FAO Photograpghers.

[Martin]

right ive just got my new cam, its a Kodak Easy Share C613(ok not the most expensive in the world..

anyway, i want to get better at taking pics, not just of cars but other things like flowers and animals, but one of the hardest things id tried and cant for the life of me do is this..

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q161/neocapture/TDN10.jpg

I always get the thing i'm going to take a pic of blurred and the back ground in focus..


any help?


Martin

[trackdaynova]

Depending on the facilities of the camera, you want to put it into "macro" mode, which will more than likely try and focus on anything closer than 15cm to the lens (different cameras have different focal lengths on macro)

To get the subject off centre, for more interest, again - probably restrictions on the camera will only allow you to do it this way...

Get the object you want in focus, in the middle of the view finder
Press the shutter button down half way so it focusses, and it'll probably beep
Then keeping your finger half way down, just move the camera slightly to make the focussed object off centre
Then click down all the way

Practise by holding out your finger in front of the lens, and trying to get the background of your PC screen out of focus

Post up your results here, it'll be good to see :)


PS: the above doesn't apply if you are using D-SLR cameras

[Martin]

cheers, these are my best atempts,

didnt use my finger as i cant keep my hand still its that cold..

Gonna take some practice this...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/Martain_novalicious/000_0008.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/Martain_novalicious/000_0010-1.jpg

[Martin]

more shocking attempts..

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/Martain_novalicious/000_0001.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/Martain_novalicious/000_0002.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/Martain_novalicious/000_0004.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/Martain_novalicious/000_0005.jpg


BTW, pics taken on "close up" mode on cam, as i cant find macro...


altho my k850i as a Macro and a Infinte mode..

[General Baxter]

ahhhhhhh frazzels

[Jack]

Your camera isn't holding the focus properly there. As said, you need to focus on an object (if your camera has autofocus, it'll be whatever is in the centre of the pic), then tilt the camera so the focussed object is off centre.

This thread needs Bump :D

[Stuart]

macro looks like a little tulip icon if you cant find the words

top knob of the camera, roate to the little flower and try again

[Martin]

By tilting, you mean up or down, or left/right?

[Martin]

macro looks like a little tulip icon if you cant find the words

found it:thumb: :D

[Jack]

Depends where you want the in focus part to be.

http://img463.imageshack.us/img463/4717/200602170168azl2.th.jpg (http://img463.imageshack.us/my.php?image=200602170168azl2.jpg)

That pic I tilted the camera back a little (its a pic from inside my car looking up at rain on the sunroof) so the point in focus dropped down from being in the centre of the pic to around the bottom third.

[Martin]

omg thats ace.. erm.. im put to shame lol.. i can take great pics of cars etc, i wanna expand and not just do cars, and this is some thing ive always wonderd how to do, i tried it with a ladiebird on my mates XE rockercover annd the same thing happend..

[trackdaynova]

licious - looks like your either holding the focus object too close (not focussing) or too far away (by focussing)

when you press and hold the shutter button half way down, does a little green box appear to say that the camera is happy with what it's focussed on?

it's all about DOF (depth of field) with the amount of blur you have, but sometimes too much ruins photos... you want the complete object (ie a car) to be in focus, not just the headlights, and the rest a blur...

This is a dead moth which was only about 3mm in real life length, I was testing a new lens at the time, but you can see I've used the smallest aperature to get the greatest DOF

So much so, that his left antenna above his eye is in focus, yet less then 2mm further away from the lens, his right antenna is blurred...

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/oliver.hewitt/NeoCapture/Macro03.jpg

[Lee]

Olly has skills :)

[euro sbd]

have a look at me old mans site www.westernphotography.co.uk (http://www.westernphotography.co.uk) there is some really nice shots on there, wildlife/flowers/london/scenery/black and white.

[LUV2XLR8]

i did cinema photography for 3 years in college.......... still dont know how to do it, i can tunnle tho ;p like they do on top gear... makes the car seem like it gets fat before the camera :D
and thats about all the skill i have lol

[NovaLad]

It's not hard TBH i just did it on my dads digi cam but can't put them on comp till drive fixed.

[bump]

This thread needs Bump :D

Hello,

Looks like you've got macro mode enabled, but it's a fixed focus macro. So you need to adjust the camera's position relative to the subject. You can always crop later in your app of choice.

[NovaLad]

It's alot harder to do IMO on the phone but i gave it a go lol.
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i319/MD_Crew/DSC01463.jpg

[bump]

A phone isn't really a camera IMO, just a gadget.

[Adam]

That moth is an amazing pic.

[craig green]

Great thread.

So much of it is about trial & error & also when viewing other photo's, rather than just looking at the subject (car) analyse the frame & how it was captured.

Panning for shots is what I've been practising for a while. Photography can still be enjoyable even with a miserable little digi-cam.

Main skill is a steady hand though IMO. (hey I'm just an amateur)

[Ste L]

Great thread.

Main skill is a steady hand though IMO. (hey I'm just an amateur)

or be lazy and use a tripod lol

[ade]

tbh to get the kind of pics that youve posted of the air filter you need a decent d-slr (canon 350d, nikon d70 etc) although many modern "compact" cameras can also do a decent job - it all depends on what functions they have.

To get the shot like the filter, you dont have to be that close. All you need is an understanding of "depth of field" and a zoom lens (although its not essential).

Camera lesson no 1 - aperture and depth of field...

To understand all this you need to understand how your cameras lens reads light and the affect of aperture and shutter speeds. These 2 areas are critical in ensuring you get either a sharp crisp image or a soft one with blurred backgrounds etc.

Depth of field is controlled by the aperture of the lens. Most modern camera lenses (eg digital slrs like canon 350d and nikon d70) have blades inside their lenses that, like the pupil in your eye, can be closed right down (small aperture) or opened right up (wide aperture). The smaller the aperture the bigger the number on the camera and vice versa. EG an aperture of F22 is a small aperture where as an aperture of F5.6 is a big one.

The wider the aperture (smaller the number) the more light gets in the camera. As a result your shutter speed will be "fast" (about 1/125sec or faster). As a rule shots with a wide aperture tend to be "softer" (not as crisp) throughout the image as the lens is focusing on one specific spot and the speed of the shutter captures enough detail for the focal point. An example of this is the air filter pic you put up. This image has an in focus filter (sharp) but the background is soft (blured). The amount of blur is called depth of field.

Heres an example I took of "munkey". I took this pic with a canon 350d using an aperture of f5.6 (wide aperture). The shutter speed was about 1/3sec (slow but he was only lit by a lamp). on my camera I have a function called "Aperture priority mode" which means I set the aperture and the camera calculates the correct shutter speed for me.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/danga/munkey001.jpg

As you can see Munkeys background (the curtains desk and printer, even his arm) are out of focus. On Munkey I focussed on his mouth and thats the only real part thats in sharp focus. If you look carefully you can see a spot on his left cheek thats also slightly blured. Such a small area of focus means that the whole image has a "shallow" depth of field. You can also get shallow depth of field by zooming into to something close to you.


The smaller the aperture (bigger the number) the less light gets in the camera. As a result you will probably use a slow shutter speed. This means your need to have a steady hand as the shot will take longer to expose (use a tripod). A small aperture is good if you want really crisp sharp images throughout the picture (from foreground the background) known as a maximum depth of field. Because youre using a small aperture hardly any light gets in so the available light is tightly focussed across the whole image making it sharp.
Here's the same munkey pic but instead of f5.6 I used an aperture of f22. The shutter speed increased to a massive 30 seconds.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/danga/munkey002.jpg

As you can see the images are identical in every way except the amount of focus. This munkey is in sharp focus and although the printer is a little blured its much sharper and more recognisable than the above shot.

It took me AGES to get my head around this subject but once mastered you can get some amazing results. I prefer the shallow f5.6 munkey because he's isolated from the background (wider aperture is great for portrait shots).

Hope this helps...

Ade

[bump]

Nice advice and well written Ade :thumb:

I tend to assume a little much prior knowledge. Try Michale Langford's Basic Photography for more info.

[Ste L]

after seeing ade's monkeh shot's, i'd though i'd have ago myself..

here's the result's

http://www.corsasport.co.uk/carimages/5034/S8000088.JPG

http://www.corsasport.co.uk/carimages/5034/S8000084.JPG

http://www.corsasport.co.uk/carimages/5034/S8000091.JPG

[Martin]

wow, cheers ade, great pics formyou all..

gonna have to get some more sortedsoon giv it another go.

[novaco]

Ace thread!!

that pic with the blurred printer is Ace!! new desktop pic lol

[Martin]

Think i'm gettin there now..?

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/Martain_novalicious/DSC01103.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/Martain_novalicious/DSC01105.jpg

last two are best imo

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/Martain_novalicious/DSC01108.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/Martain_novalicious/DSC01109.jpg


What yas think?


P.s Taken on 5.0mp phone..

[Jack]

Last one is good. Quality isn't great but they're from a phone so its not expected to be top quality :D

[Martin]

yea not very often i take my cam out with me..

[Adam]

Some good tips in this thread, been trying a few out myself.
Not bad for a first attempt.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/Nova-crew/DSCN0018resize.jpg

[Martin]

nice fingers lol

[NovaLad]

What's that smell lol jk

Good pic

[Martin]

^ your mum pmsl

[NovaLad]

Shutup you mong lol ... it's like being at bloody school here lol!

[Adam]

lol

[DTR-DEVIL]

Recently cut my finger at work. Got a snap using Macro. Be warned. Not the nicest of Pics!

Image removed - Wasn't a good quality image for starters and the content was not acceptable for general chat. Please don't post this sort of thing again.

*Sorry, Thought it was in theme with the thread*

[ade]

lol

Ste's last pic is an excellent example of shallow depth of firld in reverse - the item in the foreground (ash reay) is out of focus but Munkey in the distance is in focus. nice shot

Camera phones tend to use a wide appeture simply because they let in more light. by definition theyre softer focus and have lots of "chromatic abberation" (that's the blue haze around the image cause by a low quality/small lens) - however the overall effect is good and youre getting there!

Take you camera out with you (not to the pub though) - especially as it gets cold and frosty - can get some amazing shots of ice crystals etc...

[Martin]

think i've cracked it lads...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/Martain_novalicious/000_0017.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/Martain_novalicious/000_0016-1.jpg