Looking for tips on how to make this image better
- Thread starter Genetics
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latazyo
New member
what don't you like about it?
a few things I think could be addressed
1. the fish is a little out of focus (if that's what you wanted to focus on)
2. the fish is too centered for my taste, I think it would be a more interesting photograph if the fish was in the lower left corner of the shot
are you familiar with the rule of 1/3's?
a few things I think could be addressed
1. the fish is a little out of focus (if that's what you wanted to focus on)
2. the fish is too centered for my taste, I think it would be a more interesting photograph if the fish was in the lower left corner of the shot
are you familiar with the rule of 1/3's?
Oceanodroma
New member
Not an expert by any means, but perhaps a wider depth of field would improve the shot..
1. Yeah, I tried a few different shots and kept getting him slightly out of focus. I wasn't sure if it was the angle through the glass or if I was just not getting it.
2. Yes, I will try that. Does it matter if it is 1/3 left side or 1/3 right?
Oceanodroma, what setting on my camera could I change to get a wider depth of field? The only way I know how with a macro is to actually take a larger image and photoshop it down.
latazyo
New member
making the f-number higher will increase the depth
I personally like the shallow depth of field, but with such a thin DOF any movement might give you focus issues (either you not using a tripod or the fish moving)
you can position the fish in whichever third you (the artist) want, however with the fish seeming to be angled towards the right I'd personally put him in the lower left
not sure what you mean here, are you confusing DOF and crop?
I personally like the shallow depth of field, but with such a thin DOF any movement might give you focus issues (either you not using a tripod or the fish moving)
you can position the fish in whichever third you (the artist) want, however with the fish seeming to be angled towards the right I'd personally put him in the lower left
not sure what you mean here, are you confusing DOF and crop?
latazyo
New member
it is a way to make photographs more aesthetically pleasing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds
Depth of field is controlled by the aperture setting. Going to f/11 or f/22 will increase depth of field, somewhat. Assuming that you used a 300mm lens and f/6.4 (as the EXIF info says), at a 60" focus distance, the depth of field will be about 0.2". If you could change the aperture to f/22, the DoF increases to 0.7". This is still very small. Depending on your camera, focusing that finely can be difficult. You could take a photo with less magnification (e.g. use a 100mm lens rather than a 300mm which, from 60", gives a DoF of about 2") and then crop to magnify the fish/coral. But that would lose resolution and make your image more grainy.
Are you using manual focusing or AF? Also, make sure that the camera is perpendicular to the glass and, if possible, convince your fish to swim parallel to the glass
Are you using manual focusing or AF? Also, make sure that the camera is perpendicular to the glass and, if possible, convince your fish to swim parallel to the glass
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13492028#post13492028 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nickb
Depth of field is controlled by the aperture setting. Going to f/11 or f/22 will increase depth of field, somewhat. Assuming that you used a 300mm lens and f/6.4 (as the EXIF info says), at a 60" focus distance, the depth of field will be about 0.2". If you could change the aperture to f/22, the DoF increases to 0.7". This is still very small. Depending on your camera, focusing that finely can be difficult. You could take a photo with less magnification (e.g. use a 100mm lens rather than a 300mm which, from 60", gives a DoF of about 2") and then crop to magnify the fish/coral. But that would lose resolution and make your image more grainy.
Are you using manual focusing or AF? Also, make sure that the camera is perpendicular to the glass and, if possible, convince your fish to swim parallel to the glass
I'm using manual. I will pop on the 100mM lens tonight and mess with the depth of field.
latazyo. I wasn't confusing crop with DOF. After looking at the camera, I have the DOC set as high as possible (f/22). I will try to take this with a more sturdy tripod and see if that helps.
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Some of the coral branches in the middle of the coral are in fairly good focus while the other parts are not. If it were camera shake, wouldn't all parts be equally blurred ('out of focus')?
I also got the f/6.3 for that photo. You were using a 300mm lens too? As I pointed out in an earlier message, this gives you a very small depth of field. Even if you went with f/22 (which is a bit smaller then optimal as noted by Blazer88), the depth of field is still very small with that lens (under an inch). I'm not sure how big the fish is but, even with optimal focusing, you might have trouble getting the whole fish in focus for a head-on photo.
I also got the f/6.3 for that photo. You were using a 300mm lens too? As I pointed out in an earlier message, this gives you a very small depth of field. Even if you went with f/22 (which is a bit smaller then optimal as noted by Blazer88), the depth of field is still very small with that lens (under an inch). I'm not sure how big the fish is but, even with optimal focusing, you might have trouble getting the whole fish in focus for a head-on photo.
latazyo
New member
genetics, it really all depends on how you want to present your artful representation of this fish
in my personal opinion, I love the blurry foreground branches of the coral
it gives the picture a lot of depth and focuses your attention on the fish....almost like Im there in the picture in a jungle of coral
FWIW, I really like super shallow DOF pics, not to mention that large apertures (low f number) gives you more shutter speed, which is helpful for fish, IME
but others prefer to not have so much blurry foreground and background, for all we know you may have wanted the entire coral in focus...in which case my suggestions would be garbage
in my personal opinion, I love the blurry foreground branches of the coral
it gives the picture a lot of depth and focuses your attention on the fish....almost like Im there in the picture in a jungle of coral
FWIW, I really like super shallow DOF pics, not to mention that large apertures (low f number) gives you more shutter speed, which is helpful for fish, IME
but others prefer to not have so much blurry foreground and background, for all we know you may have wanted the entire coral in focus...in which case my suggestions would be garbage
I agree with latazyo - how you want the picture to look is your artist call. I was just pointing out the technical challenges involved: very narrow DoF, low shutter speed, relatively 'big' fish. A photo like you posted above with the in-focus fish as the focal point and out of focus coral branches could be very good.
I'd suggest that you try several aperture settings, not just f/22. You also should try and keep the camera perpendicular to the glass, use the self-timer to reduce vibration from pushing the shutter release, turn off you pumps, etc.
I'd suggest that you try several aperture settings, not just f/22. You also should try and keep the camera perpendicular to the glass, use the self-timer to reduce vibration from pushing the shutter release, turn off you pumps, etc.
TitusvileSurfer
New member
His aperture was set to f/6.3 true, but don't forget even f/6.3 is considered toward the narrow end of depth of field. DOF is characterized by more than just the aperture setting as well. The lens was set at 300mm, which will make the DOF extremely narrow at close proximity. At 300mm he was only using a shutter speed of 1/60. As a general rule he should have been hand holding at 1/250 minimum.
So I blame camera shake and DOF.
He zoomed in too far, with too low a shutter speed.
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