Where's the crispie goodness?

[Mari-Catherine]

I'm new to the game that is photography! This was a family shoot I was doing, It was below freezing temps with snow on the ground. I want the super crisp pictures with amazing detail. What did I do wrong? Where could I improve?

Image straight from camera...no processing!

Canon EOS 50D
50mm
f/6.3
1/160
ISO 160

Any help is greatly appreciated

[sdstone00]

Judging on your EXIF data, you were to close to the subject for the rock to be in focus. On a 50mm lens using f/6.3 you only have about 12" of area that will be in focus. This is assuming you are about 4-7 feet away from the young lady. Use a larger f-stop or move further away and crop in.

[StuffNThings]

Did you want the rocks more in focus? If so, sdstone00's advice is great. I think the focus on the subject is really good - it's not too soft at all! I think there could be more contrast, and possibly a slight color pop. Here's my quick play using Photoshop Elements. All I did was brighten a tad, sharpen a tad, and a slight color pop. If you want me to take it down, let me know.

[Mari-Catherine]

Stone- Thank you for your response. I wasn't really looking for sharpness in the rocks but more of her facial features, hair etc. Would that still be me needing to be further back and my f-stop? Thanks again

Stuff- Thank you! I like what you did to the pic! I guess I am wanting to take stunning pics without having to use PS and PE much...is it at all possible?

[StuffNThings]

I definitely think it is possible to take wonderful pictures without PE or PS! All of my wedding pictures were taken on a film camera with no PS, and they are fantastic. And I definitely believe that it is better to get the best shot you can in-camera, so that you don't rely on PS to make your shots presentable. However, PS can be a lot of fun! You may try searching around DPS and the internet to see if you can find other photographers who don't post process so that you can learn from them. Happy shooting!

[daddyoproductions]

GASP! There are photogs who don't pp? Unthinkable! Just kidding. It's a lovely shot. Tripods help get that crispy goodness according to Scott Kelby. He says to use a tripod with remote shutter, and turn off the VR or IS if you're using both. Always turn them on for handheld. Beware you have a tripod strong enough to hold your cam...DSLRs are heavy and cheap tripods can tip over, especially when you go portrait orientation.
~C

[sdstone00]

Originally Posted by Mari-Catherine

Stone- Thank you for your response. I wasn't really looking for sharpness in the rocks but more of her facial features, hair etc. Would that still be me needing to be further back and my f-stop?

If the facial features was all you are going for, then the distance from camera to subject should be fine with the corresponding aperture. As "daddyo" mentioned, the tripod ensures the stability even further particularly without the . Only other thing I can think about is that the focus point may not have been right on her eye. The DOF will be 1/3 in front and 2/3 in back of the focus point and a 12" range is usually pretty good to cover the head. When I look at the closeup on your Flickr page it almost looks like the focus point may have been on her hair (just a guess).

[Benji]

If you want "super crisp pictures with amazing detail" you must have all of the following in all of your images:

Perfect exposure in both the shadows and the highlights. Perfect focus. Excellent lighting. A reasonably sharp lens. Pleasing white balance, and PS to sharpen and enhance the image, not to "fix" sloppy focus, exposure, white balance or the lighting.

My biggest pet peeve with today's shooters is they believe they can set the camera on auto everything, whip the camera up, make several captures without any thought whatsoever about anything photographic and then "fix" everything in PS in order to get that perfect image. IMHO PS should be used for enhancing, retouching, sharpening, and altering areas that exceed the sensors ability to accurately record those areas.

Benji