out of focus?

[achal]

hi,
this is not a purely macro shot, but please suggest me how could hv i got a better and crisp focus, i was some 10 mtrs away from the subject and i was using nikon p100 or what better could have been achieved..?
EXIF
Exposure 0.009 sec (1/113)
Aperture f/5.0
Focal Length 168 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

[chicagojohn]

Originally Posted by achal

hi,
this is not a purely macro shot, but please suggest me how could hv i got a better and crisp focus, i was some 10 mtrs away from the subject and i was using nikon p100 or what better could have been achieved..?
EXIF
Exposure 0.009 sec (1/113)
Aperture f/5.0
Focal Length 168 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

So here is my two-cents worth; there is an old saying, "A penny for your thoughts.", so this will be a half-price sale.

Starting out with the potential of this composition, I like the red upon green, and I think there would be potential to have both subjects instead of only one. There is also an approach to sharp focus with the background giving a creamy yellow-green bokeh.

I don't think this lived up to its potential, and the concept was very good. The flower cluster, and branch, on the lower right appears to be a little more out of focus than the one on the left. This suggests that the underlying focus issue may be due to a suboptimal focal setting on the lens, and if the branch on the right is closer to the camera, then perhaps the distance setting on the lens was set too far; in other words, focus should have been closer.

One thing that could perhaps have been done to significantly widen depth of field so that precise length would not be as critical, would be to use a higher f/number - smaller aperture. Your DSLR should easily support three stops higher in ISO; from 200 to 1600; without a lot of noise, especially in this situation where the background is very light.

So that would have allowed you to get the same exposure value with an aperture of perhaps f/16. At that aperture, you would have had a much greater depth of field making precise focus less important. On the other hand, you may have had less bokeh or softening in the background.

Another thing you might have considered would be to get closer to your subject so that you could have been more in the 50 mm range. This would have also reduced the effects of camera shake, even though this camera does have shake reduction, not that camera shake was an issue here. I think that focus would have been easier at this distance, but unless your camera would allow a low f/number, you might have even more lost the background bokeh. But that would be something to try to see what happens, maybe trying different f/numbers with exposure and/or ISO adusted accordingly to get a sense of how f/number is affecting DOF and bokeh.

But sometimes you can't get closer due to some barrier, and that may be the case here. So then, you would want to make sure your autofocus is set on spot focus and that you aim that spot at one of the two flowers with the shutter release pushed half way down to lock that focus in and then re-frame before capturing the image; maybe first on one and then on the other. (Please forgive me if I'm stating the obvious.)

If you are trying to focus through the viewfinder, and if you find that you often have focus issues, see if your camera has a diopter adjustment on the view finder to correct for your eyes or glasses.

Finally, since I am quite nearsighted, when I can't trust my camera's autofocus, I often "bracket" focus by making minor adjustments back and forth just as you might do with EV. Since digital images are of literally no cost, this has proven to be effective for me in sometimes discovering a more optimal intrinsic focus than I might have had from either autofocus or my failing eyesight.

Perhaps others can add more to these observations, but these are just some of the thoughts that come to mind. I guess my primary advice is to do what I usually do when I find a subject of interest, do a lot of experiments within the parameters you have to work with; distance, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO; and see what works best, then trying to figure out why.

Thanks for sharing your image.

[tlpphoto]

ChicgoJohn has given you some good tips. I've heard it said numerous times that you shouldn't photograph even numbers of objects as the viewer can too easily divide the frame into two separate images. In general I agree with that, but I think this composition could be a rule breaker. I believe that's the case because the curve of the lower stem points to the top flower. This creates an implied line between the two flowers. It really helps that this implied line is along the major diagonal of the image (top left to bottom right). So great composition.

I'm not familiar with the Nikon P100. The way I've been doing macro photography lately is tripod mounted (a must) and manual focus. I use live view (on the Canon 5D Mk 2) to zero the focus in on the exact spot I want sharp. I suspect you can do something similar with the P100.

Great concept and composition.
Tim

[achal]

@chicagojohn
thank you for ur suggestions
@ tim
thankyou for ur compliments, ur words are confidence boosters..!!!