Having my Canon 1000D since November 2010 I'm still learning! I think I'm slowly getting there? And enjoying the Camera and Photo's I take!
I'm learning from each photo I take?!
Yesterday I bought a new lense! For sometime I've wanted to capture the beautiful wildlife in my garden without being so close I scare them away! And also thing's like my children's school play's etc!
This evening my Son and I took a walk to the Garden like we normally do most evenings! To see if we can see the 2 Fox Cubs or even the Deer we have at the end of our Garden!
Tonight walking through the tall grass very quietly we saw the Cubs!
I managed to quickly take a photo before he/she ran off! It was truly amazing! He just sat there and stared at us both for what seemed ages, but clearly wasn't ages!
I managed to take a few photo's but the closer I zoomed in, it just wouldn't focas? Probably because I was too close to the Fox? And a few of the photo's were blurred?
But also after walking back to the House to up-load my photo's it seemed the Grass? Was to bright?
Have a look at my other photo where Mr Fox is peering over the wall!
I haven't used any photo editing sites? As I'm still confused by these and I'm taking one step at a time!
Was your flash on automatic. Sometimes it makes the foreground bright. I always turn my flash off as soon as I turn it on (and leave on for most walks).
My lens sometimes does not focus on my olympus, and usually because I am too close or and this is a blonde moment, the lens is kind of attached but did not click in place. I usually have to undo it and do it again.
I wonder if it was on autofocus? Just looks to me that it focussed on the grass behind the fox - did it keep changing -focussing on the foreground and background? If so, prob a combination of camera, lens/settings and the fox being too far away, and for the most part obscured. I dont think a tripod would've helped.
It also looks like in the third photo that your autofocus picked up the background rather than the fox. Try playing around with the focusing meters (right term?) to determine where in the frame or how much of the frame the sensor uses to autofocus. If you get a tripod and can set the focus manually to where you know/think they will appear, that would work out too. That takes time for you to let them be comfortable with your presence though, and a heck of a lot of patience.
@bevspics sorry, I have an Olympus so everyone else here speaks a slightly different language on camera features such as enable. Mine just says auto and then i hit a button and it gives me like nine options. I go for the lightning bolt with a bar across it.
hey there, I think I have the same camera ~ is it a rebel XS? anyway. . . .I think maybe your camera was trying to focus on too many points (that you didn't want it to focus on) . When I use any of my zoom lenses, (or most of my lenses for that matter) I change the camera to focus only on the center point, then I line up what I am trying to get a photo of, press the shutter to set exposure and focus and then I shift and compose the shot (without taking my finger off the shutter) This keeps the camera focused on what I want instead of everything around it.
To change the focus point I click on the button above the blue magnifying glass with the plus symbol on the back of the camera, it gives me the AF point selection screen and I move it around until only the middle one is lit up ~ now when you go to take a picture, the red focus light only shows up in the middle.
If you are in any mode other than "auto" you can shut the flash off simply by pushing it down. .. maybe do the AV or P mode and then pick the f/11,or 14? to get more focus??
May be worth a try ~ I am NO expert by a long shot. . . still in trial and error mode here!!!!
Well done for getting him at all - he's got a great expression on his face!
It might be you're too close for the lens (although I'd be surprised) - what is more likely is that the autofocus picked the wrong point - the grass behind the fox is looks in focus to me.
The focus/recompose method (as already suggested) is invaluable - in fact I semi-permanently have my focus point set to center only, focus using a half-press, recompose (without moving forwards or backwards!!), then fully press down.
(The only 'gotcha' here is that if you use a flash, it can confuse the flash metering).
When you half-press, check which little red dot lights up in the viewfinder, and that will tell you where it's focussed.
Probably worth practicing the technique on a static subject first - but I find it much easier and faster than changing the active focus point in situ.
As regards tripod - I don't think that camera shake is the reason for the blurry fox (see the grass, which is sharp).. however that said your shutter speed is 1/250, and with a focal length of 300mm you're in the "camera shake" zone (assuming your lens isn't image stablised).
The rule of thumb is don't go slower than 1/ your focal length for handheld - so 50mm can go at 1/50s or faster, 100mm at 1/100s or faster, and 300mm is 1/300s of faster (whereas 1/250 is slower)
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I would be very grateful if anyone can give me any advice on what I did wrong?
Also would you recommend that I buy a tripod?
Thanks again Beverley :)
My lens sometimes does not focus on my olympus, and usually because I am too close or and this is a blonde moment, the lens is kind of attached but did not click in place. I usually have to undo it and do it again.
Thanks for your comments. I'm not sure if my Flash was on Automatic! I've just checked the setting's on my camera and it is on Enable?
To change the focus point I click on the button above the blue magnifying glass with the plus symbol on the back of the camera, it gives me the AF point selection screen and I move it around until only the middle one is lit up ~ now when you go to take a picture, the red focus light only shows up in the middle.
If you are in any mode other than "auto" you can shut the flash off simply by pushing it down. .. maybe do the AV or P mode and then pick the f/11,or 14? to get more focus??
May be worth a try ~ I am NO expert by a long shot. . . still in trial and error mode here!!!!
It might be you're too close for the lens (although I'd be surprised) - what is more likely is that the autofocus picked the wrong point - the grass behind the fox is looks in focus to me.
The focus/recompose method (as already suggested) is invaluable - in fact I semi-permanently have my focus point set to center only, focus using a half-press, recompose (without moving forwards or backwards!!), then fully press down.
(The only 'gotcha' here is that if you use a flash, it can confuse the flash metering).
When you half-press, check which little red dot lights up in the viewfinder, and that will tell you where it's focussed.
Probably worth practicing the technique on a static subject first - but I find it much easier and faster than changing the active focus point in situ.
As regards tripod - I don't think that camera shake is the reason for the blurry fox (see the grass, which is sharp).. however that said your shutter speed is 1/250, and with a focal length of 300mm you're in the "camera shake" zone (assuming your lens isn't image stablised).
The rule of thumb is don't go slower than 1/ your focal length for handheld - so 50mm can go at 1/50s or faster, 100mm at 1/100s or faster, and 300mm is 1/300s of faster (whereas 1/250 is slower)
I want to thank each and everyone of you for replying to my thread.
Your comments are very helpful and I attricate every single one of them, as each comment is helping me learn that tiny bit more!
Thank You
Beverley :)