Cherry Blossoms and Monuments in Washington, DC

[UrbanSophistic]

I would like to know if I chose the best aperture for this photo. To me the depth of field was too shallow and therefore, although the elements of the background were evenly blurred, the foreground is not completely focused.

Nikon D5000
NK-AF 18-55mm
ISO200
f/3.8

[Bluenoser]

Nice captures - I would recommend having a read of this thread - Critique Forum Rules

[Surprised]

Hello. I'm no expert but I don't know what to look at in this picture! My eyes want to look at the background to see what's there and what's going on; but clearly (from your focus) you want me to look at the foreground and appreciate the cherry blossom. In other words the background, even though it's out of focus, is too distracting -- or at least, it is to me.

Hope this helps...

[Aleix]

I'd like to add that with such a large aperture, your must focus dead on to keep the cherry blossom sharp. If there was a bit of wind moving it, then such an outcome (unsharpness) is likely.

[UrbanSophistic]

For the background, I wanted you to notice it because it's the Washington Monument, but you raised a great question for me: perhaps I would should have focused on the monument instead.

Thanks!

[EMansfield]

I like your DOF here. The main subject however looks a tad dark for my taste. Maybe it would have been better if you have pumped up your ISO a bit. Just my two cents.

Cheers!

Eric Mansfield

[Sterling]

^^ I agree. If those white blossoms had been lit they would have just popped off the screen. As they are in the murky shade they tend to blend in with the background.

[UrbanSophistic]

@EMansfield: Thanks. You're dead on...the light sensitivity in this shot was quite low. I'm such an amateur I wasn't even fully aware of how changing that setting could improve my shots immediately.

Thanks guys ---

[Aleix]

A quick attempt to fix the darkness of the main subject, as Eric suggests. The quality is not as good as it could be, but just for you to see the difference it would make...




And a crop idea: