first shot with new camera

[thistledo]

Oh joy!!! I got my new camera over the weekend, a Canon EOS 400d and I am a happy bunny The first photo I took was of our cat, I wanted to focus on her eyes more but she kept on moving The depth of field is so much more evident (compared to the last camera) but her whiskers are lost, could this do with having less depth of field? Or should I have focused further down her face?



1/60
F5.6
ISO 200

TFL

[wulf]

You have some nice sharp areas round the top of her head. To get a greater depth of field you either need to be further away (DoF increases with distance) or use a smaller aperture (bigger f/stop - eg. f/8 rather than f/5.6).

Of course, with the former, you end up with a smaller subject (although you can always crop the picture afterwards to get better framing - the picture above is great). If you adjust the aperture instead, you need to either reduce the shutter speed (not good if the cat is moving), increase the ISO or improve the level of light.

However, all in all, I think the above shot is still a good one, although I am sure you will get better pictures in coming weeks and months.

Wulf

[Thrax]

Don't you just love it when you get a new camera or lens and it just works out for you? I recently obtained a new Canon 5D and I just love the heck out of it due mainly to my interest as an engineer and the advancement of technology.

Cats can be little terrors when it comes to having their picture taken, I swear they tease us you know.

Great pic

Regards

Terry

[jiminyClickit]

thistledo,

Getting closer to perfection would include deciding to either crop a portion (here, maybe half an inch) off the ears, or include all of them with a little space between them and the frame (here, maybe a quarter of an inch). When you cut right on the edge, it looks like an accident or you didn't realize it looks chopped off. Search around for other animal photos and see which ones are more appealling. Sometimes the angle may affect the choice also.

This is a decent pet photo, and if you edit, see how much better some saturation would make the eyes stand out.

[thistledo]

Thank you all for your suggestions

Wulf: thank you for the ideas, I'm going to try both out (distance and smaller aperture)

Thrax: I reckon you're right about cats LOL! Congrats on the 5D

jiminyClickit: I will try and frame the cat in different ways, if she stays still LOL! I decreased the brightness, increased the contrast and added a little saturation and cropped the left:



I think she looks angry now, LOL, she probably was! Thanks again for the suggestions, this place rocks (have I said that before? )

[jiminyClickit]

thistledo,

Somewhere between this one and original would look less angry. You might selectively get a touch more color in eyes and nose, leaving the rest as in original. Just enough to liven the look in the face.