"Normally, your camera's iris is open as wide as it will go , regardless of the aperture choice you've made. This allows you to see a bright, clear view through the viewfinder. When you press the shutter release to take a picture, the iris is closed down to your desired setting, and then opens to full wide after the picture is taken. Obviously, this all happens in a fraction of a second.
If you have chosen a small aperture, the DOF in your image may be shallower than what you see when you look through the viewfinder. If you press your DOF preview button (after metering and setting your desired aperture), the aperture will close and stay closed as long as you hold down the button. This allows you to see the image through the actual aperture you will use. However, with the aperture closed down, your viewfinder will become much dimmer, which can make it hard to see your image at all, much less notice DOF.
Give your eyes time to adjust to the dimmer viewfinder, and if need be, cover your other eye with your hand to give yourself as dark a viewing environment as possible. As your eyes adjust, you should be able to get a better sense of the DOF in the image."
Ben Long, Complete Digital Photography, 4th edition, p.243
You might just take a few pictures at various apertures and check out the DOF results in the LCD.
Thanks for the links, Croce.
For me the main reason for turning IS OFF when the camera is on a tripod is battery usage. If the camera is being held stable by the tripod, and the IS is ON, then the camera wastes battery as the motor tries to stabilize a camera that is already stable.
Note a few paragraphs down about "warmer Sunsets" and white balance:
http://home.comcast.net/~andremorin/sunsetcarol.html
or a simpler version:
http://www.moosepeterson.com/blog/2012/01/10/sunset-color-wb-thoughts/
The change is often very subtle, hard to notice and often the screen goes darker which is the effect of the aperture. Look closely and especially into the background to look for the change.
What? You cannot remember key board shortcuts? I have an 8x4 pamphlet. It is only 22 pages long. It is divided into about 40 different categories within PS that have short-cuts. Do you know the "Vanishing Point " function only has 30 different key board short cuts. Now, if I could only find a a pamphlet that tells me where all the different functions are, I could really master this software. Hmm.. the vanishing point function seems to have vanished. I do think I saw it once...did designpro leave her cell number in her last post? Damn, I am going to have to go back and read it again.
Seriously, thanks to designpro for her thoughtful post.
For me, photography can be divided into three segments. 1 The camera, its settings and lenses 2 My vision, my art, what I discover to photograph and how I decide to present the subject. 3 Post processing (Photoshop)
Each element has two important steps to overcome: the first step and the next step.
You did not have a circular polarizing filter attached, did you?
Center-weighted metering works best when the subject is centered and there is bright light in the background.
"When is the best time to shoot a vertical? Answer: Right after the horizontal." Bryan Peterson
To avoid the vignetting try rotating the hood, or just zoom in a turn tighter, or just remove the hood. There is a way to get rid of vignetting in PS CS5, so do not discard your image right away.
Kelby is the author of a guide book on Photoshop as well. He is or has been the editor of Photoshop Magazine. You will find some excellent books as well as CD instruction videos.
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/3007700902/the-adobe-photoshop-cs5-book-for-digital-photographers
Here are some FREE quick PS lessons:
http://robsheppardphoto.com/lessons/index.html
A useful book, with step-by-step lessons is The Adobe Photoshop Layers Book by Richard Lynch. You can download sample images to work with. Described here:
http://photoshopcs.com/photoshop_layers_book.htm
An article on new features of Lightroom 4. Scroll down the page to see it at this site:
http://www.natureandphotography.com/
Training? Requires an annual fee: Scroll down to find Lightroom 4 Courses
http://kelbytraining.com/?utm_source=notc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=lr4_in_depth_series-home
If I upgrade from LR 3 to LR 4, doesn't it do just that? Change LR 3 to LR 4? Why would LR 3 still be there?
Someone asked where?
https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=photoshop_lightroom&trackingid=JQRUC
Take the advice of this article, go with the sturdiest on you can afford, I use a Monfrotto 55CXPro4 with a Kirk ball head.
It goes as high as eye level (I'm 5'9") and as low as almost level with the ground. The center post comes up, and swings to the side and the legs extend out almost flat. I like the clamp type levers better than the twist to adjust type leg fittings. It shortens up making it not too bulky to carry and the carbon fiber legs are light and strong.
http://www.bythom.com/support.htm
http://www.kirkphoto.com/