My New Guitar

[Sergio]

I'm still very new to photography, so give me some constructive criticism please.


These are my settings, tell me what I should change next time to achieve better results.
Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 1600
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

[Nieton21]

I'm pretty new to Photography myself, so I can really only give my feelings on the overall picture, I think it has a really great perpective, but a couple of things I would change is I would try to increase the focal length and get more of the front of the guitar in focus along with the back egde (what appears to be in focus now) Like I said I'm new at this so I think if you use a use a larger aperteur you could get a wider distance in focus (again forgive me if I get this wrong--I'm a newbie as well). also I would try and get more of a less distracting background so you could stay focused on how cool the guitar is and looks.

[Sergio]

Thanks, I will try that next time.

[Digidave]

I agree with Nieton21. Is it supposed to be yellowish, like that? Is that effect you were going for? Try using f/8 to get it in focus all the way. I think I would of had just a tiny bit more space on the left side of the guitar. Not much, but just a bit more. I think, a completely black background would of been better. You notice how the nearest part of the guitar is out of focus, then it goes into focus, then it goes back out of focus? When you do a long shot like this, where you have some in focus & some out of focus, usually you will have the nearest part in focus. Then it will gradually go out of focus. Then when your eye wonders down the neck of the guitar, it will seem like it's leading into eternity. But you need a black background to achieve that effect.

Just my 2 cents worth. Let us know what you were actually trying to achieve & we can help even more!

[Through the Veil]

Try aperture priority with a 2.8 fstop. Use a stabilizer like a tripod or resting the camera on a pillow, etc. Go with a slower ISO -- 200 or less. Focus on back of the first bridge.

This will give a better definition to the DOF by increasing sharpness in front with a taper off blur to the back. The slower ISO will give much less graininess/noise.

Good idea for the pic. Hope you are as imaginative on your guitar.

[Sergio]

Digidave, it's not supposed to be yellowish, the guitar is supposed to be completely white. I couldn't get the right colors though.

Thanks Through the Veil, I'll try that next time.

And I did try to get the first part in focus, but I couldn't. Maybe I need macro lens or something, but it usually comes out like that, blurry, sharp, then blurry again.

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by Sergio

Digidave, it's not supposed to be yellowish, the guitar is supposed to be completely white. I couldn't get the right colors though.

Try adjusting your White Balance for indoor lighting. That should take out some of the yellow tones as well. To adjust your white balance, press the WB button on the back of your camera, then use the arrows to select the icon that looks like a light bulb, and that should hopefully improve the colours. If that one doesn't work, try other white balances until you get one that you're happy with. (See pg 86 of your manual)

Originally Posted by Sergio

And I did try to get the first part in focus, but I couldn't. Maybe I need macro lens or something, but it usually comes out like that, blurry, sharp, then blurry again.

If you want to change where the picture is sharp, adjust where your camera is focusing. First, you need to make sure that your camera is in a mode other than Auto. Then change your focus point to where you want the picture to be sharp (e.g. at the bottom, in the middle, at the top, etc). You can do this by pressing the button for changing the focus point and then selecting where you want it to focus with the arrow keys. (See pg 57 of your manual).

Sorry if these don't totally make sense, I just downloaded the manual so that I could try to explain in Canon terms

[Sergio]

Thanks Nicole, I thought it was my lens, but I guess not.

[inkista]

Out of curiousity, are you shooting with the kit lens (EF-S 18-55)? I'm assuming you are, since you've maxed out on the ISO, and are at 55mm and f/5.6.

First, agree with everybody else about the white balance. Play with the settings. If flipping to the "tungsten/flourescent" settings etc don't work for you, you can always try mastering custom white balance, and have fun with that.

I actually disagree with everybody else who says you want a larger depth of field (i.e., more in focus). I think you actually would do better with a smaller depth of field, in terms of blurring out any background distractions and focusing attention exactly where you want it, but that's personal taste.

The kit lens won't go any wider than f/5.6 at 55mm, so the only way to improve the picture is to add more light. The 1600 iso adds to the blur, as well as the fact (again assumed) that you're handholding. There's a tiny little bit of motion blur in there. The "rule" is that you want to keep your shutter speed to at least 1/focal length (in this situation, 1/55th second, because you were shooting at 55mm) to avoid camera shake when handholding. You're essentially one-stop underexposed (you need 1/60s, and you shot at 1/30s).

There are a few ways to "add more light":

1). Add more light. Turn on a few more lamps around the house, or set up closer to a sunny window, or use a flash (an external flash unit will let you bounce the light and avoid the dead-white look).

2). Don't zoom in to 55mm. Zooms tend to be faster at the wide end. The kit lens is rated at f/3.5 at the 18mm end. Zoom out and step in closer. That reduces the shutter speed you need to avoid camera shake, and also lets you open up to a wider aperture.

3). Use a tripod. The tripod will keep the camera absolutely still, so you can keep the shutter open for really long periods of time without any motion blur. That means you can decrease the iso, and stop down to f/8 if you want more depth-of-field. You can also take the opportunity to learn to use the timer settings and mirror lock-up.

4). Buy a faster lens. Congrats. You've learned why everybody recommends the 50mm f/1.8 II ($70) as a no-brainer lens purchase. The three-stops larger aperture of the thrifty nifty fifty would allow you to handhold this shot, and get great exposure with buckets of bokeh and a narrow depth of field that would make the shot a little dreamier.

Hope that was helpful. I really like the composition and that it's not a flat head-on shot.