F Number frustration

[Greywolf]

What Bluesilver said. The shots you have on your flickr page are great. There is some softness though. Check the eyes. If the eyes are in focus, some softness elsewhere will often be overlooked.

A good example of this is the use of the Canon 85mm f1.2 lens. This is a bit of a specialist beast (often used for portraits), because it will produce VERY sharp images with very little depth of field which together with the fantastic bokeh it creates (out of focus background), produces very eyecatching images.

I can recommend it if you have a spare £1800 floating around.

 

[mrthingyx]

I like this post
I'm still trying to practice and they are still not as sharp as I want them.
I'm looking after a 2 year old who moves around like crazy and trying to get a smiling face shot, indoors with a tripod is just proving impossible!

Any more tips on this situation pleaseeeee :shrug:

Just take photos.

The advice given on this thread is more than you need to get started and will last you a very long time.

Your Flickr photos are lovely shots... But one thing to remember is that you 50mm lens MIGHT be soft wide open at f1.8, but also because tho depth of field is so thin, only a tiny part of the image will be in sharp focus and will therefore look blurry.

Focus on the eyes... That's what is most important to remember. And don't expect to be a godly photographer after a short period of time... It doesn't work like that.

 

[rhody]

I have a Flicr account with 6 photos on there so you can have a look

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kira_farrow

You are off to a good start there kira - you are just going through a learning curve that's all - your photos already show your potential and creative eye

 

[kira]

I've actually had this camera a couple of years but fell in and out of practising with it.

But recently I've had people tell me I need to get into it more and I've also had people ask me to take some photos for them, only problem is like I've been saying, I'm not happy with the outcome and so don't take them up on the offers

Maybe trying to get an up close facial picture of a 2 year old moving around like mad, using my 400D and a 50mm Lens is not going to happen then??:shrug:

 

[Barry Senior]

ALDI have some tripods in at the moment I think they are £12 very light and good for about six months; I used to have one a good start if you can’t afford more.

 

[munchycarrot]

I'd say learn the settings is crucial by following some of the advice given in this thread. I've never used a tripod for a portrait, understand what the camera is doing and you'll get the results you're looking for

 

[kira]

Hi Kira and welcomed to the wonderfull world photography

Can offer a few thoughts for you?

1) You have had some really good pointers about how the aperture affects the Depth of Field and thus with in your example say a family of 4 are standing in a group where the nearest one is say 10feet from you and the furthest is sya at 13feet ~ one would expect the whole group to be in focus with an aperture of around f8

1a) Do not be tempted by using a technique called "focus & recompose" by this I mean if the group are say two adults and two children the height of the kids means that their heads are at approx waist height and you focus on the kids faces and then recompose to make sure you have the adults faces in the frame nothing will be sharply focused!

How do I do this shot then? where do I focus?

 

[Barks]

Hi Kira,

Although this page from a magazine that explains apertures doesn't tell you anything that people haven't already said on here in much greater detail it might still be helpful to you as it gives you pictures to graphically demonstrate the theories. I hope it helps you out a bit.

 

[rhody]

Maybe trying to get an up close facial picture of a 2 year old moving around like mad, using my 400D and a 50mm Lens is not going to happen then??:shrug:

I think you already have a good eye for composition and a longer focal length or zoom lens will just increase the photo opportunities available to you and give you more flexibility.

Kids do like their space and a zoom lens will give you the chance to stay back and be more of an observer than being too close to them. A 50mm lens on your camera is capable of producing good portraits but you will have to work harder to get the best out of it.

When we next have a Hampshire photo meeting you are welcome to borrow a 28-135 IS zoom lens for the day. See how you get on with it and how much more flexibility it gives you.