Strawberry testing with 50mm f/1.8

[gomezef]

Hello! This is my first post. I just recently bought a Canon 20D along with the 50mm f/1.8 lens. This is my first test with my new lens.


50mm f/3.2 1/60s

If I could ask two things of the readers. First of all, how can this image be improved. Composition, color, background, foreground, sharpeness, ect, please all comments welcome. It is my first experience with RAW shooting too comments welcome on that too. (I did a little bit of RAW processing)

Secondly, I would also like advise on how to appropriately use the 50mm lens. As I am noticing, it is a great lens, and very fast. But using it near the f/1.8 stop gives it a really shallow depth of field (like millimeters when really close to subject). How can I make the most of this lens? What kind of photography is best with it? Ect..

Thank you all!

[RexK_Cozumel]

Compsitionally I think a little more table under the bottom of the bowl would be nice. I like cutting off the left side of the bowl but for some reason I think seeing the bottom of the bowl would be better. I think a larger DOF would be better in this shot. Perhaps if you could get all the strawberries in focus I do like the blurred background tho. Would make a pretty good stock photo if the strawberries were in sharper focus.

[davis.aaron]

I agree, I love the blurred background, but could use a little more table in front, just a little though.

there is great contrast in the photo which I enjoy, and I think it gives sort of a modern but natural feel with the stainless steel and strawberries mixing together.

I like.

[ELAY]

I like to use my 50 f/1.8 for

1. Portraits. Good contrast, colour and sharpness, and with the crop factor it is a great focal length

2. Low light situations

3. Anywhere that I want superior sharpness, bokeh, etc. and have time and space to compose my shot.

As for your strawberries, just because you can open up, doesn't mean you have to. Your 50, if it's like mine, is probably sharpest f/4 through 8 or 11, so don't hesitate to use it stopped down.

EL

[kirbinster]

Originally Posted by ELAY

I like to use my 50 f/1.8 for
As for your strawberries, just because you can open up, doesn't mean you have to. Your 50, if it's like mine, is probably sharpest f/4 through 8 or 11, so don't hesitate to use it stopped down.

EL

Just below the photo it says "50mm f/3.2 1/60s" so I would think that is just about as far stopped down as he can go without upping the ISO.

[ELAY]

I would think that is just about as far stopped down as he can go without upping the ISO.

Fair enough, though if there was a tripod in play or the camera was resting on something there is more flexibility.

I think the broader point is worth making though -- sometimes when I get something that does one thing very well (low light), I can tend to reach for it only for that one thing, and forget all the other things it can do.

EL

[Nai no Kami]

This is an experiment of color balance aimed to figure if the strawberries could be made more tempting or appealing (like would be in a box of cereals or in a tableware ad, for example). Working with a small file brought its limitations, though. The process involved touching levels, curves and channel mixer in Photoshop. I tried to put extra care in not losing detail in certain dynamically sensitive zones, like the frontmost "orange-ish" strawberry.

[jdepould]

I'm not sure I would suggest stopping down on this one, shutter speed seems to be an issue. It looks like there's a little bit of motion blur. I'm assuming this is a natural light shot? I'd say try using a flash bounced off of the ceiling. I'm also curious as to the f/3.2, why not 2.8 or 4?