with Wez
 
chrisboswell said:
My camera screwed then..

The face which is focused on looks sharp to me... I need my eyes testing lol
Click to expand...

Chris you'd be better off taking ten minutes reading about the exposure triangle then putting it into practice than fumbling around in the dark.
 
I have done, so much so I can now use M and get exposure correct on dial quite quickly.

Is it that it's too wipe open and then lens is not sharp at that extreme.

If shot at f4 or f5.6 would have background in focus which wouldn't emphasis the dogs face...

Missed the other 2 posts also so replied below.
 
Last edited:
Phil V said:
There is no chance that you can shoot a handheld picture of a living thing with a shutter speed of 0.3 sec and have it sharp.

You move so much that at 50mm you should use a minimum of 1/80, and the dog laid down, probably nearer to 1/100.

If you're really lucky you might get away with less, but I have rock solid technique practiced for 30 years and I have my camera set to a min of 1/250 as insurance for sharpness.

If I'm shooting at 0.3 sec, it's to purposely capture motion.

Cross posted with Wez
Click to expand...

Yeah you both saying same thing :)


The camera was on the floor so not holding it as someone pointed out to me hand held would reduce sharpness.

So still need faster shutter it's all a learning curve and I am taking every point each and every person is making and I thank you all for replying it really is appreciated.

Practice will get me there :)
 
Last edited:
Obviously I'm new to this and thank you all for your patience.

I need to learn which circumstances require use of large aperture or high ISO or high shutter speed.

I do understand their correlation I am just using the wrong combination for the given images.

Like I said to me the above image looks sharp so without me posting it i would of continued down the same path as right now I can't tell. I will try and recreate the same photo (easier said than done trying to get a dog to lay same way lol) then i can compare this one to a retake with correct settings light permitting and hopefully the difference in sharpness will be as obvious to me as it is to all of you.

But I know (now) to get a sharper image obviously require higher ISO higher shutter speed and smaller aperture. Its not all just down to the exposure meter being correct the above need to be there aswell.
 
Last edited:
chrisboswell said:
I have done, so much so I can now use M and get exposure correct on dial quite quickly.

Is it that it's too wipe open and then lens is not sharp at that extreme.

If shot at f4 or f5.6 would have background in focus which wouldn't emphasis the dogs face...

Missed the other 2 posts also so replied below.
Click to expand...
A few pointers:
Don't fall into the trap of thinking Manual is some sort of badge of honour. Most experienced photographers use a semi auto mode most of the time.

Any lens wide open (particularly a cheaper lens) isn't as sharp as when stopped down a little.

At that focus distance, f4 would still give quite a shallow DoF. There's more to DoF than aperture, subject distance is probably the biggest factor. At macro distances f22 can give millimetres of DoF. At infinity f2 can give thousands of miles (astrophotography).

And finally: none of the 'technical' camera craft stuff is as important as what's in your viewfinder, there are composition and lighting issues on all of the above.
 
chrisboswell said:
I have done, so much so I can now use M and get exposure correct on dial quite quickly.

Is it that it's too wipe open and then lens is not sharp at that extreme.

If shot at f4 or f5.6 would have background in focus which wouldn't emphasis the dogs face...

Missed the other 2 posts also so replied below.
Click to expand...

That's great, but the truth is if you're images aren't coming out right no one really cares what your shooting.

As an insight, I shoot almost exclusively in aperture priority with maximum ISO set to 12,800 and minimum shutter speed set to 1/125.

1) I do this because of the ever changing lighting conditions on most of my shoots.
2) A shutter speed of 1/125 gives me sharp images in most conditions because of the focal lengths I tend to shoot at.
3) My camera produces reasonably good results at 12,800 ISO and I'd take a grainy image over a blurry one every day of the week.

Keep going though (y)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top