# Oops!



## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Something that I think would be useful in this forum would be some tutorials from the good photographers we have here (and I think we all know who they are) on some common areas where people like me make frequent mistakes and how to address or avoid them.

I pulled just a few of my many screwed up pictures to demonstrate some of the adjustments I needed (and in many cases still need) going from a point and shoot digital to a digital SLR, even though I have used two different film SLRs in the past.

Focus, Focus, Focus:

The default focus mode for my Nikon D70 is for the camera to pick the closest object in the focus zones and focus on it. This can lead to some undesirable results. You can toggle among the focus areas or focus at the right distance (half press on the shutter) and re-frame, but neither of those works extremely well in fast shooting. I did discover that if you avoid the automatic modes you can designate center focus and keep it there, although that does limit your flexibility.

Some examples:

You can't see the zebra for the trees.










My kid is the one out of focus.










Who cares if the ref looks good?










Flashing:

Getting the light right can be more difficult than you would think with automatic exposure metering. When my camera was new I realized that using the flash for trophy photos could make all the difference even where there is abundant natural light. I also knew that the built-in metering did not want to use the flash on all of the automatic settings. Unfortunately I did not fully RTFM so I tried to compensate in manual mode, thinking the processor would adjust. Wrong. On my camera you should pick "P" not "M" in this situation, unless you are clever enough to get it right in one of the other modes.

This is why you need the fill flash -- too much shadow in the face.










This is why manual mode won't solve the problem.










This is where the "Program" mode on my camera comes to my rescue.










Underexposed:

Sometimes we rely on the flash when the camera knows it is needed, but the conditions are such that the built-in flash just won't do. Areas where I had problems (and not unexpectedly) include large, dim interiors and low-light action shots where the shutter speed is too slow to stop the action because more light is needed. Realizing that the camera may not be able to handle these situations on its own may save you some wasted shots. Post-processing may help salvage some of these shots that are too dim but I think it will be hard to get what you envisioned.

Dim Interior - And Shutter Too Slow










Enough Light (Barely) But Too Slow Again










Post-Processing










I've Been Framed:

Framing your shots is an area where all you need is time (and some knowledge of the difference between what your viewfinder shows and the image area) to get it right, and if you get too much you can crop. However, sometimes the need to get a shot quickly may lead to problems. I was taking some pictures for my wife at the church blessing of the animals and we wanted a picture of this little dog, a picture that would in my opinion have been much better with the entire head of the owner in the frame!










An area that I find I need to pay more attention to is depth of field. Most of you already know that this is the area that is in sharp focus. Over-simplified, for any camera and lens selection the smaller the aperture the greater the depth of field, thus the more objects that can be in focus at the same time although they are different distances from the camera. Conversely, in some photography (like portrait) you may want only the subject in sharp focus against a slightly blurred background, so you would want a larger aperture to shorten the depth of field. You can see how this works if you have ever squinted your eyes to see something - you are reducing the aperture of your eye and increasing its depth of field. It was actually a bit easier for me on my old manual SLR where I could pick the largest or smallest aperture for my selected depth of field and see where the light let me go for a shutter speed. Now I am too reliant on the brains of the camera and need to go through the manual some more.

I do not have any good bad/pictures to show where I have made depth of field errors, at least not that I can quickly lay my hands on tonight. If I find some I will add them.

I do not mean this post to make it sound like I know what I am talking about, but to show the kinds of areas where I think some tutorials from the real experts could help us all to take better pictures. Another area where I definitely need work is composition - some pointers there would help me. I am also postive there are more elegant solutions that my camera can give me if I just understood it better.

I know not everyone has the time to teach the amateurs like me how to improve their shots, but maybe over time we could build up an archive of tutorials to improve our pictures.


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## Saltwater Soul (May 31, 2005)

Great post Charles. I'm struggling with the same things (with the same camera). I've been meaning to take a few courses but can't seem to find the time. I don't have any expertise to offer but do offer a few links that might be useful for all.

General photography but mostly nature:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech.htm scroll down for lots of specific articles.
http://www.naturephotographers.net/np101/index.html site has great photos as well
http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototip-archives.html

Nikon D70 specific resources.
http://www.nikonians.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=list&forum=DCForumID86&conf=DCConfID3
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1034&message=11678405

Good luck.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Thanks for the links!


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## Mexico Hunter (May 4, 2005)

I need this stuff beat into my head. I have the D50, just got it for xmas and need to learn the right way, the first time. I'm with Troy, would like to take some classes but haven't taken the time to even look. Thanks for the hints and links!


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## RustyBrown (May 29, 2004)

*Guess I'll let the cat out of the bag...*

Something's coming soon...


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## Pod (Dec 11, 2004)

I was too busy looking at your kudu and gemsbok to notice anything wrong with your pictures! Nice animals.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Pod said:


> I was too busy looking at your kudu and gemsbok to notice anything wrong with your pictures! Nice animals.


 Thanks.

I went back after I set up the gallery from my trip and did some clean up and processing of the trophy pictures. They would have been better if I knew then what I know...you get the picture. I need to upload the better pictures in place of the old ones, but for now they are in one of my catch-all galleries.

 Gemsbok 1
http://www.pbase.com/image/53531060/large.jpg
 Gemsbok 2

 Gemsbok 3
http://www.pbase.com/image/53531062/large.jpg
 Kudu 1
http://www.pbase.com/image/53531063/large.jpg
 Kudu 2
http://www.pbase.com/image/53531064/large.jpg
 Kudu 3
http://www.pbase.com/image/53531065/large.jpg
 Mountain Zebra
http://www.pbase.com/image/53531067/large.jpg

Just different views (and some different angles depending on who was running the camera). I know I posted this before but the main gallery from my trip is here.

[Pbase has been doing a database upgrade, and for some reason the direct image links are not all working right now so I have linked to the pages instead.]


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## pelican (May 22, 2004)

Great idea, Charles. 

Back in the 70's I was really interested in photography (bought a 35mm SLR, film, tripods, filters, lenses, converters, cable releases, etc. etc.) But aside from reading a few books and trying some things like time-lapse, macros, etc, I never took the time to really learn some of the finer points of this "art". 

Now days, digital has made things so easy and cheap, I just snap away, but I'm still impressed by the artistry and composition of photos taken by folks like Rusty, Cutter and Capt Ray.

Rusty, I really look forward to what you're preparing for us.

Bob


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## Pod (Dec 11, 2004)

CH, Those are some beautiful animals. I'm sure that hunt was a great experience. Kudu and gemsbok are both on my list if I ever get to go.

Pelican, I know what you mean. I fall in that category of "snapping away" hoping for a good picture now and then. I hate reading my camera book, or any other instuctional manual for that matter! It's so easy to just stay in "Auto" and hope for the best.

Have Ya'll noticed the increased traffic on the photography forum lately? Thanks to all for the posts, advice, and the effort put in to the photography contest.


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## Dorado-Mahi (May 23, 2004)

Nice shots Charles. Did you happen to take any portraits of Elias? He has one interesting and photogenic face. Just looking at him makes me want to know more about his life story. Thanks for posting these shots.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Dorado-Mahi said:


> Nice shots Charles. Did you happen to take any portraits of Elias? He has one interesting and photogenic face. Just looking at him makes me want to know more about his life story. Thanks for posting these shots.


 I do not have any individual portaits as such but I do have more pictures and will see if I have anything decent. I was told that he was hit by a cobra when younger and that was responsible for his facial features. He is a great tracker and has a good sense of humor, although my Afrikaans and especially my Herrero are pretty weak. He made fun of Matthew when it was cold and would say that he was not cold "because I am a man." Elias' village is called Arizona and it was well-supplied with meat by the hunting.

Matthew was pretty funny as well, telling the story of a lion charge and a mock-charge by an elephant complete with all the sound effects. I missed a lot due to my poor grasp of the language but part of the lion charge story included the observation that when the lion charged, all he saw was the head and the tail as "it was too fast to see the rest."


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Pod said:


> CH, Those are some beautiful animals. I'm sure that hunt was a great experience. Kudu and gemsbok are both on my list if I ever get to go.


 We hunted in a fairly remote area close to Etosha National Park, and although it is not especially inexpensive it was not bad at all. It would have been better if I could have used airline miles to fly! Now if I had connected with a leopard it would have been more expensive...


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

*Elias*

By popular request, I have added a few photos of Elias to a new gallery. There are some shots of Matthew in there as well.

Samples:





Due to cropping and some post-processing needed to make up for errors in the field these are not great, but are about the best I can do.

You can click for larger sizes, but due to issues with PBase you may not see anything here or at the links and may have to go to the gallery. I am guessing there are some database issues resutling from the recent server upgrade at PBase.

Edit - some of these shots were taken by Gert van der Walt of Windhoek, Namibia.


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## chicapesca (Jun 7, 2004)

*Very interesting Charles*

Thank you. I am all ears/eyes when it comes to digital photography, and hope to learn a lot from Rusty's tutorials.


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## Cutter (Jun 23, 2004)

chicapesca said:


> Thank you. I am all ears/eyes when it comes to digital photography, and hope to learn a lot from Rusty's tutorials.


Yep, RB is cooking up a nice one.. He shared with me the curriculum, and I am certain that all will benefit from what he has to share.


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