Critique More family photos. less processing this time!

Phil V said:
I'll not comment on the images, but what is the thinking behind using both Aperture and LR, they're 2 programs designed to do the same job.
I can't get my head round why you think it makes sense. I'm truly baffled.
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Phil, yep it's a bit odd!

I've used Aperture for years and I know it really well. I've always used it to import, process and export and for my library as well.

Since I got lightroom earlier in the year I've been trying to use that but still trying to get my head around using that to import and mainly how to keep all the photos together in a library from LR after processing. I find it rather confusing still so that's why I am organising them in Aperture and then exporting into LR to process.

It's a pain and time consuming and obviously need to get my head round using LR exclusively.

Cheers
 
nessiemac said:
Phil, yep it's a bit odd!

I've used Aperture for years and I know it really well. I've always used it to import, process and export and for my library as well.

Since I got lightroom earlier in the year I've been trying to use that but still trying to get my head around using that to import and mainly how to keep all the photos together in a library from LR after processing. I find it rather confusing still so that's why I am organising them in Aperture and then exporting into LR to process.

It's a pain and time consuming and obviously need to get my head round using LR exclusively.

Cheers
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It's the same process, you just need to learn how it works and the terminology.

Buy a book (Scott Kelby)
 
Phil V said:
It's the same process, you just need to learn how it works and the terminology.

Buy a book (Scott Kelby)
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I can import and process the photos in LR ok, it's just how and where to export them in a logical manner so they are easily found and sorted. Lots of reading to do I guess. Thanks.
 
nessiemac said:
I can import and process the photos in LR ok, it's just how and where to export them in a logical manner so they are easily found and sorted. Lots of reading to do I guess. Thanks.
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I don't export them until I want to post, share or deliver them somewhere else. I just leave them as raw files in Lightroom and use that for sorting, impromptu slideshows and the like.

Lightroom is pretty good at organising things once you've decided on an approach, but working out whether to use catalogues, tagging, albums, flags, ratings, colour labels, collections or just folder names takes a while.

I have a fairly small number of large catalogues, one per subject area. Each time I import a shoot I call it 'yyyy-mm-dd <subject name>', then I try to apply some appropriate tags so I can search later. I make extensive use of ratings and colour labels to help organise things, too.
 
nessiemac said:
I can import and process the photos in LR ok, it's just how and where to export them in a logical manner so they are easily found and sorted. Lots of reading to do I guess. Thanks.
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The exporting is easy, by default it'll export into the current folder, into a sub folder it creates labelled with the file type TIFF JPEG etc.
 
juggler said:
Much better! Now it may be just be me the new additions all seem very slightly soft. The wisps of hair are consistently sharp but the eyes aren't quite. I don't think it's motion blur or insufficient output sharpening. I wonder whether your lens is back-focusing and needs calibrating?
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i noticed this too.
 
Morbid said:
Dave - what AF option are you using (zone or single point)? Are you focusing on the eye? They look a bit soft to me as well.
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Single point on servo AF with these and trying to get the focus on the eyes. I noticed the softness on the eyes on a few of them as well. Hmmm, not doing very well here!
 
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You're using a fairly wide aperture. Is it possible that the kids are fractionally moving in between focus being set and shutter being activated?
 
nessiemac said:
Single point on servo AF with these and trying to get the focus on the eyes. I noticed the softness on the eyes on a few of them as well. Hmmm, not doing very well here!
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Not sure you need servo AF as they aren't moving, but that shouldn't make any difference. Maybe @juggler's comment about your lens front/back focusing is valid, but seems unusual for a Canon lens to need micro-adjustment.
 
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ibecks said:
You're using a fairly wide aperture. Is it possible that the kids are fractionally moving in between focus being set and shutter being activated?
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F4 isn't that wide, though it is wide open - I'm wondering....does this lens get sharper if stopped down (I've never used this lens)? Servo AF would/should adjust for any movement though as I said above not really needed for posed shots.
 
Never really had a problem with this lens at all including my usual fast moving bikes. Just checked the focus points on the photos and it's more or less where I was focussing so pretty stumped on some of them!
 
Morbid said:
F4 isn't that wide, though it is wide open - I'm wondering....does this lens get sharper if stopped down (I've never used this lens)? Servo AF would/should adjust for any movement though as I said above not really needed for posed shots.
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Oops! Missed the Flickr link :oops: :$
 
nessiemac said:
Never really had a problem with this lens at all including my usual fast moving bikes. Just checked the focus points on the photos and it's more or less where I was focussing so pretty stumped on some of them!
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I'm out of ideas too, hopefully someone will be along with more experience. What I would say though is you certainly have an eye for composition and many would argue that can't be learned. You won't get 100% keeper rate with kids shots, I do know that.

Could be very slight camera shake, they may not have been completely still, I don't know. I find 1/320sec is a good shutter speed with kids. Taking three or four shots together may give you more scope for getting one shot with focus spot on.

And let's be fair, apart from photographers would anyone even notice? It can only be seen if you zoom in and I suspect would be hard to see even if it's printed quite large (especially on canvas).

Keep shooting and posting up your shots.
 
nessiemac said:
Just checked the focus points on the photos and it's more or less where I was focussing so pretty stumped on some of them!
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This - combined with the face that the edge of the hair is consistently sharper than the eye as - definitely suggests a calibration issue. It's easy enough to test. Has it taken a knock recently?

(Usual disclaimer applies.. I spout all this stuff quite confidently while sitting in the mirrorless camp - which has a whole different set of focusing issues but calibration isn't one of them).
 
juggler said:
This - combined with the face that the edge of the hair is consistently sharper than the eye as - definitely suggests a calibration issue. It's easy enough to test. Has it taken a knock recently?

(Usual disclaimer applies.. I spout all this stuff quite confidently while sitting in the mirrorless camp - which has a whole different set of focusing issues but calibration isn't one of them).
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I'd sort of ruled that out as Dave says focus hasn't previously been an issue, but it would certainly be worth checking. Easy enough to do with a test sheet and tripod.
 
juggler said:
This - combined with the face that the edge of the hair is consistently sharper than the eye as - definitely suggests a calibration issue. It's easy enough to test. Has it taken a knock recently?

(Usual disclaimer applies.. I spout all this stuff quite confidently while sitting in the mirrorless camp - which has a whole different set of focusing issues but calibration isn't one of them).
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Morbid said:
I'd sort of ruled that out as Dave says focus hasn't previously been an issue, but it would certainly be worth checking. Easy enough to do with a test sheet and tripod.
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I shall be checking the lens out over the weekend though as i said I've never had an issue with this lens but you never know.

I just want to say a huge thanks to everyone who has contributed to the thread so far, made me see a few errors i have been doing and the help has been invaluable.

Cheers everyone and hopefully my next set of shots will be vastly improved.

Dave
 
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