Cousins and best buddies.

[EmyB]

This was a very spur of the moment shot as we were off to dinner. I found a clear spot in the carpark (!) and tried to keep the background clear. I thought perhaps the brick wall would have made an okay background - has it?? Or too ugly/plain/industrial?? Another question - on photos like this, should the background be out of focus (as I tried to make it)? Or should I have set the kids right in front of the wall and kept it in sharp focus?

I guess if this was a planned shoot, this photo could have been improved by backlight to separate them a bit more?? Perhaps I should have set them a little closer to the wall so the line didn't cut through their torsos? Any other suggestions to improve this photo? Is the crop okay?

Many thanks.



1/400
f4.5
ISO 125 (was trying to adjust then realised I had to quickly get the shot, so left it at an odd number hahaha).
50mm

[Weird Girl]

I like the background blurry and the pose is super cute. The kids are just not in focus which may be because you were hurried but I would work on that first

[EmyB]

Thankyou for your reply WGirl! Yes, it's true. I didn't think it was that out of focus until I saw another in the set which appears a lot sharper, here:




I tried sharpening the original pic a different way, do you think it helped? (although I know it's no substitute for nailing focus). I think there's maybe a subtle improvement....



I wonder what I did wrong. I tried to hold the camera very steady, I chose the specific focus point on my son's face... I thought f4.5 would have been safe. The kids weren't moving too much.

Any thoughts or tips anyone??

[ccting]

overshot causing "blur" too for some lens.. i believe.

According to my reading, Nikon 70-200 VR1 cause blur @ 1/100s but not for 1/8s @ 200mm..

I believe 1/400s is too fast for equipment... i GUESS.. 1/400s is sufficient to eliminate camera shake for any camera @ 50mm focal length..theoretically...

I have read an academic articles, saying that, you can't shot too slow / too fast to avoid the negative effect of "visible halos" that can be detected when you enlarge the pic for 400%. I have seen this effect even @ 25% zoom factor..

Try to maximize the image to 400% and find the visible halos.. if you find visible halos, then it is overshot.

Just guessing ..