shursts Loc: Barrie, Ontario Canada

Good morning all... I'm really enjoying reading this forum and thought I'd toss my hat, or at least a photo, in the ring for feedback. I'm an avid beginner who only recently ventured into the settings beyond Auto on my camera.

I love architectural detail and while I was out for an afternoon shoot yesterday I came across a new condo that offered some nice perspective. In the photos below I tried to capture this long row of lamps, but I didn't have a lot of success with the focus. They're nearby so it's pretty easy to capture them again, so please let me know what I could do to improve the setup.

The camera is a Canon EOS Rebel XS and I was shooting with a Canon 55 - 250 f / 4-5.6mm IS lens; the information on the back of the pic (thank you iPhoto!) is ISO 200, f / 6.3, 1 / 320.

Thanks... Scott

seeSAW Loc: Western Mass

Try a higher F Stop (like f11) and focus a little further up the row.

seeSAW Loc: Western Mass

The perspective on the second shot is not bad as it is though.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

Hey shursts, welcome to UHH!

If I may so bold to send a quick impression I would say -
I like what you are going for, but would ask that you consider changing the first a little. See the house in the background? That is what draws my. Stand where you were, but rotate to the right including only the row of homes with the lights. This will remove distractions and define the shot with a beginning and an end and like you already have done find a focus point and let the rest fall where they may.
The second is better with only a little distraction from the leaves, but that is only because there are so few. If the tree was in 'bloom' it would not be as obvious. I would ask though as an experiment that you try to stand a slight bit taller and see how the photo might look if the lights were centered on the middle and then another if they were centered on the top, although even in saying this I think your point of view may prove to be the best.
In closing I wonder too if you could pull a little more color out of your photos with an editor or by changing the white balance, but I am sure it is cold this time of year in Ontario so it may be the weather. Either way, thank you, keep shooting and keep posting here!

shursts Loc: Barrie, Ontario Canada

Thank you seeSAW. I appreciate your advice and your comment. I'll give it a try this afternoon.

shursts Loc: Barrie, Ontario Canada

Thank you, too, St3V3M. I appreciate your feedback as well, and was thinking the same about the inclusion of the house in the first photo. It certainly has no place in this photo.

Oath Loc: newark,DE

I like the 2nd pic and like to read the advice because I am learning. Will back to see more your photos.

ziggykor Loc: East Texas

I think that from reading what you wrote, you are asking how to increase the Depth of Field (dof) of the scene. So first one must understand that dof is impacted by three things. These three things are: camera to subject distance, lens focal length and aperture. Funny how three seems a recurring number in the craft.

In the images shown you used an aperture of f/6.3 on a 55mm - 250mm lens. I didn't look up the exif, but using the shortest focal length would give the greatest apparent dof. The problem being that f/6.3 provides a very limited dof, and getting all the lights in acceptable focus would require that you move farther back from the subject; change your perspective.

Not knowing the actual camera to subject distance, I would thing that stopping down to a much smaller aperture; say f/22 or smaller, still would not bring everything into focus.

This leaves you with the third possibility, changing your lens. Switching to a much shorter focal length lens would give you an increase in apparent dof just by the focal length. Then by stopping the aperture down you could, depending on the lens, get everything from one foot to infinity in acceptable focus.

Just to go a bit beyond the focus issue and talk a moment about "perspective". If the camera position stays the same, camera on tripod, you can change lens's all day and the perspective remains the same. The only perspective is changed is by changing the position of the sensor or focal plane.

Hope this helps and makes some sense too,

Ziggy

rebride

Check out;
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/depth-of-field.htm
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/hyperfocal-distance.htm

Crwiwy Loc: Devon UK

If you use Autofocus - the camera will focus on the nearest object. So use manual focus and focus about half way down the row. Use Aperture priority mode so you can select as small aperture as you can allowing for a reasonable shutter speed.

An alternative way - but not as good for this subject - I think you will find on your Canon that there is a setting for a split focus where you can get the camera to focus on two points and select the best aperture it can.

windshoppe Loc: Arizona

One of the gadgets I use very frequently on my Android phone is the DOF calculator. There are a number of them that are free downloads for Android or I-phone. This is one of those situations where being able to quickly determine and set the hyperfocal distance on your lens would be very helpful.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

I looked at the photos and thought, "what's the problem?" Then I reread the post.

You have a great eye, there's not denying that! These photos would be great teaching examples for depth of field and lens compression.

All that being said, it is about smaller f/stops to increase your depth of field. Remember to increase your shutter speed or ISO an equivalent amount to compensate for the light.

mariraju Loc: Toronto

By looking at the photos, it seems that you have very good light. If i had to try them, i would reduce the ISO to 100 and also adjust the shutterspeed to match the ISO and on top that as everyone said, increase the F-Stop(DOF- Depth Of Field) to either 11 or 16. This should give a clear picture. Please try it out and let us know.

shursts Loc: Barrie, Ontario Canada

Thank you all for your generosity of advice and spirit. It may take me a little time to decipher the "code" you're all using, as DOF, F-stop, ISO and Aperture are all new terms to a person who has routinely used the Auto setting on his camera. I've taken two classes through Henry's School of Imaging, and both teachers treated me as if I should have known those things before I entered the class, even though they were entry level classes. I may have to take a class through the college before I know which buttons to press or wheels to dial for this "perspective" exercise, but I will post it as soon as I do so.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in America. Stay tuned.

shursts Loc: Barrie, Ontario Canada

And thank you rebride for the links to the tutorials. I will check them out and take notes. Have a great day!