Its narrower than most people think too - even the charts can be wrong! as the cameras get more precise with focusing, it gets even more difficult to put it where you want it. that was one of the learning curve issues with the Mark III.
I think Nikon - and I'm sure Canon - are both working on selective focus in post production as the next big step. You shoot the shot the way you want it and the software lets you pick what in the frame is going to be in focus. total control on composition and depth. I can't wait for the next step!
Jon Uhler wrote:
They already have that JB...I think OnOne software has Focal Point....
No - i'm talking about things the camera does - to make it work in post processing. I'm sure there are cool second party software ticks available - but thats definitely not what I'm talking about.
its like the picture of the grass above. you shoot it with full depth of field, then in post production, you pick a blade of grass and set how much depth in front of or in back of that blade... or multiple blades you want to be in focus. Since all the sharp focus data is in the file, it can be adjusted any way you want. At least that is what I read a while back. It seems the software that we have now does the same thing in reverse - by selectively blurring things for that effect. Its probably a wash in either method that will end up as a part of either lightroom or PS in the next big version anyway.
Edited by jbear2000 on Jul 17, 2008 at 04:39 PM GMT
jbear2000 wrote:
I do have one question - and its just my curiosity. I read all the time that portraits and weddings shouldn't be shot on the sharpest setting - on either platform - so i wonder how you set up your camera for these. Like sports? Like family shots? or with softening of some kind? I really want to know. I would tend to go to the sharp end - and I'm pretty sure thats not what most women would want. (which is one reason why i prefer not to shoot weddings)
Thanks for the kind words guys...
Jbear...I really don't know a whole lot about wedding photography. This was the third one I have done as a second shooter. After the second one, I softened a few of the images to give them a dreamy quality, thinking that was what I was supposed to do at a wedding. I absolutely got nailed on the wedding forum, so I guess I went a little too far with it.
This time, we were shooting wide open at high ISO's which gives a softer appearance IMO. I applied very little sharpening, if any, to most of the pics and none in camera since I shot in RAW. I do like to do a little local area contrast to most (USM at 20, 60, 4) though that did not always look good. I also duplicated layers in some places and used a soft light blending mode at various opacities to add some contrast to the B&W's.
You and Colin are braver than I - I would rather stand on top of a building in a lightning storm than deal with brides, brides mom, brides moms in law, step mothers, best friends, bridesmaids... beasts all of them. No thanks! No wonder wedding photogs extract so much from them for the trouble!
You both did real well - and your artistic eye was on too!
What's the word tonight for everyone? Anyone thinking Pizza / Beer? Trains? Walk-around? Play with my new strobe/softbox and try for some sunset shots?
jbear2000 wrote:
oh yeah - Mark - a blog works under any banner... no one ever really reads them...
here is a page that will cure anyone from wanting to read another blog http://jbearlyblog.blogspot.com/2005_07_01_archive.html
Stacy...I can see why you have those bookmarked! What beautiful photos! I am going to bookmark them, too! Thanks for sharing!
Mark, congrats on teh house!
JonU...Looks like you are having fun with the L's! I like what you are doing with them! So between taking your camera in the bathroom and in restaurants at lunch, are you getting any strange looks?
To me - blogs are a lot like technical journals - you can learn stuff from them and maybe see something cool in the pictures... but their best use is to cure boredom - by forcing you away from the computer and out actually doing something.
I include mine in that regard - i don't care who reads it or if it isn't read at all.
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Colin - pizza - did you say pizza? We usually go to the buckhead fellini's on cool nights and then drive around looking for something to shoot. I don't mind where pizza is served - but so far fellini's does it for us. So - if getting out and shooting street scenes downtown or around the rail yard sounds cool - i'm in.
Otherwise - I'm still planning on Marieitta in the morning - but 9 is too early for me. 10 was pushing it. I'm old and haven't transitioned to getting up at 4:30 yet.
hey i'm a "new photographer" to the atlanta area. i've just started acquiring equipment. i took some shots over at the botanical garden but i think i need to go back with a macro flash or better lighting equipment. it was really rainy on sunday and perhaps that was part of it. what do you do about the different environments fogging up your lenses?
Why do you have contempt for humanity, Jon? Nice shot, I think. The screen isn't centered this time, at least
I'm going to have to back out on tonight's gathering. I'd love to meet up but I should really go finish editing these wedding pictures and now my family wants me up in Woodstock tomorrow morning.
Looks like the pizza/beer/photo triage will have to wait, at least for me.
Good stuff JonB. Now post yet another picture of the monitor showing your monitor Showing your monitor showing the website, and we'll be at a new level of recursive-ness.
Some other time, we'll have to get together and hang out.
tlong wrote:
Stacy...I can see why you have those bookmarked! What beautiful photos! I am going to bookmark them, too! Thanks for sharing!
Marina Miller I got some Lightroom pre sets from that I like a lot. Stacey Bode and I used to work together for a biotech company. She quit in January this year to do photography full time. I second shot a wedding with her, she's great. The Pinkle Toes one I just ran across one day. I like her newborn and kids shots a lot.
