Guitar Strings

[rlarose]

I had a lot of difficulty with this shot today. I know in my mind what I wanted, but couldn't achieve it. What I was looking to do was have about 30% of the strings in focus, with a slight fade to the foreground and a heavy fade to the background. (foreground being the top of the guitar neck, background being the base of the guitar). I got close, but not right on.

The lighting was natural, but still, something is amiss and I can't put my finger on it. Any and all advise is quite appreciated! Thanks.

http://img.skitch.com/20080213-f2tu8t296rt77gstrt5ax32jeu.jpg

Date: 2008-02-12 15:25:17
Lens: 17.342 mm
Aperture: f 4.5
Shutter: 1/13 sec

[jdepould]

Assuming this was with the Canon? Not sure how much manual control that gives you, but you might try putting it into landscape mode, so it'll stop the aperture down a bit more and give you greater depth of field.

[geotography]

rlarose,

Check this link out on depth of field. I think it will help you alot.

http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/User-Guide/950/depth-of-field.html

I am a guitarist and can relate to your photo. I may have more to say later; now I have to go cook dinner.

[rlarose]

Oh yeah, sorry jdepould. This was with the Canon. Not a ton of control over it, but I think I can play with some of that. Thank you!

And thanks for the link, geotography. Good explanation.

[netbymatt]

I think you've got more control over depth of field than you think with your camera. I had a Powershot A640 and it had shutter priority, aperture priority and manual. If it's similar to what I had. Look for the Av on the dial on top, then use the cursor buttons on the back to adjust the aperture to the largest number you can for a greater depth of field.

You picked a great perspective. As I read your post I felt like the guitar was jumping out of the screen at me.

[rlarose]

Thanks netbymatt. I've started playing with those features and am trying to learn by fire. I'll take your suggestions and see what I can do today (we have a nice ice storm going on and I think I can play with the drooping trees and your settings).