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03/14/2011 10:02:24 AM · #1 |
I know I saw somebody mention this before, but I can't seem to find the thread.
If you're at a zoo, and are trying to take pictures through the fence, I remember reading there's a way to get the fencing to be so out of focus that you can barely recognize.
I know you had to use a very small aperture, but cant remember what else was required (focal length? proximity to fence?)
Anyone have any insight? |
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03/14/2011 10:16:02 AM · #2 |
The following are the factors that affect the results materially:
- Aperture: use the widest aperture you have available, e.g. f/2.8, not f/8
- Focal length: longer is better
- Distance: minimize the distance from the front element to the fence, to the extent that even taking off the lens hood to get closer may be helpful... but careful of getting the front element in contact with the fence!
- Lighting: try to shade the part of the fence in front of the lens if possible; this will be accomplished by default if the lens is up to the fence and the sun is behind you.
- Position: position the lens so that the center of the lens is centered on an opening in the fence, if the openings are large. If the openings are smaller, position won't make much difference. |
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03/14/2011 10:38:11 AM · #3 |
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03/14/2011 01:33:08 PM · #4 |
Kirbic is correct.... I shoot through fences all the time at sporting events.... You just use a long lens and put it right up next to the fence and shoot away... the only problem is that the fence, even though perfectly out of focus, will sometimes screw with your autofocus...
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03/14/2011 01:41:41 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
Kirbic is correct.... I shoot through fences all the time at sporting events.... You just use a long lens and put it right up next to the fence and shoot away... the only problem is that the fence, even though perfectly out of focus, will sometimes screw with your autofocus... |
I tried this past weekend without much success. I was using as short a aperture as possible (f/4.5 on my cheapie canon lens) but the fence was very very apparent in all my pictures. BUT, I was also about 6-7 feet away from the fence (some enclosures wouldn't let you get right up to the fence), so maybe the distance from the fence was my main issue. |
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03/14/2011 01:47:33 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by gcoulson:
...BUT, I was also about 6-7 feet away from the fence (some enclosures wouldn't let you get right up to the fence), so maybe the distance from the fence was my main issue. |
Yes, that's your issue. If you can't get closer to the fence, there's not much else you can do. FWIW, even a very wide aperture might not get you where you need to be wit that kind of distance to the fence; it would depend on how far behind the fence your subject is. |
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03/14/2011 01:47:59 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by gcoulson:
... BUT, I was also about 6-7 feet away from the fence (some enclosures wouldn't let you get right up to the fence), so maybe the distance from the fence was my main issue. |
Absolutely this is the problem, the fence needs to be very close tot he lens to "disappear" effectively.
You can experiment by setting your camera on manual focus at infinity, then shooting something far away while holding a pencil or soda straw in front of the lens at progressively shorter distances, starting maybe two feet away, and see how vlose it has to get to blur out. Also, make sure the aperture is as wide open as you can make it. Let us know the result ... |
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03/14/2011 01:57:04 PM · #8 |
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03/14/2011 02:15:36 PM · #9 |
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03/14/2011 03:38:14 PM · #10 |
I took this on a very overcast morning from my car at the Wildlife Safari in Winston, OR.. Focal distance was the full 200mm with my 70-200, and aperture was f/2.8. I can't remember the exact distance from the car to the fence, but it had to have been 4-5 feet. Most of the fence disappeared, but you can see a faint crosshatching towards the top half of the photo. I would imagine that's because technically the upper part of the photo was further away than the center. There's probably some at the bottom too, but it blends with the grass.
There's walk-around area of the safari that we went to last where I actually got pretty frustrated. There was a pedestrian fence and an animal fence... and a crowd of people. That put me a good 7-8 feet (if not more) from the inner fence I was trying to shoot through. The sun had also come out directly over head, so 2.8 was brutally over-exposing. I found myself wishing "all those people with their stupid little point and shoots that weren't going to get the shot anyway would get out of my way". Of course the moment that thought finished the rational part of my brain bitch-slapped the inner brat and told it to stop being an elitist bitch. I saw how easy it is for someone with a "big lens" to feel entitled. That was a valuable lesson in and of itself. |
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03/14/2011 03:52:24 PM · #11 |
Then there's cloning out the fence and healing. I always like to bring up this example when this subject comes up. crabappl3 shot a bird through a fence and cloned out the fence painstakingly. Check out the before and after results:
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03/14/2011 04:13:45 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by Louis:
Then there's cloning out the fence and healing. I always like to bring up this example when this subject comes up. crabappl3 shot a bird through a fence and cloned out the fence painstakingly. Check out the before and after results:
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Wonder if that would still get validated? |
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03/14/2011 04:17:06 PM · #13 |
| As it's not central to the image, I would imagine it would be treated in Advanced the same as powerlines, sensor dust, flare, and other items. |
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03/14/2011 04:19:57 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by Louis:
As it's not central to the image, I would imagine it would be treated in Advanced the same as powerlines, sensor dust, flare, and other items. |
But..... I do think it would significantly change my description of the photo. *shrug* Don't think I'd have the huevos to do that and submit. |
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03/14/2011 04:19:58 PM · #15 |
Double post.
Message edited by author 2011-03-14 16:20:20. |
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03/14/2011 04:25:17 PM · #16 |
This was shot through fencing, it was my February FS entry.
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