Am I doing something wrong?

[Manofmayo]

Manofmayo-


A very short while ago there was a thread that was deleted by the moderator for containing images that showed a little too much. I think the first picture, especially, falls into that category. I think it's best if you remove that first picture, as I'm sure Bryan will do it once he sees it.

Sorry about that......image deleted

[ThomasJ]

That reminds me of a Youtube video of Chase Jarvis describing his technique when doing high-speed photography.


I think, in short, he said that not shutter speeds stops motion, but the flash intensity. You would probably still find the video on youtube.


So maybe stick with the maximum flash-synch speed you can achieve with your setup, and try playing with your flash?

[Manofmayo]

I had great results last night. I shot at 1/250 sec & f/11 most of the time. Didn't go past 1/250 sec this time around, but maybe next time I will to see if I can great results.


After last night, I can see why some people prefer shooting with primes only. I used 3 lenses, a borrowed 24-70 f/2.8, my Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 & the non-L 100 f/2.8:


With the 100, I felt like I was too far away from the model to get a full body shot, however, I got some great head shots. I was blown away by the sharpness of the images (I am almost afraid of using the 135 f2 for fear that I might actually BE blown up and away:P). Nearly all the shots I had to delete were not because of blur or focus problems, but snapping the picture at an odd time. My second round of deletions will take forever, too many good shots to choose from.


With the 24-70 I felt like I was too close to the model-my keeper rate was better than last time-however, I liked the feel of the lens. Most of the deleted shots were due to a missed focus. Sharpness and contrast were good overall, but I expected better given the rave reviews.


With the 18-50, I also felt like I was too close to her. I had a high deletion rate because the lens missed focused. However, when it did hit the focus, I was pleasantly surprised. Sharpness and contrast were also good-I have had problems in the past with a strange color cast when I take pictures of bright orange or pink flowers, I saw none of that here.


My 50 f/1.8 I brought along couldn't focus on her. I had dropped the lens this summer (18" onto a deck). Autofocus had been working fine forlandscapepictures. Maybe I should upgrade to a 50 f/1.4 in the future.


Next time I will bring both the 70-200 f/4 & the 100 f/2.8.


One more thing. I have taken many pictures I am happy with in the past 2 years with the XTi, but none that rival the quality of the photos I see on-line (at least in my eyes-others have said differently). Last night, I finally got shots I thought were amazing. Maybe, instead of buying a body in the next few months, I will just buy better glass.


I am so thankful for all your help. You have no idea....

[neuroanatomist]

I'm glad you got some great shots!

Maybe, instead of buying a body in the next few months, I will just buy better glass.

<div>If you're independently wealthy, win the lottery, or require the features of a higher end body (weather sealing, faster frame rate, etc.) you are generally better off investing in lenses. It's not quite back to the days of film (where the specifics of the body were essentially irrelevant for image quality), but entry level today's dSLRs perform nearly as well as the higher end models - it's the lenses that make the bigger difference. Of course, the biggest impact is the skill and talent of the person holding the camera and lens, and that hasn't changed since the earliest days of photography. Experience helps, and that's what you're getting (and, I think, seeing come out in your shots!).</div>