Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Good tips. I think close ups are a staple of video and movies. They can be manufactured in the editor, like the crop in still photos. Using the wide angle lens to do a close up and include the background is a technique I haven't used yet, but will try in the future.

blackest Loc: Ireland

This link is for you Bob as it's very much a video makers set of of problems that I found entertaining, but mostly not something relevant to taking better photographs, it's D4 Darious again.
Top 15 Mistakes Beginner Filmmakers Make

He says something along the lines of this about the 'close up' make it relevant to the plot or you lose your audience. I think one example was a close up of an actress reaching for her glasses, which wasn't that bad but then a close up shot of her picking up the glasses was pointless. The close up should be telling the audience this is something important and if it isn't then you lose their interest in your story.

So yes if you are interested in making video, or casually interested then that link is one for you.


For photographers

Why I Love the Cheap Kit Lens by D4 Darious might be worth watching.
Pretty much the kit lens will allow you to try different focal lengths and help you figure out what your preferences are. Performance isn't stellar but a better lens is going to cost quite a bit more and not necessarily make a huge difference in IQ. It also helps to concentrate on what you can do with a particular lens rather than what you can't do. It's not a complete cure for GAS but maybe it can delay it's onset and perhaps avoid buying a lens that sits on a shelf rather than on your camera.

Recomposing a shot

with AF lenses its usually fairly straightforward to use the centre focus point for focus, but it isn't really where you want your subject. So you might focus and then reframe and then press the shutter button and as it hits the half press position the focus motor takes off and trys to refocus on the new centre point. A half press on the shutter button and holding it can usually do the trick if you are not in afc (autofocus continuous mode). You can practice this on your couch finding something to focus on that's close and moving round to centre something further away. You should be able to hold your original focus point and if you want to change it release and half press again and see your camera refocus on the new position.

You can often disable the half shutter focus mechanism and switch to back button focus where you press a button on the back to focus. This can be better if you can manage to find that button without having to take your eye from the viewfinder. It is way too easy to take the pressure off from the shutter and find you have accidentally refocused. Which method you use is up to the individual.

It's worth practicing that technique for a few minutes so you can be confident you know what your camera is going to do in the field when the pressure is on to make the shot you want. The only problem i find with back button focusing it's pretty easy to hit the wrong button in my case it's the live view button and i'm usually left slightly bewildered for a second or two as the viewfinder goes black :)