Just can't seem to get everything in focus :(
Sep 14, 2016 11:26:18 #
Agreed. Just need a larger depth of field to increase sharpness to the petals. Also, on a side note: from photography life.com: HOME / PHOTOGRAPHY TUTORIALS / WHAT IS BOKEH?
What is Bokeh?
DECEMBER 17, 2009 BY NASIM MANSUROV147 COMMENTS
Bokeh, also known as “Boke” is one of the most popular subjects in photography. The reason why it is so popular, is because Bokeh makes photographs visually appealing, forcing us to focus our attention on a particular area of the image. The word comes from Japanese language, which literally translates as “blur”.
Bokeh
1) What is Bokeh?
Basically, bokeh is the QUALITY of out-of-focus or “blurry” parts of the image rendered by a camera lens – it is NOT the blur itself or the amount of blur in the foreground or the background of a subject. The blur that you are so used to seeing in photography that separates a subject from the background is the result of shallow “depth of field” and is generally simply called “background blur”. The quality and feel of the background/foreground blur and reflected points of light, however, is what photographers call Bokeh. Confused yet? Take a look at the following image:
What is Bokeh?
DECEMBER 17, 2009 BY NASIM MANSUROV147 COMMENTS
Bokeh, also known as “Boke” is one of the most popular subjects in photography. The reason why it is so popular, is because Bokeh makes photographs visually appealing, forcing us to focus our attention on a particular area of the image. The word comes from Japanese language, which literally translates as “blur”.
Bokeh
1) What is Bokeh?
Basically, bokeh is the QUALITY of out-of-focus or “blurry” parts of the image rendered by a camera lens – it is NOT the blur itself or the amount of blur in the foreground or the background of a subject. The blur that you are so used to seeing in photography that separates a subject from the background is the result of shallow “depth of field” and is generally simply called “background blur”. The quality and feel of the background/foreground blur and reflected points of light, however, is what photographers call Bokeh. Confused yet? Take a look at the following image:
Sep 16, 2016 19:14:24 #
Why would you want to get everything in focus? What part of the flower attracts your attention? What part of your shot do you want to emphasize? Thta's the part you want to be focused on. Right?
Sep 16, 2016 19:17:04 #
brokeweb wrote:
Why would you want to get everything in focus? What part of the flower attracts your attention? What part of your shot do you want to emphasize? Thta's the part you want to be focused on. Right?
Little bit of the daisy toward the bottom looked out of focus...I'm not really sure which part I want to emphasize just trying to figure out what looks balanced. Started to look at it and I felt like I was having problems with my eyes....it was blurry when I magnified the pic.
For instance, this pic I took yesterday looks mostly in focus but there looks like a bit of hit head that is a bit blurrier than the rest?
Sep 16, 2016 19:32:44 #
It's tough when your working so close. Specially when using your macros. Your depth of field will diminish multiplicatively. I suggest that you take many shots of the same flower using different aperture settings and choose the one you like the most.
Sep 18, 2016 09:56:21 #
Annie B from the beautiful imagery you've provided here it seems as though you are interested in close-up floral photography... I hesitation to use the word Macro here less Apaflo launch another objection which I must assume he does for his own self edification... Micro actually refers to imagery approaching a 1:1 magnification albeit this is highly subjective as to the gray area which it embraces... Like Bokeh, there is no quantitative value which it must meet to qualify...
To this end I would suggest you research "Image Stacking" for which there are numerous tutorials on the web... Photoshop does a commendable job of this however high end commercial assignments oft predicate the deployment of Helicon or Zerene image stacking software solutions... Photoshop will get the job done... and you'll likely know when to seek a more robust tool...
I would also advise a quality macro lens and working at it's ideal aperture for maximum acuity if you pursue image stacking... You'll pay a dear price for shooting with apertures smaller than f/16 since diffraction extracts a heavy toll on both acuity and contrast... Those who work at the commercial level generally will shoot many exposures at f/8 that section the subject into "slices" at varying distances from the image sensor. These are combined into a final composite which includes the entire subject in perfect focus... Please be aware that a tripod is requisite here and a focusing rail becomes an endearing adjunct in this mix... However since Apaflo may chime in I have to qualify that the "correct" way to proceed is to lock the lens and move only the sensor to change focus... this is accomplished with a bellows... Reason? The node point (i.e. entrance pupil) must not change during the stacked set. Yes the laws of physics which deal with light waves a.k.a. optical properties play into the mix and those who are naive of the aforementioned will ultimately find the limitations unacceptable as they advance their craft...
Annie B for now try using a solid tripod, and shoot at f/16... If you don't want to deal with a software solution of image stacking then consider a macro lens in the telephoto range... both Canon and Nikon have stellar glass here... the former is their 180mm macro the later is the 200mm macro... The increased working distance alone is well worth the price of admission... Also an off camera flash can/will add a glorious touch of drama and bias relief to the results but that is an entire subject all together...
Hope this helps or is at least food for thought...
And thank you Annie B for sharing these painterly renderings... you have a superb gift for compositional elements...
To this end I would suggest you research "Image Stacking" for which there are numerous tutorials on the web... Photoshop does a commendable job of this however high end commercial assignments oft predicate the deployment of Helicon or Zerene image stacking software solutions... Photoshop will get the job done... and you'll likely know when to seek a more robust tool...
I would also advise a quality macro lens and working at it's ideal aperture for maximum acuity if you pursue image stacking... You'll pay a dear price for shooting with apertures smaller than f/16 since diffraction extracts a heavy toll on both acuity and contrast... Those who work at the commercial level generally will shoot many exposures at f/8 that section the subject into "slices" at varying distances from the image sensor. These are combined into a final composite which includes the entire subject in perfect focus... Please be aware that a tripod is requisite here and a focusing rail becomes an endearing adjunct in this mix... However since Apaflo may chime in I have to qualify that the "correct" way to proceed is to lock the lens and move only the sensor to change focus... this is accomplished with a bellows... Reason? The node point (i.e. entrance pupil) must not change during the stacked set. Yes the laws of physics which deal with light waves a.k.a. optical properties play into the mix and those who are naive of the aforementioned will ultimately find the limitations unacceptable as they advance their craft...
Annie B for now try using a solid tripod, and shoot at f/16... If you don't want to deal with a software solution of image stacking then consider a macro lens in the telephoto range... both Canon and Nikon have stellar glass here... the former is their 180mm macro the later is the 200mm macro... The increased working distance alone is well worth the price of admission... Also an off camera flash can/will add a glorious touch of drama and bias relief to the results but that is an entire subject all together...
Hope this helps or is at least food for thought...
And thank you Annie B for sharing these painterly renderings... you have a superb gift for compositional elements...
Sep 26, 2016 19:34:55 #
While using a large aperture, and wanting the flower in focus and the background out of focus, try first shutter pressure on the subject, shift the camera onto the scene you want and push the second pressure. I use this method a lot. Good luck.
Sep 30, 2016 18:24:09 #
Annie B wrote:
It seems like hit or miss when I'm taking the pict... (show quote)
It's just "depth of field" Annie...
A large aperture, especially when you are close to the subject,
produces this:
Oct 9, 2016 11:44:37 #
Annie B wrote:
It seems like hit or miss when I'm taking the pict... (show quote)
Hi... The aperture determines how much is going to be in focus.. (f8 and higher) distance from subject will also effect how much is in focus (further away from subject the more in focus) Use aperture priority (AV) and set it to at least f8. back up from subject..
Oct 9, 2016 14:08:52 #
Annie B wrote:
Bingo 1.8 I think the problem I have is looking a the picture my eyes feel uncomfortable when they move to the blurry area, it's almost like looking thru someone else's glasses... Maybe that's just me..A previous pic I could crop that part out so it seemed more pleasing...Was I pushing the 55mm lens to it's limit too?
You know, if you do closeups, you're never going to get the entirety of the scene into focus. If you backed up far enough to get everything, you'd loose the impact of the beautiful flower. Concentrate on finding your own voice in photography.
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