Photography Question

Sancho

New Member
I'm no photographer at all but I was wondering what settings you used for close up pictures? I have a stock (Canon XTi)
 
What lens are you using?
For real close up shots you might want to consider macro lens.
I take all my pictures with a 60mm macro.
I like to take all of my pictures in aperture priority.
That way you can change the depth of focus in the picture.
The head is in focus where the body is not.
This is f/7.1
0330001.jpg


This is f/3.3 but the whole body is straight, so the picture is in focus.
036.jpg


The larger the F/# the more depth of focus you will have.
If you want most of your picture in focus try f/16 and make sure to use your flash.
Hope that helps.
 
I would use the macro mode on automatic... But if you like to get creative in manual ..you can with that camera...Just takes some playing with it to get to know your settings.

If you are doing manual it can get tricky...

Laymans Manual Photo lesson:
You are giong to be messing around with your shutter speed and Aperture.
The aperture is size of the hole (F Stop) behind the lens that lets light through... And the shutter is what opens and shuts really quick when you take the shot, letting light through the F Stop to expose the film.

*The smaller the aperture number, the bigger the F Stop hole... The bigger the F Stop hole, the more light is let through to the film, meaning you need a faster shutter speed so as not to overexpose the shot. The shutter speed and the aperture should always depend on eachother because if you make the F Stop smaller you must compensate by making the shutter speed slower as to make sure you do not underexpose the shot. But as you make the shutter speed slower you have to be careful not to shake, as it will cause the shot to blur.

* Depth of field is the range of area in the shot that remains in focus. If you take a pic of a cham, and the head is in focus but past the head gets blurry, that means you have a low depth of field. The aperture effects the depth of field... If you want the whole shot in focus you will want to use a small aperture (bigger number on the camera) and a longer shutter speed. If you want only the head in focus, use a smaller aperture number and a faster shutter speed. Some people like the look of low depth of field, and some like the whole shot to be in focus it just depends on what you are going for... You should play around with both.


Stop Action Shots:

In order to catch a fast moving action in a clear still frame... You want to use a very fast shutter speed... In order to accomplish this you will need to open up your apurture to let enough light in during the lighting quick opening and shutting of the shutter. Of course trying catch a shot shot like this will casue you to have to sacrifice some depth of field.

Hopefully Justin, Royden or Vertex will chime in... I know they are currently using SLRs and I have not used mine in a while...Not a digi...The days of using my own Dark Room are moving into the past.

Good luck

~Joe

Edit: Looks like Justin was on it...
 
The 18-55 kit lens is AWESOME!
I have used a Canon XTi with that lens on it.
It close focus very well and it's super sharp.
It's not going to be as sharp as my 60mm macro because it's not a fixed focal length and dosent have as good of bokeh as my lens.
I think Canon setting is Av for aperture priority. Go ahead and swith it to that setting.
Turn your thum comand dial so that the number reads atleast f/10.
This should give you plenty of focal range.
You can go as high as f/16 if you'd like.
Pop you flash up and go to town.
Remember, give your camera time for the flash to charge.

You might be a bit confused about the whole F/# thing.
Think of it as a fraction. f/4 or 1/4th is larger then f/10 or 1/10th.
The smaller it is, then the les light enters the camera, but you get more depth of focus.
The larger the F/# the more light can enter, but you get less depth of focus.

I really hope that helps you.;)
 
Thanks. Now I'm not sure if I have the XTi or XT model since they look the same I'll check when I get home.
 
I won't be getting into the extreme details, but I'll to answer your original question with a practical answer.

Since you have and XTi/XT with the kit lens, and wanting to take close up pictures, zoom all the way in (put the lens in 55mm), select the "Av" shooting mode, turn the dial next to the shutter button left until it displays f/5.6 on the LCD screen. Be sure to have at least 1 foot between your camera and the subject. Snap some pictures at this setting.

If you want more depth of field (larger in focus area of the subject) turn the dial right several notches to, say, f/11. At this setting, you'll need much more light than the previous setting.

Here's a shot I took with the exact equipment you have:
meaningful_634924_original.jpg
 
dang sounds like you guys got serious cameras, all i got is a cannon powershot sd750...it does its job..

but since its a digital will i be able to get decent clear photos of him eating and stuff? or is that impossible without a >.> excuse the terminology super fast shutter?

or is there something with my camera i can do to improve it?
 
hmm not sure yet, going through the settings, i got "video system" ntsc or pal...

OK finished goin through the settings....doesn't look like that on the top there is video mode, portrait, and camera.
 
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