how to shoot...

[nuttybrenda]

i've had my canon 500D for a few months now, but i'm still pretty much a noob

the problem i'm experiencing at the moment would be DOF! i do like DOF, & its really good for artistic shots and all, but sometimes i just want an entirely sharp picture!!

for example, i'd like to take group shots of people without having one or two persons with blur DOF-ed faces it really irks me when i find shots like that.

most of the time when i take these kind of shots i use centre-focusing, but it doesn't really help.

any of you clubsnappers out there know the solution?

P.S. i know raising the aperture no. kills the DOF, but its really impossible for me to shoot with high no. aperture unless i use a tripod! and i can't possibly bring a tripod out with me all the time :/.

 

[brapodam]

Stand as parallel as possible to the middle guy...

Other than that you have to close ur aperture...no other way lol. Unless you wanna do focus stacking or something.

Use higher ISO and raise f number, that's really the only way. Use flash if u really need lor, and learn how to hold ur camera steady so u can use slower shutter speeds.

 

[kaixiang]

P.S. i know raising the aperture no. extends the DOF, but its really impossible for me to shoot with high no. aperture unless i use a tripod! and i can't possibly bring a tripod out with me all the time :/.

There's your answer. You can also:

1) max out your ISO if you haven't already done so
2) use flash to increase the amount of light available
3) make everyone stand in a single row so that they are in the same plane of focus
4) use a compact camera

All the possible solutions have their pros and cons. When there is insufficient light, photography is about choosing the lesser evil

 

[nuttybrenda]

Stand as parallel as possible to the middle guy...

Other than that you have to close ur aperture...no other way lol. Unless you wanna do focus stacking or something.

Use higher ISO and raise f number, that's really the only way. Use flash if u really need lor, and learn how to hold ur camera steady so u can use slower shutter speeds.

whoa i just went to read up on focus stacking, i think that would be tough! like getting everything to stay still for me to focus n snap and focus n snap, haha.

&& sometimes its not about camera shake problem T.T its about people-shake LOL. aka motion blur haha.

There's your answer. You can also:

1) max out your ISO if you haven't already done so
2) use flash to increase the amount of light available
3) make everyone stand in a single row so that they are in the same plane of focus
4) use a compact camera

All the possible solutions have their pros and cons. When there is insufficient light, photography is about choosing the lesser evil

:S i try to keep my max ISO at 1600 so i can retain some standard of picture quality.. but in poor light even ISO 1600 still doesnt give me a really fast shutter speed.

thinking of getting an external Nissin flash... but that idea would have to wait for me to stock up on $$.

one thing i dont really understand is why compact cameras can do the totally-sharp pictures whilst DSLRs cant! D:

 

[kaixiang]

]one thing i dont really understand is why compact cameras can do the totally-sharp pictures whilst DSLRs cant! D:

It's a combination of having a smaller sensor and lens with shorter focal lengths. I don't really remember the full explanation myself :bsmilie:

While you gain a wide depth of field, you lose low light performance and resolution in return. Photography is always about choosing the lesser evil and compromising.

 

[rgy1993]

wtf how do you 'kill' a depth of field? hahah

 

[nuttybrenda]

It's a combination of having a smaller sensor and lens with shorter focal lengths. I don't really remember the full explanation myself :bsmilie:

While you gain a wide depth of field, you lose low light performance and resolution in return. Photography is always about choosing the lesser evil and compromising.

:l ooh alright. thanks for your help!

wtf how do you 'kill' a depth of field? hahah

:X unfortunately i really suck with technical terms.

 

[rgy1993]

its just about understanding it haha all you can do is control the depth of field to suit whatever you want to do...

increasing aperture doesnt 'kill' it, simply deepens it.... and thats what you want to do if you want more people in focus for a group pic..

 

[ahbian]

Are you referring to informal group shots where you need to shot on the fly or formal shots where everyone will line up nicely?

It is a bit hard to imagine the shooting conditions your are facing. e.g. the lighting conditions, how far you are from your friends, half body shots or otherwise etc.

 

[lonarciso]

happy shooting!

 

[aspenx]

...

&& sometimes its not about camera shake problem T.T its about people-shake LOL. aka motion blur haha.
...

Use flash in rear-curtain mode. That way, the flash will go off at the later part of your exposure so it won't be a problem even if the people fidget (after the flash goes off).

Anyways, you should provide more information so that the people here can help you better.
Info like:
- how many people
- how far away
- what kind of lighting
- what focal length
- how old (?)

 

[Diavonex]

....3) make everyone stand in a single row so that they are in the same plane of focus....

If there are too many people in the single row, those on the extreme left and right will still be OOF. Imagine the radius of a circle.

 

[kaixiang]

If there are too many people in the single row, those on the extreme left and right will still be OOF. Imagine the radius of a circle.

Err... Depth of Field doesn't work in a radius. That why when you focus and recompose you can lose the focal point even if your camera is mounted on a tripod with a ball head. Try taking a photo of something with straight lines like foolscap paper or graph paper and you will see that that the plane in focus is actually flat.

 

[Rashkae]

If there are too many people in the single row, those on the extreme left and right will still be OOF. Imagine the radius of a circle.

That sounds more like lens-specific edge softness.

 

[nuttybrenda]

Are you referring to informal group shots where you need to shot on the fly or formal shots where everyone will line up nicely?

It is a bit hard to imagine the shooting conditions your are facing. e.g. the lighting conditions, how far you are from your friends, half body shots or otherwise etc.

actually i'm more worried about formal shots because informal shots are somewhat 'less important' so its alright if there's a little out-of-focusness here and there.

Use flash in rear-curtain mode. That way, the flash will go off at the later part of your exposure so it won't be a problem even if the people fidget (after the flash goes off).

Anyways, you should provide more information so that the people here can help you better.
Info like:
- how many people
- how far away
- what kind of lighting
- what focal length
- how old (?)

:S urm can i make my in-built flash do this rear-curtain thing? so must it be an external flash?

thinking about an example, i reckon like ten plus people on a low stage (2 rows of people), poor lighting, i'm not sure how to guage distance but its not very far because we were allowed to choose where to stand, 18-55 standard lens. @_@ how old..?

 

[TheChef]

Use a compact camera.

 

[aspenx]

Use a compact camera.

:thumbsup:

 

[nuttybrenda]

my compact camera is an ancient 3.2 megapixel canon, and sometimes its not okay to use a compact to shoot for events!

 

[aspenx]

my compact camera is an ancient 3.2 megapixel canon, and sometimes its not okay to use a compact to shoot for events!

Do yourself and get a flash first. It helps a lot.

And with your cropped sensor body, it shouldn't be that difficult to get more people in focus provided that there is no motion blur.

My compact is ancient too... but it gets the work done and saves me the trouble of lugging everything!

 

[nuttybrenda]

Do yourself and get a flash first. It helps a lot.

And with your cropped sensor body, it shouldn't be that difficult to get more people in focus provided that there is no motion blur.

My compact is ancient too... but it gets the work done and saves me the trouble of lugging everything!

haha well that'd take a bit of saving up/ starving first, flashes don't come any cheaper than lens do :/ and then i'd have to master bouncing & diffusing flash too.

actually i've considered getting a compact as well, but i feel like i'd get more reliant on the compact and get less practice on my DSLR! plus semipros (ahh S90!!).. not as cheap as i'd like them to be.