Shallow DOF out-takes - DPChallenge Forums

12/21/2005 06:07:20 AM · #1

I'm sure plenty of people took plenty of photos with fairly shallow DOF this week that didn't end up in the challenge.

Here's my out-take

- any opinions as to how it would have done ? My current shot is hovering slightly above/below 6 which is probably quite a bit higher than this one would have scored, but as always critiques/comments / your own out-takes are welcome.

Cheers

Message edited by author 2005-12-21 06:07:38.

12/21/2005 06:34:59 PM · #2

Wow, big response there :). My thread killing abilities apparently extend to my own threads.

hehehe.

DanSig

12/21/2005 06:50:31 PM · #3

your image looks nice, except for that blue.. whatever that is..
but I think the meaning of the challenge was to use shallow DOF to focus on a specific subject of interest, that is so the shallow DOF would show you what it was on the image that was the main subject.

like mine.. I entered the phobia challenge so this image never made it in to a challenge..

12/21/2005 06:57:42 PM · #4

Thanks for the response Dan ...

Your shot definately uses DOF effectively.

Regarding your comments about the challenge - the description states that "Shallow depth of field is often used to isolate a subject from its surrounding environment or to make it stand out. Find a creative use of a shallow depth of field for this week's challenge."

You seem to have latched onto the first part of that statement - which merely gives an example of how shallow DOF can be used - it is in no way a directive. The real meat of the challenge description is contained within the second part of the statement - the challenge thus requires the photographer simply to "find a creative use of shallow depth of field" which suggests that any photo with shallow DOF would meet the challenge.

Message edited by author 2005-12-21 18:59:07.

Quantaray AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Tele-Macro for Canon

12/21/2005 07:10:59 PM · #5

Here is one of mine. Pretty darn boring. LOL....

I was actually out taking shots of some horses when I said "hey, let me use this fence to try out the shallow dof and see what happens". Well, dang, when I got home and saw it on my monitor, I was pissed there wasn't anything on top of that post. It would have been nice if even a leaf was on it. LOL....But although a great shallow dof example, the photo itself is bor-iiiinnnnggg.

So the second post in is the only thing in focus, and to ME, THAT is shallow DOF and what it truly means.

Don't ask me how I did it. I have no clue. I had no clue how to set my point and shoot for a shallow DOF shot. Even with my actual entry I had no clue. All I could do was keep shooting till I found one that worked when I got home. LOL...

I find it is WAY too easy to take a shot of a close object and have blurred, yet coinciding subjects, in the back. So to get a good shallow dof, it was hit or miss for me.

Rose

Quantaray AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Tele-Macro for Canon

12/21/2005 07:14:47 PM · #6

Originally posted by samtrundle:

I'm sure plenty of people took plenty of photos with fairly shallow DOF this week that didn't end up in the challenge.

Here's my out-take - any opinions as to how it would have done ? My current shot is hovering slightly above/below 6 which is probably quite a bit higher than this one would have scored, but as always critiques/comments / your own out-takes are welcome.

Cheers

See...I don't know whether or not I would have scored this so high. There is a lot going on here, and I think the subject matter was just to busy. As for shallow dof, it is kinda there, but not to my "in your face" liking. I probably would have scored it a 4. A five is what I give initually, and you wouldn't have lost points for not meeting challenge, but would have lost one point due to me not quite liking the business in the photo.

Rose

Quantaray AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Tele-Macro for Canon

12/21/2005 07:16:19 PM · #7

Originally posted by DanSig:

Yes, this is a good shallow dof shot. I am surprised others didn't enter these subjects. Maybe you are the only one that can afford so many lenses. LOL....

Rose

//dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=320538

12/21/2005 08:17:24 PM · #8

Originally posted by Rose8699:

Thanks for the comment Rose. Well I didn't submit it because it's not spectacular, and even if it was, its probably too abstract for most in the dpc audience (as a pretty solid rule abstract photos don't do well here) - as I said my current submission will be lucky to scrape a six -and obviously I think its better than my out-take.

However, as for the shallow dof being 'kinda there' - I don't really see how much more shallow your gunna get - it's pretty close to a 1:1 macro shot at f2.8 - very little of the image is actually in focus.

kyebosh

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 80-200mm f/2.8L

12/21/2005 08:21:11 PM · #9

Quantaray AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Tele-Macro for Canon

12/21/2005 08:25:40 PM · #10

Originally posted by samtrundle:

Originally posted by Rose8699:

See...I don't know whether or not I would have scored this so high. There is a lot going on here, and I think the subject matter was just to busy. As for shallow dof, it is kinda there, but not to my "in your face" liking. I probably would have scored it a 4. A five is what I give initually, and you wouldn't have lost points for not meeting challenge, but would have lost one point due to me not quite liking the business in the photo.

Rose

Thanks for the comment Rose. Well I didn't submit it because it's not spectacular, and even if it was, its probably too abstract for most in the dpc audience (as a pretty solid rule abstract photos don't do well here) - as I said my current submission will be lucky to scrape a six -and obviously I think its better than my out-take.

However, as for the shallow dof being 'kinda there' - I don't really see how much more shallow your gunna get - it's pretty close to a 1:1 macro shot at f2.8 - very little of the image is actually in focus.

I don't know. Geeez. I guess I just have this thing stuck in my head that is looking not for size or inches, etc, but if something is isolated from its surroundings in the photo. I see that it is in some areas in yours, but not completely isolated. Maybe I am wrong, I don't know. It is just too busy for me to tell. LOL....It's so subjective this shallow dof thing. No one talked to me about the smallness of the object on websites or even for the challenge. My subject is small, but not THAT small, and I just went with confusion lines before the subject, surrounding it, and after it. Now if that doesn't work, then oh well. Right now its trying to push a 4.9. Terrible. Then again, there are 347 entries. I seriously do not believe it will win. I just know it won't brown out either. Good enough, but I am hoping for above a 60% percentile.

Rose

Message edited by author 2005-12-21 20:26:12.

12/21/2005 08:26:06 PM · #11

heheheheh - I think you'll find this thread was started earlier - but the other one does have more activity in it.

12/21/2005 08:29:09 PM · #12

sorry for the confusion rose - your subject doesn't have to be small for it to be a shallow dof shot - you can take a shot of the statue of liberty with shallow dof :). DOF refers simply to how much of the image is in focus - an image with shallow dof will have only a small portion in focus while an image with deep dof will be mostly in focus.

You can use shallow dof to isolate an object from it's surroundings/background/foreground - but you can also have a shot where a single object fills the frame that has shallow dof.

Message edited by author 2005-12-21 20:35:02.

Leica 18-56mm f/3.5-5.6 Vario Elmar-T ASPH

12/21/2005 08:31:30 PM · #13

Anyway - the other thread has a whole bunch more images in it - so I'm going to let this one lie - just wanted to clarify that I've been discussing this to clarify what shallow dof is, not in defense of my out-take - it's an out-take for a reason, i.e it's an average shot - probably one that would struggle to get above 5...

MAK

Leica CL

12/22/2005 02:47:06 AM · #14

This would of been my other choice, my current entry looks nothing like this at all and is sitting at 6.3423 right now.. would this of done better i wonder.. I think i made the right choice

MadMan2k

Sony Alpha a6400

Tamron 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VXD

12/23/2005 01:24:36 AM · #15

Taken around the same time as my entry but it's nothing like it, I went out and shot a lot of different things. Even though the aperture was at 1.8, the DOF in this shot wasn't very shallow. Probably due to sharpening and darkening it mainly.

TooCool

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

12/23/2005 01:39:53 AM · #16

Just for the record, I do not believe it is responsible or appropriate to post outtake shots during the voting period...

Bud

Canon EOS-550D Rebel T2i

Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM

12/23/2005 04:03:04 AM · #17

Originally posted by TooCool:

Just for the record, I do not believe it is responsible or appropriate to post outtake shots during the voting period...

When it states that there are outtakes posted in a thread title and you do not want to see outtakes during the challenge voting period, do not open the thread.

By posting "outtakes" as part of the title, it clearly gives each person the choice of looking or not. I appreciate Sam's responsibility in clearly marking the thread.

james_so

Canon EOS 77D

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM for Canon

12/23/2005 04:14:33 AM · #18

Originally posted by aguapreta:

Originally posted by TooCool:
Just for the record, I do not believe it is responsible or appropriate to post outtake shots during the voting period...

When it states that there are outtakes posted in a thread title and you do not want to see outtakes during the challenge voting period, do not open the thread.

By posting "outtakes" as part of the title, it clearly gives each person the choice of looking or not. I appreciate Sam's responsibility in clearly marking the thread.

It isn't a matter of wanting to see them or not, it is a matter of courtesy to those who entered the challenge and are still having their pictures voted on..

Bud

Canon EOS-550D Rebel T2i

Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM

12/23/2005 05:37:33 AM · #19

Originally posted by james_so:

It isn't a matter of wanting to see them or not, it is a matter of courtesy to those who entered the challenge and are still having their pictures voted on..

James,

That is what is meant, if you feel that looking at outtakes will influence your voting, then do not look at threads like this one. I have looked at 100's of outtakes and never once been even slightly influence during the voting of a challenge.

james_so

Canon EOS 77D

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM for Canon

12/23/2005 06:34:43 AM · #20

Originally posted by aguapreta:

Originally posted by james_so:

It isn't a matter of wanting to see them or not, it is a matter of courtesy to those who entered the challenge and are still having their pictures voted on..

James,

That is what is meant, if you feel that looking at outtakes will influence your voting, then do not look at threads like this one. I have looked at 100's of outtakes and never once been even slightly influence during the voting of a challenge.

It's not so much that voting may be influenced (although it might), more that if someone enters the challenge and is scoring low they probably don't want to see peoples outtakes that maybe look better than their entry.

This has been discussed many times and this is just one of many reasons why it isn't courteous (IMHO). I'm really not one to flog dead horses though, people will do what people do.