Looking at Depth of Field w/ cat portraits
Feb 16, 2021 07:33:05 #
Gabby came from PAWS Chicago in January 2021. She's 3+ years old and missing one of her paws. None of the paperwork was sure of where she came from or what has happened in her past. I selected her as part of the clear the older cats program.
Portrait of Gabby by Paul Sager, on Flickr
Images here show the EF 135mm f/2L, above, and the EF 85mm f/1.4L IS, the three below. I plan to post a first reply with crops of the eye details from all four images for comparison. These two focal lengths are widely consider the preferred focal lengths for portraits.
Portrait of Gabby
For these images, the focus was placed with a single AF point where the eyelid and eye meet. Three feature the very narrow depth of field at f/2 and one only slightly increased to f/5. As seen from the crops of the eyes, the two lenses are just as sharp, but the details outside that sliver of DOF are very soft. How much or how little DOF is accomplished is an artistic decision.
Personally, I tend to prefer an image where I can determine / understand the subject. In the case of a portrait, that would be from the tip of the nose through the ears, depending on the angle of view to the subject. Still, I'd like the eyes to be the sharpest and specifically focused. Some more work will be needed with Gabby testing different lenses, focal lengths and apertures.
Portrait of Gabby by Paul Sager, on Flickr
The 135L doesn't have IS, so in the lowlight of the moment, I had the lens wide open at f/2 and the ISO pumped to ISO-2500 to handhold at 1/160 sec. The 85L IS lets me shoot a lot slower, where I can lower the ISO, but also have to be concerned about subject movement at 1/60 and 1/30 sec.
There are all hand-held, shot in bursts. I initially look at the framing and move the AF point to that eye / eyelid point for the framing of Gabby. I focus and shoot 2 or 3 images, lift and replace my thumb over the BBF and repeat, aka 'pumping' the auto-focus. Getting Gabby to keep her eyes open and looking at me was a challenge. I use the LR compare tool looking at two images at a time in comparison of the pixel-level details, keeping only the single best image of each pose.
Portrait of Gabby
If the images are not filling your widescreen display due to recent UHH changes, follow this link and update your UHH profile: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-572300-1.html
Portrait of Gabby by Paul Sager, on Flickr
Images here show the EF 135mm f/2L, above, and the EF 85mm f/1.4L IS, the three below. I plan to post a first reply with crops of the eye details from all four images for comparison. These two focal lengths are widely consider the preferred focal lengths for portraits.
Portrait of Gabby
For these images, the focus was placed with a single AF point where the eyelid and eye meet. Three feature the very narrow depth of field at f/2 and one only slightly increased to f/5. As seen from the crops of the eyes, the two lenses are just as sharp, but the details outside that sliver of DOF are very soft. How much or how little DOF is accomplished is an artistic decision.
Personally, I tend to prefer an image where I can determine / understand the subject. In the case of a portrait, that would be from the tip of the nose through the ears, depending on the angle of view to the subject. Still, I'd like the eyes to be the sharpest and specifically focused. Some more work will be needed with Gabby testing different lenses, focal lengths and apertures.
Portrait of Gabby by Paul Sager, on Flickr
The 135L doesn't have IS, so in the lowlight of the moment, I had the lens wide open at f/2 and the ISO pumped to ISO-2500 to handhold at 1/160 sec. The 85L IS lets me shoot a lot slower, where I can lower the ISO, but also have to be concerned about subject movement at 1/60 and 1/30 sec.
There are all hand-held, shot in bursts. I initially look at the framing and move the AF point to that eye / eyelid point for the framing of Gabby. I focus and shoot 2 or 3 images, lift and replace my thumb over the BBF and repeat, aka 'pumping' the auto-focus. Getting Gabby to keep her eyes open and looking at me was a challenge. I use the LR compare tool looking at two images at a time in comparison of the pixel-level details, keeping only the single best image of each pose.
Portrait of Gabby
If the images are not filling your widescreen display due to recent UHH changes, follow this link and update your UHH profile: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-572300-1.html
Feb 16, 2021 07:38:57 #
Looks like Gabby had a tough life. She has a piece of her ear missing too. I bet she's happy now. Good for you, Paul.
Feb 16, 2021 07:44:32 #
Feb 16, 2021 07:47:40 #
Excellent!
"If the earth was flat, cats would push everything off the edge." I saw that last night. : )
"If the earth was flat, cats would push everything off the edge." I saw that last night. : )
Feb 16, 2021 07:48:26 #
These are pixel-level crops of all four images with AF point painted over. If you launch the attachment, you see a bit of the actual details. The funniest moment of this process was realizing Gabby was crouching in fear of this 'other cat' on the computer screen. She remained peeking around the door frame watching this cat appear on the monitor.
Feb 16, 2021 07:53:25 #
I think you’ve done a great job with Gabby’s glamour shots Paul. Her ears go soft in 1,2 & 4 still yielding a very pleasing presentation. You’re a good guy to donate your time and talent to an animal shelter...that’s as impressive as you’re photography. 
Feb 16, 2021 08:11:41 #
Just for information. Animal shelters, when they work on stray cats they usually make a cut in one of the ears to identify the animal. In the future, if that animal needs vaccination or vet care it is offered for free.
Feb 16, 2021 08:15:18 #
Feb 16, 2021 12:57:47 #
Feb 16, 2021 15:35:54 #
Feb 16, 2021 17:18:13 #
Thank you foathog, Joe, Jerry, SnappyHappy, William, Bill, Mike, Bill! I've tried to sell the 85L IS in the past. I've used it for portraits, but not to the extent that ever developed (as much as I thought it would) to justify selling the 85 f/1.8. I have another post drafted for looking at the DOF of flower close-ups. Stay tuned.
Feb 17, 2021 05:24:10 #
Where we live, they spay or neuter the strays, then rerelease them to the area they were found with the cut on the ear. That way they know this one was already fixed. The strays cannot keep breeding this way.
Feb 17, 2021 07:08:29 #
Feb 17, 2021 08:03:09 #
Feb 17, 2021 10:23:13 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
Gabby came from PAWS Chicago in January 2021. She'... (show quote)
Gabby looks like she is happy and at peace. Well captured!
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