New Camera...DOF Questions

[CaptB412]

In keeping with my tradition (started 9 years ago when my daughter was born) - the first pics of every new lens or camera body is of my daughter. I just purchased a 5D (upgrading from the 50D) and took my daughter to Vizcaya in Miami (which is a great place). My question is whether I the DOF is "too shallow" or whether I should have had a greater DOF?

Canon 5 D/85 1.8
f/1.8 1/4000 sec/ISO-100/Evaluative Metering/Auto White Balance

Thanks in advance for your comments

[DivotMaker]

Personally, I think you nailed it!
What a great shot. I like the way the railing brings my eyes to the center, while not making me wonder what it is, in the foreground.

I find no matter where I try to focus my attention, my eyes keep coming back to that beautiful smile. Nice Job.

You should be not only proud of the DOF, but be proud of the happiness in your daughters smile....that smile (and tiara) is precious.

Divot

[Murtasma]

Distance to subject from camera and aperture selection look pretty spot on to me. The slight tilt or optical illusion of tilt makes me feel like the image is a little off balance but it could just be me. I also find the tree on the right to be a little distracting maybe a step or two to the right or left and slight recomposition could have gotten rid of the tree but who's to say something else may have not showed up on the background that may have been even more distracting.

Where was this taken? Looks like a really good place for portraits.

[CaptB412]

Originally Posted by Murtasma

Distance to subject from camera and aperture selection look pretty spot on to me. The slight tilt or optical illusion of tilt makes me feel like the image is a little off balance but it could just be me. I also find the tree on the right to be a little distracting maybe a step or two to the right or left and slight recomposition could have gotten rid of the tree but who's to say something else may have not showed up on the background that may have been even more distracting.

Where was this taken? Looks like a really good place for portraits.

Thank you for your comments. I was a little concerned about the tilt myself but didn't notice until I was already in front of the computer! The pic was taken at Vizcaya in Miami (Miami-Dade County - Vizcaya) which is a great place to take pics. It is an incredibly picturesque location with a lot of variety. A lot of professional photographers use the location for wedding and portfolio pictures.

[jrgarcia619]

It looks like you did a good job with this. One thing to remember is that a lens is softer at the extremes.... in other words wide open or closed down, you'll likely get a softer image.

[CaptB412]

Originally Posted by jrgarcia619

It looks like you did a good job with this. One thing to remember is that a lens is softer at the extremes.... in other words wide open or closed down, you'll likely get a softer image.

Thanks for the info. I kept trying different f/stops to see the different effects with changes in the DOF. The 85 had a very nice effect when wide open and I was able to get a better blurring with the background than even say with the 24-105 f/4 lens.

[jrgarcia619]

oh yea, that's how it works. But here's the point I'm trying to make for you.

n717877440_1760964_6108 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

That image was taken at f/1.4 wide open. It's not that the photo is out of focus, but the image is soft because lenses perform better toward the middle than at the extremes of the lens. Yes a lower f-stop number(wide open) will give you shallow dof but if you open the lens all the way up, you may end up getting an image that's just a little softer than you'd like. I thought I'd point that out since you weren't sure if you were pushing it too far. Hope that wasn't too confusing....

[untitled99]

Looks great to me!

[GadgetRick]

DOF is perfect.

It does feel tilted due to the wall in the back (I'm guessing it's just not level there).

The tree on the right and the plant on the left (in front of the railing) is a bit distracting but they don't ruin the photo. I like it.

Colors, etc. also look great.

[sk66]

I apparently am "different"...I think you needed less DOF. Since you were already wide open the only way to get it shallower is to reduce the distance to your subject.....
The reason I say you need less DOF is that the statue in the background is not out of focus enough to not compete with your daughter. This is also amplified by the fact it is white and silhouetted and there are the bright yellow leaves competing as well. They could have been completely blurred beyond recognition.

Or, a tighter crop/ slightly different angle....