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Thread: Feedback, Critique and suggestions please - 3

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Sydney, Australia
    Posts
    27
    Real Name
    Dinesh

    Feedback, Critique and suggestions please - 3

    Hi there,

    I am relatively new to the community and have not posted anything for a while. However, over the last couple of months I have been doing a lot of reading and taking lots and lots of photos, majority of them as self-learning exercise. Until 4 months ago, I was mainly using P mode but now I am trying to switch to manual mode for all my photos. However, it has not been easy as I keep making many mistakes.

    My objective is to get it as right as possible in-camera and I know that I can get close to my objective only by making mistakes and understanding what I did wrong or what I did right. So I need help from you and will sincerely appreciate feedback, critique and suggestions on a couple of photos I will be posting here over the next couple of days.

    Here is the third one (other two were posted in General Photography section):
    Feedback, Critique and suggestions please - 3

    The EXIF data was:

    Camera Model Canon EOS 40D
    Shooting Date/Time 10/07/2011 4:30:30 PM
    Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
    Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/13
    Av( Aperture Value ) 32.0
    Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
    ISO Speed 200
    Lens EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM
    Focal Length 70.0mm
    White Balance Mode Auto
    AF Mode One-Shot AF
    Picture Style Standard
    Long exposure noise reduction 1:Auto
    High ISO speed noise reduction 1:On
    Drive Mode Single shooting

    Once again I am looking for feedback and suggestions to improve exposure, sharpness and composition.

    Using Canon DPP I have adjusted the WB to Daylight and Picture Style to Landscape. The rest is without adjustment.

    My objective was to take a Landscape style photo using a Telephoto lens. (Many people suggest using wide angle lens but I am not sure that it should be used every time – what do you think?)

    I did not have the time to wait till the sun goes down further. So the lighting I found was not that easy to manage as there are some bright spots and some shadows. Have I got the exposure right? How could I have got it more right? What is the best way to meter such scenes?

    What about the sharpness? This time I let the camera select multiple AF points but I made sure to get one on the yellow boat about 100m away). I wanted to get extensive DOF using f/32. Have I got the sharpness right? What could I have done to improve it? If there is no one point of interest, does allowing camera to select multiple focal points improve overall sharpness compared to selecting one focal point manually?

    I have read many suggestions on "focussing 1/3 rd the way into the scene for landscape photos". I am somewhat confused here - what is 1/3rd between 2 m away and infinity? Is that a good rule to follow?

    When looking for sharpness, in DPP I zoom to 200% but not sure that is how sharpness should be checked. Any comemnts?

    Although my main objective was to get the exposure and sharpness right, what would you suggest about the composition? I felt I did not have a lot of choice here in a sense. There is no specific point of interest as such. Again what could I have done?

    Will sincerely appreciate your feedback, comments and suggestions and yes I can take any criticism that will help me improve my photography skills. Many thanks in advance.

    The Raw image can be downloaded from:
    http://www.supplychainbusinesssoluti...o/_MG_7039.zip
    Last edited by dineshscbs; 14th July 2011 at 10:52 PM. Reason: Added a couple of questions

  2. #2
    Ricco's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Perth, Australia
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    254
    Real Name
    Peter

    Re: Feedback, Critique and suggestions please - 3

    Dinesh - no expert here but my observations:
    * I think the image overall is a little soft. Not sure if you were hand holding or tripod but given your focal length was 70mm, the rule of thumb would be to get at least that shutter speed. If you are tripod, make sure your IS is off on your lens and perhaps consider using your timer function to do away with any camera shake.
    * With regards to focus, I'd usually use the centre point AF point only and then recompose. In this scene, probably would focus on the yellow boat (roughly). Have a look at the DOF calculator in the tutorials. You will find that in many cases the DOF will extend from a value to infinity at smaller focal lengths and small aperture settings.
    * In terms of composition - I read somewhere to look for a point of difference in photos. If a scene has been shot multiple times, look for a different point of view or different light, or different weather. I guess in this case if you were there at 4:30 and wanted to take a photo there isn't much you can do.

    I've found this site to be extremely helpful and it has helped me out a lot with this sort of thing. Hope my comments help a little!

    Good luck!

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Sydney, Australia
    Posts
    27
    Real Name
    Dinesh

    Re: Feedback, Critique and suggestions please - 3

    Hello Ricco,

    Many thanks. At least you live in Australia.

    “ * I think the image overall is a little soft. Not sure if you were hand holding or tripod but given your focal length was 70mm, the rule of thumb would be to get at least that shutter speed. If you are tripod, make sure your IS is off on your lens and perhaps consider using your timer function to do away with any camera shake.”

    Yes, it was hand held and I yes, I am beginning to realise that even with 4-stop IS. Anything more than 1/30th of second is a long time in taking any photo

    “ * With regards to focus, I'd usually use the centre point AF point only and then recompose. In this scene, probably would focus on the yellow boat (roughly). Have a look at the DOF calculator in the tutorials. You will find that in many cases the DOF will extend from a value to infinity at smaller focal lengths and small aperture settings.”

    I have read in Canon 40D field guide that focus lock and recompose may back focus and so I am trying to use focal points that are more convenient for the scene.

    “ * In terms of composition - I read somewhere to look for a point of difference in photos. If a scene has been shot multiple times, look for a different point of view or different light, or different weather. I guess in this case if you were there at 4:30 and wanted to take a photo there isn't much you can do.”

    True, I did not have much choice.

    “I've found this site to be extremely helpful and it has helped me out a lot with this sort of thing. Hope my comments help a little!”
    Yes, i am beginning to realise the value of the site and feedback I receive. Your comments are definitely helpful.

    Regards,

    Dinesh

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