My Pictures Suck!!!

[RudeBoy]

Okay, I'm feeling like buying my new camera was a waste of money and time. EVERY macro shot I've taken has been horrible and I just can't figure it out. I'm getting a lot of blur in the shots and my close-ups are out of focus. My camera is a Kodak V603 6.1.

What am I doing wrong??? :mad2:

 

[greenstarman]

Point and shoot cameras can be somewhat difficult to use for macro shooting.

1.) Make sure you are taking your pics straitght on, don't shoot at an angle.

2.) If you have the capabilities try resting the camera on something to steady it.

3.) If you are wanting close ups try taking just a general pic and then zoom and crop with software.

4.) The glass and the water could be causing a focusing problem for the camera. Not sure. Try these options see what happens. Post some pics when you get a chance. They may not be as bad as you think.

 

[RudeBoy]

I'll give those things a try and see what I come up with. I've seen a LOT of pictures taken with 4.1 and 5.1 cameras that REALLY make my shots look horrible. I'm going to focus on one coral and take shots until I start to make some progress.

 

[MCary]

Another thing most people don't know, is that even though an aquarium looks bright, it is actually pretty low light for a camera. Even under metal halides. When you zoom in as with most macro shots, the light is even reduced more. The camera in auto modes adjust for this by slowing the shutter speed and opening the aperature. Now you have motion blur and DoF problems. The flash can fix this, but you run into problems there too. If the flash is to bright, it'll blow out your highlights, if it flashes at a differect color temperature then it won't look like you see your tank, and in extreme close conditions, the lens can shade the subject of the flash can shoot its light over the top of the subject. Oh, and the flash can reflect off the glass.

SO don't get all upset if your having trouble. It isn't easy. The good thing about digital though, you can shoot thousands of pictures for cheap untill you figure it out.

Mike

 

[jedininja]

And are you using a tripod?

 

[Justin/TiV]

3x optical zoom isn't helping either I wouldn't think

 

[VoidRaven]

I don't know if you have or not, but why not post a couple of your better ones and see if we can't help with some suggestions on what to try to improve them? It's much easier to help if we can see the results of what you are getting and then offer ideas on what to try adjusting.

 

[RudeBoy]

Okay folks, after I took my thumb out of my mouth and stopped whining, I took all of your advice. I focused on taking about 100 pictures of one coral until I got a technique down and actually "learned" how my camera performs best. I posted this pictures in my Gallery and I'm interested in seeing what you all think. I was VERY surprised with the quality of the pictures that I took just using a little zoom and steadying my hand. I'm not exploring Macro shots until I can point and shoot with comfort.

All of the final photos are a result of at LEAST 50-75 shots of each subject. It took a lot of patience but it paid off. Thanks for all of your help!!!