Suggestions Needed For Beginner For Better Photos

I have been teaching myself photography & post processing for a few months now and I really love it! I have a Canon T1i and recently purchased a 300mm f/4 L lens w/ 1.4x II entender that I have had a chance to use the last two weekends and occasionally using a 580EX II speedlite I just bought this past week. To put it mildly, my photos stink! Granted, I don't know completely what I am doing but they have nowhere near the beauty and sharpness as the photos I see posted. Late last fall, I was taking macro shots of my flower garden without a macro lens that were much more pleasing and I was just using my 55-250mm kit lens!


At first, I thoughtmaybe it is because I do not have a tripod. Even though I use IS, I am shaking because it is 20 degrees out and after awhile the lens, extender & speedlite get pretty heavy.Could the extenderbe doing me more harm than good because I am losing more than I am gaining?


I am to a point of thinking I should just stick to macro photography and now that I also have a true macro lens, photos of my flower garden this spring should look awesome :)


Any suggestions or feedback greatly appreciated!


Denise


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Your photos are very good for a beginner. It's normal to be discouraged at first, especially in the winter, but keep at it. You'll get better and better, and it will be more enjoyable in the summer (if you can ever pull yourself away from shooting macros). I'm sure there are some techniques you can work on for improving the photos. You might consider a monopod to improve steadiness without losing too much mobility. You can DIY a monopod for $15 or less from a broom handle and quick release plate (though it wont be a telescoping carbon fiber [;)]). You might also consider trying the AF-ON button for autofocus to see if it helps you achieve critical focus. Microadjustment may be another method to improve autofocus.

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Originally Posted by ddt0725

Could the extenderbe doing me more harm than good because I am losing more than I am gaining?

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No, it is still helping.

Agreed, your photos are hardly as bad as you think they are.


First thingI noticed in these images is that the lighting is very bland and unexciting. May I suggest trying to get more shots during the hour or two after sunrise/ before sunset so the sun is low and warm. I have never lived anywhere near snow so I'm not sure how the light is in the latter part or the day, so that could be a useless suggestion.


Other things maybe are just to remember you rule of thirds and to make sure you are in perfectly focus before firing away. And shoot shoot shoot as we all improve the more we practice.

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Originally Posted by Daniel Browning

You might also consider trying the AF-ON button for autofocus to see if it helps you achieve critical focus. Microadjustment may be another method to improve autofocus.

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Just out of curiosity Daniel, how does using the AF-ON button differ from half depressing the shutter button?

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Originally Posted by btaylor

Just out of curiosity Daniel, how does using the AF-ON button differ from half depressing the shutter button?

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It prevents the camera from autofocusing when you didn't want it to. I find that the increased flexibility makes it easier for me to achieve the critical timing necessary for fast paced wildlife photography. For example, I can take a shot, wait a half second, then take another shot, all without performing any autofocus (which might focus on the wrong thing or take too long). When the autofocus is integrated with shutter release, there is no way to snap the shot without engaging autofocus. (Which is fine if you want to autofocus every time, but many times I don't, and autofocusing again would slow me down.)

Hmmmm makes sense... I might try it out for a while and see how I like it. At the moment I use it for exposure locking rather than focus lock.

Hey Denise!


Well I think your photos aren't bad at all!!!


Especially when looking at the fact you only just started out and still need to get used to your equipment! Better, you're doing better then I ever did! You might think your photos stink at the moment, but I got the same problem. Nothing great came out of my camera the last 6 weeks or so. It's winter! It's pretty cold here and occasionally there is snow, but the most important issue here is: IT'S GREY!!!! Most of the time at least.


Like someone already said, you need to find the sweet spot of the day. Just after sunrise or just before sunset. And also you need a bit of luck [:P] And don't think you can make pictures like some of them here on the forums after a few months. Yes you could make a lucky shot, but just ask them how many pictures they have thrown away before they did make that great shot. Also consider the environment they are in. They might be more lucky with the weather then you are. Sometimes it makes you very jealous, at least I am [:D]





About sharpness...the 1st 3rd and 5th picture are pretty sharp in my opinion. Oh and don't let the fact that your 55-250 made better pictures pull you off. A better lens doesn't mean you don't have to work for your pictures. With true macro you have much more challenges to overtake before you get a good shot. But when you succeed the result is like a 100 times better then with your 55-250 believe me. I was struggling a lot when I bought my real macro lens, but after a while you get the hang of it and you can make the stunning pictures just like the ones posted here. (Of course others are ALWAYS better, that's just a fact)





I say don't give up hope to soon. Try a lot and try different positions, perspectives and compositions while there isn't a lot to see. (wintertimes [:P]) So when the weather gets better in spring you've got a rugged foundation to count on to make much better pictures then you've ever did.





Good luck!





Ps: just ask an expert bird-photographer like Nate for instance how much time he spend on taking a particular picture. I bet he's sitting for hours waiting for an opportunity. Or he just knows when to go out, when it's the best time to shoot. And ask how many photos failed during his shoot. What the keeper/junk picture rate is. You might be surprised how good you're doing.

Denise, in my opinion you just have to wait for better weather. My suggestion is to create a songbird set-up. So, put out a birdfeeder or two, and a couple of bushes/trees near them. Then, buy a blind and wait. I have been doing SLR photography for less time than you, and set-up photography has done me wonders. Here are a couple of shots from yesterday with my (new!) 300 f/4 (this was my second try). I am in no way a seasoned photographer but a setup can make shots like these much easier.


Both taken with 7D, 300mm f/4L IS USM


Both at f/5.6, 1/200, ISO 320. Manual Exposure, Handheld.


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Denise,


You're shooting with a very long telephoto lens, and with the extention and crop body, it is very, very long! The 35mm equal would be a 670mm lens, if my math is right. That would mean a shutter speed of 1/1000 or better with no IS, and probably no less than 1/125 with IS. Any vibration from you is really going to be magnified in your images, so work on some good photo technique. My telephoto lens is the super cheap 75-300/4-5.6 III, and the first couple times I used it, the results were pretty bad. But I started leaning the lens on a fence (I shoot little league and softball with it), then leaning my body up against a light pole, and the keeper rate went way up. Now, I just crouch and keep my elbows in tight, and am pretty pleased with the results. And by pleased, I mean I delete 30% and consider 10% good enough to edit, post, and show to the people in the photos. Keep working with it, you'll get better.


Lewis

Lewis, what do you mean? I don't see movement in her pictures so in my opinion the shuttertimes are good. Perhaps the 2nd one is motionblurred. The rest is tacksharp.





300mm with 1.4x extender == 420mm


420mm on crop is equivalent to 672mm on filmformat.


Rule of thumb with film was 1/focal length if I'm not mistaken


So minimum would be around 1/640th?? That's without IS. 2stop IS would make it around 1/160th of a second.


As far as I see it, she already pushed her ISO up, at least in the 1st picture. Background noise shows up, even at this small size. Shuttertime isn't really the problem in my opinion, but I don't know what she has used. Can you clear this Denise? Post some exif info?





Ps: nice photos mister burns, the first photo has a mice and calm background. The second photo background isn't so exciting, but the colors of the bird are very natural. I like that a lot! Don't push natures colors too much, keep it faithfull [:D]

I can only agree with what the other have said. I think your photos are fine. Light is important. Just how your subject is illuminated makes more difference than practically anything else. I have a very useful learning technique is simply to pick a landscape or subject that appeals, and take photographs of it under a variety of different weather conditions and at different times of the day.

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Originally Posted by Sheiky

Lewis, what do you mean? I don't see movement in her pictures so in my opinion the shuttertimes are good. Perhaps the 2nd one is motionblurred. The rest is tacksharp.

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Well, Denise mentioned that she doesn't like the sharpness of the photos. The first one is just a bit soft, and the second and fourth are softer. I'm not experienced enough to know if the issue is motion or focus, but I think that those three lack sharpness.

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Originally Posted by Sheiky

Rule of thumb with film was 1/focal length if I'm not mistaken


So minimum would be around 1/640th?

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Yes, but a lot of people recommend 1/2xfocal length, especially with a 1.6 crop. I kind of averaged the two. Guess I should have mentioned that. I was also thinking the 300/4 had a 3 stop IS... but I didn't look it up.


Without EXIF data, and knowing that Denise is new to SLR photography and therefore also probably new to telephoto lenses, I assumed that shutter speeds and photographer motion were a cause of her not liking the photos, because those are the reasons my first telephoto photos were no good.


Lewis

Alright I understand what you mean Lewis, thanks [:D]





As far as I can see the first picture looks like a pretty high iso picture, maybe that explains the softness. Second picture I'm not sure about. Fourth picture looks out of focus to me. But yes some info on those pictures would help out Denise [:P]


Anyway as everyone notices and agrees upon: the cause of your "stinky" photos is definitely not you! Hope that cheers you up a little!

Your shots certainly aren't bad for starting out. Just try and get the focus better (focus is everything) and get creative with your compositions. Also, the comment about waiting for the right time of day is a good tip! That will improve your lighting, perhaps the birds will be more active.... and making a perch is a good idea too! bburns knows all about that!


That first image I really quite like... only problem is it's a bit noisy. I don't know about others, but I use Imagenomic's NoiseWare plug-in for Photoshop (it's about $45) and it comes in PS plug-in or stand-alone app, for both Mac & PC. Keep it up, you're doing well! I have a long ways to go myself, but I think my photos aren't too bad and I knew practically NOTHING when I bought my first camera (XSi & kit lens with zoom kit) in Sept 2008. That's not that long ago!





- Jordan


www.freshphotohawaii.com

Jordan a quick question of the record: does your noise software work in PS 64bit? I use noiseninja, but it only works in 32 bit. I would love to have one in 64bit.

Thank you to everyone for your very encouaging words [:)]! All of your recommendations and advice are greatly appreciated! I will definitely try to set out earlier in the morning or later in the day ...if we can ever get a day of some sunshine on the weekend and I am starting to see a tripod in my very near future...once I figure out which one and what attachments I need to go along with it!

Spring is NOT going to come quick enough for me, that's for sure! In the meantime I will continue to practice, practice and practice some more!


I think more than anything my post processing hurt the squirrel pic more than it helped. I took all of the pictures in the AV mode at 5.6 and my ISO was at 200. I know I have a great deal to learn still about what settings to use when and I am thinking of purchasing the book Exposure - Digital Field Guide by Alan Hess from Amazon. Hopefully, that will help also.


Again thank you soooo much for taking out the time to help me out on this!

Denise

Hihi I can't wait till spring either. Am focussing on my gear at the moment, so I'm prepared for spring, summer and autumn [:D] Reading books never hurt anyone, so yes give it a try. You'll probably learn from it. Until then good luck and we'll hope to see some amazing picture from you later on this year [:D]

Just FYI, IS will not stop motion. So if you need at least 1/640th shutter speed but your subject is moving, you cannot use IS to go lower than that and expect it to stop the motion blur. The IS is only useful for stationary subjects but even then you need to get 2-3 shots just to make sure you get at least 1 sharp frame. :)

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Originally Posted by Daniel Browning

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Originally Posted by btaylor

Just out of curiosity Daniel, how does using the AF-ON button differ from half depressing the shutter button?

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It prevents the camera from autofocusing when you didn't want it to. I find that the increased flexibility makes it easier for me to achieve the critical timing necessary for fast paced wildlife photography. For example, I can take a shot, wait a half second, then take another shot, all without performing any autofocus (which might focus on the wrong thing or take too long). When the autofocus is integrated with shutter release, there is no way to snap the shot without engaging autofocus. (Which is fine if you want to autofocus every time, but many times I don't, and autofocusing again would slow me down.)
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So just to be clear, do you press and release the AF-ON button, then the shutter button or do you have to hold the AF-ON while pressing the shutter button, since pressing the shutter activates the auto-focus.

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Originally Posted by BuddyO

So just to be clear, do you press and release the AF-ON button, then the shutter button

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Press and release, though you can hold it down if you want to (e.g. for continuous AI servo). Either way you can snap the shutter at any time, with or without autofocus.

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Originally Posted by BuddyO

or do you have to hold the AF-ON while pressing the shutter button,
since pressing the shutter activates the auto-focus.

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I transfer autofocus to the AF-ON button so the shutter button does not activate auto-focus.

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Originally Posted by Daniel Browning

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Originally Posted by BuddyO

So just to be clear, do you press and release the AF-ON button, then the shutter button

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Press and release, though you can hold it down if you want to (e.g. for continuous AI servo). Either way you can snap the shutter at any time, with or without autofocus.

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Originally Posted by BuddyO

or do you have to hold the AF-ON while pressing the shutter button, since pressing the shutter activates the auto-focus.

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I transfer autofocus to the AF-ON button so the shutter button does not activate auto-focus.
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I see, thanks for the explanation, Daniel.


The Canon site has a good explanation of the custom function settings for this button as the in camera setting descriptions can be a bit confusing.


http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&amp;articleID=2286

Denise, an additional suggestion that I don't think I have seen yet in the replies is to pay attention to what is behind your subject. Even if you get a very OOF background, it is still important what is behind the subject as far as distraction and contrast. By changing your position to you subject with a telephoto lens, you quickly change what is behind it (use crouching/standing or moving locations). Try to find an even background that is darker than the subject. Late in the day the diffuse warm light will light a bird well, but look for something behind it that is somewhat evenly toned and perhaps in shadow, or just less bright by a stop or two. This will make the subject pop! Of course for birds and the like you can spook them by moving a lot, so try and plan ahead of time where the subject will be (in my yard when the hummers are out, there are a few branches that they really like, for some reason). So get to that place and angle where your anticipate the subject to be and watch the background! Last year I sat on the top of a ladder for an hour feeling silly shooting birds that I could predict where they would be. Some of your pictures may not have the best background or have something distracting because you are shooting up at the subject. Consider climbing up a ladder!

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Originally Posted by Stephen Probert

Denise, an additional suggestion that I don't think I have seen yet in the replies is to pay attention to what is behind your subject. Even if you get a very OOF background, it is still important what is behind the subject as far as distraction and contrast. By changing your position to you subject with a telephoto lens, you quickly change what is behind it (use crouching/standing or moving locations). Try to find an even background that is darker than the subject. Late in the day the diffuse warm light will light a bird well, but look for something behind it that is somewhat evenly toned and perhaps in shadow, or just less bright by a stop or two. This will make the subject pop! Of course for birds and the like you can spook them by moving a lot, so try and plan ahead of time where the subject will be (in my yard when the hummers are out, there are a few branches that they really like, for some reason). So get to that place and angle where your anticipate the subject to be and watch the background! Last year I sat on the top of a ladder for an hour feeling silly shooting birds that I could predict where they would be. Some of your pictures may not have the best background or have something distracting because you are shooting up at the subject. Consider climbing up a ladder!
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Thank you Stephen for the advice and you are so right. I do need to take the entire background and surroundings into consideration and set things up better for myself even to get the best position possible!


Thanks again [:)]


Denise

Take some time to read the following:


FART: http://kenrockwell.com/tech/fart.htm


http://kenrockwell.com/tech/basics.htm


http://kenrockwell.com/tech/composition.htm


http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/simplicity.htm


http://kenrockwell.com/tech/lighting.htm

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Originally Posted by Ehcalum

Take some time to read the following:


FART: http://kenrockwell.com/tech/fart.htm


http://kenrockwell.com/tech/basics.htm


http://kenrockwell.com/tech/composition.htm


http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/simplicity.htm


http://kenrockwell.com/tech/lighting.htm
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Thank you so much for all the links! I saved each as a favorite and will definitely read up, they look awesome. I also ordered past volumes of Photographic Digital Photography Guide today. I have volume 5 and love it!


Thanks again for the info!


Denise