Originally posted by: UlricT
Didn't have anything better to do today, so was muckin about with a Rebel XT and PS. Lemme know what you think. Am thinking about getting into Photography (with a capital P), but have had very little experience.
OK, here are the pics (forgive the wierd res):
Brasso
Light and Shadow
An Evening Drink
Freaky Fish
Inverted Waterfall <-- That one is chopped
First of all, thank you for sharing your experience and your pics!
Some good points are made above. I'm in the mood to type a little so I'll share what's on my mind, if you don't mind.
Reducing your aperture shortens the depth of field (DOF). Conversely, increasing your aperture lengthens your DOF. Field being the amount of a subject near to far that is in focus. For the pictures you've taken, unless you want portions of your subject to be out of focus while some parts are in focus you'll want to increase your aperture (higher f/number) to get more of your subject sharp.
Using "Brasso" as an example:
If only the very front of the brass is desired to be in focus than leave the f as it is and try one of two things; 1) increase shutter time longer than 8 seconds 2) increase ISO from 400 to 800. Increasing the shutter time allows in more light. Increasing ISO allows the image sensor to capture the image with existing light albeit at the expense of digital noise (equivalent of film grain). The Rebel XT has very good image processing though so shooting at ISO 800 shouldn't be an issue. A timed picture, use of mirror lockup and or using a remote release are critical to a sharp picture in long exposure. Anyway, those suggestions will bring more light into your scene. But if you don't get the camera on solid footing it won't really matter what your settings are.
Personally, I'd play with the aperture until I get the DOF I want; usually the whole subject in focus with the intent of throwing the background out of focus. Then I'd determine which ISO I can shoot at and be comfortable with the noise level (if any). Usually, a person tries to use the lowest ISO setting possible because the lower ISO speed gives you greater flexibility with aperture and shutter speed. Finally I would play with the shutter speed until I got the right amount of light into my image. You may have to adjust shutter and ISO anyway just to get enough light into the scene to determine DOF in the first place but being that it's a 'still shot' you can play with the different ways there are to do that. There's only one way to determine how much of your subject from front to back is in focus though; so play with the aperture to get the DOF you like from the git go. It's all about getting light into the sensor and the trade off's that each setting will require of others to get it there. You just have to figure out which aspect is the most critical and then tinker with the other settings to support that aspect.
As is mentioned, white balance could use some attention though even that is subjective depending on what you like to look at. Canon does pretty good with the white balance presets so I'd at least take it off auto and use whichever one is close to the condition you're in. It really does make a difference. If you're into Photoshop, you can shoot your images in Canon's RAW format and adjust white balance in post processing; though IMO it's better to leave that until you know more about the front end of digital photography. You can still adjust white balance to a small degree if shooting in jpeg but you don't have the flexibility that you do in RAW. RAW also requires conversion to jpeg or tiff as part of the post process so there's more to it than just saying you have more flexibility with RAW images.
Your images were taken on the following settings:
1. Brasso: f/3.5, ISO 400, 8 seconds at 18mm.
2. Light & Shadow: f/4.5, ISO 400, 1/20th second at 31mm.
3. Evening Drink: f/4.5, ISO 400, 1/40th second at 28mm.
4. Freaky Fish: f/5.6, ISO 400, 1/40th second at 55mm.
Based on the numbers I'll assume the lens in use is the 18-55mm kit lens which has a minimum aperture range of f/3.5-5.6. At 18mm the maximum aperture is f/3.5. At 55mm the maximum aperture is f/5.6. Being able to zoom is nice, however it's important to note that your f/stop may change as you do so. If shooting at your your lens' maximum aperture you will need to consider shutter speed and or ISO as you move through the zoom range. If your aperture setting is below the maximum range already then there's nothing to worry about.
* A tripod, timed shot, mirror lockup and remote shutter release are by themselves important and can be used effectively together to stabilize a shot. Bottom line, a solid platform is critical.
** With the Brass and glass shots I'd increase your aperture to get the DOF you like, using shutter speed and ISO to allow enough light into the scene.
*** Of the Koi, the Lilypad is in focus but the fish are blurred. If you want the fish sharper, a faster shutter speed is required. A faster shutter means less light gets in, so an increase in ISO speed is required or a decrease in aperture is in order; sometimes both in order to compensate.
As
OdiN mentioned,
POTN is a good place to learn photoraphy. Friendly bunch over there. fredmiranda.com is another good site, exceptional images and informative forum.
I'm pleased to edit my post if need be if I've mixed my meanings or transposed my definitions. I'm known to get them wrong. But my meds have given me the mindset to write tonight so here ya go. I'm also adept at hacking a simple explanation so just posit a question mark and someone will likely come along in short order and tidy up
Cheers!
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