am I doing something wrong w/ my photography?

Non-'puter stuff. Photography, hot rods, or tropical fish for example

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BlackRider
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am I doing something wrong w/ my photography?

Post by BlackRider »

This is my absolute best picture from 351 that I took at the zoo today.

Image

I'll have to admit that I don't have much to complain about with this photo, but something still seems 'wrong' about it. I haven't done anything to it yet; just shrunk it. I really needs something.

Maybe one of you can figure it out... is it color? composition? focus? idk

Also, Porsche... how do you get such vibrant color in all of your photos? I can't even come close after hours of post processing. :S
BlackRider
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Post by BlackRider »

ok, this is an example of what drives me nuts:

I took about 30 pictures of this tiger. This is my favorite. I don't like it one bit. Can this photo be saved w/ post processing? What went wrong when I took this photo?

Image
XMENPorsche
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Post by XMENPorsche »

Okay, here's what I see.... (regarding the tiger picture)

Your camera settings were:
ISO 1600
Focal Length 300mm
Shutter speed 1/320
Aperture f/5.6

(I used the Opanda EXIF viewer to see this data)

Here are some thoughts...

* Shooting at such a high ISO tends to lend digital noise to an image, which can make it look soft. You may want to consider lowering your ISO to around 400 or 800 or so. Of course, this will mean that you need more light. A flash for fill might help.

* Your shutter speed was 1/320 and your focal length was 300mm. There's a general rule of thumb in photography - Use a shutter speed that is at least equal to your focal length in order to minimize camera shake. That being said, your shutter speed does indeed (barely) exceed the focal length that you used - but your Canon Rebel XT (I believe) has a 1.3x crop factor built in, so 300mm is really more like 390mm. You needed to use a faster shutter speed.

* If a faster shutter speed is not an option given your lighting and ISO settings I would recommend using a monopod for stabilization.

You might also want to see if your camera has any kind of built in sharpening available on one of the menus. Finally, are you shooting in JPEG fine, or JPEG basic, or what?
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XMENPorsche
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Post by XMENPorsche »

Sorry - I didn't see your additional questions at the bottom of your first post.

What are you using for post processing? Photoshop or something like that? You said that you shrunk it, but what did you use to do that? I use Photoshop CS2 and always always always run a quick unsharp mask after resizing an image.

As for the colors that I get.... some of it is done in post processing, but some of it is done in camera. My Nikon D200 has a menu setting for saturation. I don't set it extremely high, but I don't leave it at the camera default, either. I bump it a bit. Plus, I tend to do minor curves adjustments in Photoshop. I'll post a before and after pic in a few.
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Post by XMENPorsche »

Okay, here's a photo that I did over this past weekend. I shot the Texas Series MX race and had a blast. The image below is of a 5-time arena cross champion, Josh Demuth, crossing the finish line while winning his last race of the day.

This first shot is straight out of the camera. I just added my copyright and resized it in Photoshop CS2.
Image

Next is a screen shot of the actual curves adjustment that I did.
Image

Below is the final product with the curves layer added and a slight crop.
Image

The whole process took about 2 minutes in post-processing. Hope that helps.
BlackRider
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Post by BlackRider »

Thanks! That helps tonnes.

Now I just have to figure out how to adjust shutter speed on this thing.

Also, I have to learn how to shoot in low light conditions w/o a flash and through glass. Otherwise I'm missing out on about 1/3 of the zoo. :(
Especially when the animal won't holt still.

For pp I use Photoshop or MS Digital Image when I'm lazy.

Oh, and I was shooting in high quality jpeg because I only had 1 flashcard for the day and so I didn't have the storage for shooting in RAW format.
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Post by Defiance.enD »

Ahhh... if you've been shooting through glass, then you'll be getting soft images as well.

Porsche has given you some great suggestions.

The lens that you're using could also be a bit soft as well. There are some affordable lens that have some good quality, but they are few. My cheapest lens is the 85mm f1.8 Canon lens. My most expensive is the 400mm f5.6/L.

Most images will come out of your camera a bit soft. If you have PS (Photoshop) then, like Porsche says, a touch of USM will help.

I use Canon gear as well, Porsche not sure what your gear is, and I always shoot RAW, regardless of the job, as this gives me the maximum amount of control over the image once it's in the computer.

Now I just have to figure out how to adjust shutter speed on this thing.
To control the shutter speed, change your setting to Tv .. to change the aperture use Av. Otherwise, leave it in P.

Here's a shot using my flash for fill.

Image
This was shot using the 400mm.

[/img]
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BlackRider
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Post by BlackRider »

yay! I'll be back at the zoo when school starts again. Then it won't be so crowded and I can take all the time I want. I'll do some test shoots tomorrow at work and at the park and see what I can get.

Thanks for the advice... we'll see if any of it sunk in. ;)
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Post by XMEN Gambit »

BTW, I have a Canon 50mm 1.8 lens for my really low-light shots. I think it's the cheapest prime lens they make. (The only cheaper lens I know of is the 18-55 f3.5.) Not perfect, there are tradeoffs, but it does what I got it for. It's about $80.

Wes, do you gauge your curves settings by eye? If so, do you color-calibrate your monitor?
Image
XMENPorsche
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Post by XMENPorsche »

Wes, do you gauge your curves settings by eye? If so, do you color-calibrate your monitor?
Yes and Yes. I do guage it by eye and I color calibrate my screen using Spyder2express. The before and after of the calibration showed that the software made my screen a tad warmer.

BR - I didn't know you were shooting through glass. Like Defiance said, that can tend to make things a tad soft.
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Post by Defiance.enD »

I've been looking at monitor calibration systems as well, and if I start making some really big money, then it will be in the office.

Just to let you guys know, I was hired out for a group shoot last week, that's also going to be used in ProPilot magazine ! :D

Probably won't get credited, but I know who took the shot as does the client. ;)
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XMENPorsche
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Post by XMENPorsche »

Way to go! Congrats, d00d.

BTW - when you going to start showing your mug around TPF again?
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Post by Defiance.enD »

Haven't played Tribes in I don't know how long. :(

My newer system crashed sometime back, pictures were saved, and I just never have gotten around to installing it. :/

But then, I'm playing BF2 more now. If anyone ever wants to find me, I joined up with a great group of guys (my age) called the Geezers that run their own server. So just search for Geezer or GzR and that's usually where I'm at. :)

I play under =GzR=DefiancenD .. can't give up my enDless stuff :D
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XMENPorsche
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Post by XMENPorsche »

Ahem.... When I asked when you were going to show your mug around TPF again I wasn't talking about Tribes. I was talking about the Texas Photo Forum.

You have been away too long.
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Post by Defiance.enD »

DOH!!!

When the system crashed, so did all my links. :(

Guess I'll have to get busy again. :D
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