1st Candind shot - Girl in Paris with Pigeon

[sebthedog1]

Hi, I took this recently in Paris and it is my first attempt at a candid shot.

I am quite shy about taking shots when there are lots of people around so this was snatched rather than meticulously planned. It feels a little soft to me. It was also taken with a new lens. It's a tamron 55-200 f4/5.6 and I think this was taken at the 200mm end. I am really new to this so would like to know how I could have got a sharper image without being really obvious and getting out my tripod etc.

Camera: Canon EOS 450D
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 200 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

[Murtasma]

Nice candid picture, the lack of sharpness is probably camera shake. I see your shutter speed is pretty quick but likely would have benefited from being faster. Seeing as how you were already shooting at your widest aperture your only option is to increase your ISO to 800. That would get you 1/400th of a second. That should be fast enough to freeze any small movement she may have been doing and further reduce your camera shake. I'm not familiar with that lens but I would think you could get a sharper image then this.

My guess is probably she was moving some or you moved the camera little too much. The general rule of keeping your shutter speed faster then your focal length to stop camera shake is good but you may need something faster if your unable to hold the camera still enough.

[suhail_dps]

pretty nice pic .. lovely colors ... shake is definately there .. see the lights in background .. they arent circular n have moved from l-to-r or vice versa.

also get her bag in the picture completely, seems like too tight a crop.

thanks for sharing .. n paris wow ... i so wanna visit that city.

[sebthedog1]

Originally Posted by Murtasma

Nice candid picture, the lack of sharpness is probably camera shake. I see your shutter speed is pretty quick but likely would have benefited from being faster. Seeing as how you were already shooting at your widest aperture your only option is to increase your ISO to 800. That would get you 1/400th of a second. That should be fast enough to freeze any small movement she may have been doing and further reduce your camera shake. I'm not familiar with that lens but I would think you could get a sharper image then this.

My guess is probably she was moving some or you moved the camera little too much. The general rule of keeping your shutter speed faster then your focal length to stop camera shake is good but you may need something faster if your unable to hold the camera still enough.

Thank you Murtasma for your very comprehensive reply. I am very new to this but am trying very hard to get it right. It is thinking fast enough to get it all right before the moment is lost that is the tricky bit. Keeping the shutter speed faster than the focal length is something I have only just learned this week. One more thing to remember.

Originally Posted by suhail_dps

pretty nice pic .. lovely colors ... shake is definately there .. see the lights in background .. they arent circular n have moved from l-to-r or vice versa.

also get her bag in the picture completely, seems like too tight a crop.

thanks for sharing .. n paris wow ... i so wanna visit that city.

Thank you suhail for your reply. I will redo the pic with a larger crop and see if it improves.

Paris is beautiful but then I see from your details that you are in Dehli - I would love to go back to India - I visited many years ago and the vibrancy, colours and smells I will always remember. It is the most fabulous place IMHO.

[BigFuzzy]

Yeah, camera shake is the issue. Probably has to do with you trying to quickly lift the camera, fire off your shot, and quickly lower it... I used to have that issue because I was insecure about street candids (still am, which is why I don't really do it).

Originally Posted by suhail_dps

they arent circular n have moved from l-to-r or vice versa.

However, The light shift in the bokeh on the lights has nothing to do with the camera shake. It's more a property of the light hitting your glass and the DoF..

Just make sure you have good camera holding technique. Tucking in elbows to your side tightly is one of the things that most helped my stability issues in the past.

Otherwise, it's a pretty standard candid, nothing really bad (other than motion blur) but also nothing special. It was good of you spotting the potential in the image though, so keep it up.

Just build up your confidence, and don't be afraid of getting the angry face, just be polite and walk away if they seem put off.. good luck.

[sebthedog1]

Originally Posted by BigFuzzy

Yeah, camera shake is the issue. Probably has to do with you trying to quickly lift the camera, fire off your shot, and quickly lower it... I used to have that issue because I was insecure about street candids (still am, which is why I don't really do it).
However, The light shift in the bokeh on the lights has nothing to do with the camera shake. It's more a property of the light hitting your glass and the DoF..

Just make sure you have good camera holding technique. Tucking in elbows to your side tightly is one of the things that most helped my stability issues in the past.

Otherwise, it's a pretty standard candid, nothing really bad (other than motion blur) but also nothing special. It was good of you spotting the potential in the image though, so keep it up.

Just build up your confidence, and don't be afraid of getting the angry face, just be polite and walk away if they seem put off.. good luck.

Thanks for the tip on stance - I think you are right about trying to take the shot too quickly so as not to be seen.

I'll just keep trying. Practice makes perfect. (Eventually ) Thank you for taking the time to critique.