365 Project

[adamlem]

Hi!

I've recently started a 365 project, and wanted to get some general feedback - things that I could work on, or that are lacking, as well as things are are working well for me. If you could also vote for some of your favourites to give me a better idea as to what is working well, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

http://365.adamlem.ca

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[rockhead]

adamlem,

Welcome to the site!!!

First I would like to say I admire your dedication to the 365 project. I think it is a major undertaking to push out every day and improve your skills. Then post them for every one to see and critique. So thanks for sharing.


I looked through about 20 days of your shots. I noticed several of these seemed a little soft. Also it seems you really like to shoot around maximum aperture. Which has it's time and place but when you miss the focus......you miss focus. I don't have access to the exif data on the shots here at work. It would be nice if you added a little back story to the shots and some info about how and why it was the chosen location and your intention.

I hope this information is useful to you on your journey. It is not my intention to bring negative feeling to your hard work.

Thanks for sharing,

Jay

[marionet]

Good eye. Strong simple pictures.

[adamlem]

adamlem,

Welcome to the site!!!

First I would like to say I admire your dedication to the 365 project. I think it is a major undertaking to push out every day and improve your skills. Then post them for every one to see and critique. So thanks for sharing.


I looked through about 20 days of your shots. I noticed several of these seemed a little soft. Also it seems you really like to shoot around maximum aperture. Which has it's time and place but when you miss the focus......you miss focus. I don't have access to the exif data on the shots here at work. It would be nice if you added a little back story to the shots and some info about how and why it was the chosen location and your intention.

I hope this information is useful to you on your journey. It is not my intention to bring negative feeling to your hard work.

Thanks for sharing,

Jay

No, that's great! This is exactly what I'm looking for to improve. I've tried using high-pass filters on some photos, but a lot of them still turn out soft - is there a way to avoid the softness during shooting? Would a smaller aperture help with that?

If you're looking for the exif data, you can go to this link and then mouse over the images.

Thanks for the advice!

[rockhead]

Yes a smaller(bigger f number) aperture will get some more in focus. Additionally some may be from camera shake if you are hand holding. There is always a sweet spot for sharpness in lenses. Generally a couple of stops from wide open. To avoid camera shake a simple rule is to keep the shutter speed at least as fast as the focal length.....ex if your shooting 100mm lens you want to keep your shutter speed 1/100th or faster...preferably faster. If you can't meet this grab a tripod. You may wish to test your auto focus using this or similar method. It is possible your having mechanical issues.


Here's a neat little page about Depth of Field once you understand this things get a little easier on selecting aperture needed.

I can't see anything on the link you provided perhaps because I'm using firefox????

Hope that will help some
Jay

[adamlem]

Awesome, thanks for the tips! Here's the link in text: http://www.north43design.com/adam/365/?page_id=219

I realized that a lot of my photos have a really long focal length, so maybe the camera shake was the issue.

[rockhead]

Thanks for the link!!!! Works great. I kind of scrolled through and looked at the data. Not sure what lenses your using but many shots are shot f4-5.6 witch is the lens max aperture is 2.8 should work ok depending on your intention. I would perhaps shoot a little more stopped down.
The shutter speeds are real close or under the focal length on the blurriest shots so maybe your on to something????
I have a couple of different bodies I use for different situations. One thing I constantly have to keep in mind when I'm shooting one of the crop frames is the fov is 1.6 vs full frame. I try to keep the shutter up 2 time focal length on those cameras.......it seems to get better results.........might be the full frame is more accurate focus though.

I will say that today's shot is very nice. It has very nice contrasting color and the tree texture is cool. That's what I mostly look for. Black with background color or light hitting my subject against a darker background. I think is makes for some sexy shooting!!!!! It's also sharp where it needs to be!!!!

Keep up the good work!!!!

[adamlem]

I'm using a Canon 1000D, and two lenses: EF 18-55mm 1/3-5.6, and EF 75-300 1/4-5.6 (I think - don't have the lenses with me). Yes I know, I'm just a beginner though - got my first DSLR last fall.

QUOTE

many shots are shot f4-5.6 witch is the lens max aperture is 2.8 should work ok depending on your intention. I would perhaps shoot a little more stopped down.

By shooting a little more stopped down, do you mean a wider aperture or smaller? Or are you talking about shutter?

QUOTE

I try to keep the shutter up 2 time focal length on those cameras.......it seems to get better results

So you mean I'd be better off shooting 2x the focal length for the shutter speed? ie. 50mm @ 1/100s?

Thanks for the compliment!

[rockhead]

1000d is a great camera!!!!
By stopped down I'm saying a larger fstop number which is physically a smaller aperture.
And for the shutter speed yes the faster you can get it the less camera sake you will get.

[adamlem]

Awesome, thank you so much for the help. I'll try and incorporate the shutter/aperture things the next time I go out!