out of focus birds? - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

05/29/2004 12:02:06 AM · #1

was mucking round taking pics at one of the local parks when I turned round and quickly snapped this

I got the boy in focus but not the birds.....F2.4, 1/1000,ISO 100. Had to alter the colour balance as it was taken almost directly into the sun. Didn't have time to set anything on the camera up but if I had, would a higher F no. have given a better pic of the seagulls?

Next question....best cropping for a pic like this....do you include the bird on the left in flight? Some of the comments on my challenge entries have been about loose cropping - my method at present is to just do what looks about right to my eye......

thanks
sue

cpanaioti

Canon EOS-40D

05/29/2004 01:18:17 AM · #2

The lower f numbers give the shallowest depth of field therefore a higher f number would have helped bring more of the scene into focus.

As far as the camera focusing on the boy, it's probably because the focus point was on the boy when the picture was taken.

For cropping, this is a bit of a challenge since there is a person in the background with his/her arms spread and only the arm is visible in the picture. Cropping this out is more important. This would leave only the bird's wing left in the photo and that would also need to be cropped. That's the long answer. The short answer is yes due to the composition.

One thing to remember, try not to leave body parts sneaking into your pictures.

zeuszen

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II

05/29/2004 01:19:22 AM · #3

A higher f/stop (smaller aperture) would increase the depth of field. In order to accomodate focus on all birds, front and back, you'd need f/8 (the smallest on the F717). I find the shallow dof you achieved here quite dynamic and possibly more interesting than an infinite one.

Your second question is one I often ask myself when considering an out-of-camera image. It is best, I feel, to exclude anything redundant to the essence/gist of any shot. In other words, if there is more than one 'story' to a photo, it is almost always best to tell it with more than one shot, i.e. 'yes' I would crop that gull together with that poor partial bystander. ;-)

Message edited by author 2004-05-29 01:20:50.

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

05/29/2004 02:40:48 AM · #4

the cropped version - sue

Canon EOS-60D

05/29/2004 09:45:44 AM · #5

Very cute picture...love the boy's expression. I agree wholeheartedly with the previous posters about cropping. The cropped version Sue has posted is really nice! :o)

dcano

Nikon D100

Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D

05/29/2004 09:50:16 AM · #6

Sue's crop is what I was thinking as well. I actually like that the boys is in focus and the gulls are out. I think the image is about the boy. It may just be me, but if the gulls were in focus I may not have immediately been drawn to him. I like the photo just as it is. Good Job.
dc

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

05/29/2004 09:50:33 AM · #7

Sue,
Regarding the DoF on thi shot, it actually looks like the cam locked onto the background. Notice the grass, the boy is at the very front of the in-focus area. Items way in the background (fence, bush) are well focused. Bringing the focus point forward could have resulted in a more pleasing shot, but of course of course ther eare no do-overs when you shoot spontaneously.
I agree some cropping is desirable; before doing so, rotate the image so that vertical things are really vertical. The posts at left provide a good guide.

Olyuzi

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7

Panasonic Lumix G 14mm F2.5 ASPH

05/29/2004 09:58:38 AM · #8

To me it doesn't appear that you were shooting into the sun, but rather that it was at about 9 o'clock, which is good. Otherwise, your exposure would have been all off if you were shooting directly into the sun.

The cropped version is better than the original, I feel, but one thing you didn't do was straighten the horizon line with a rotation in your image editing program.

Also, it appears that the cropped version has slightly less contrast or color saturation. As far as that goes, I prefer the original.

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

05/29/2004 09:58:50 AM · #9

Originally posted by kirbic:

Sue,
I agree some cropping is desirable; before doing so, rotate the image so that vertical things are really vertical. The posts at left provide a good guide.

can I rotate with ps?

Canon EOS-60D

05/29/2004 10:07:08 AM · #10

Yes. I have PS 6.0, which is older but still functional, and it has the rotate capability. It's in "Image" on the toolbar. Select Rotate Canvas, then it will give you a list of things like 180, 90, etc. Choose "arbitrary" and you can put in the angle you want. Just a degree or two will probably be enough. You can choose clockwise or counter-clockwise for the direction. Hope this helps! :0)

Panasonic Lumix G 14mm F2.5 ASPH

05/29/2004 10:35:45 AM · #11

rotated 3 degrees clockwise, colours adjusted as the pic was originally very overexposed due to the light and I didn't quite get it right in the 2nd pic - sue
boy and the gull mark 3 :)

it amazes me....you guys notice things that I don't even see - after the horizon was pointed out it was really obvious but before that....I didn't even notice. Do you get better at this stuff?
*edited to make comments :P

Message edited by author 2004-05-29 10:38:55.

Olyuzi

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7

05/29/2004 10:41:24 AM · #12

I think that's much better Sue, and the increased contrast brings the pic to life. Only thing I think is left to do with it, is to desaturate the green grass slightly. To me, it looks too neon, but that's just my opinion and you may like it that glowing.

cpanaioti

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

05/29/2004 10:56:03 AM · #13

The following tutorial describes a quick way to straighten an image using the measure tool in photoshop.

//www.dpchallenge.com/tutorial.php?TUTORIAL_ID=21

Message edited by author 2004-05-29 10:56:24.