how do i get the shot I want?

[roxygirl78]

Okay, so first off, I've only made it through the Apperature chapters of Katrina's tuts so with my limited knowledge and a short time frame to figure out, I got close, but did not acheive my goal.

I wanted a shallow depth of field to focus on a footprint in the sand while my daughter running away from me was in the blurry background. So since I've only slightly figured out apperature, I set it at 3.5, got down on the ground and prayed a rogue wave was not going to sneak up on me. I'm working with a kit lens, the 18-105mm 3.5-5.6, the EXIF info says this at the top:

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1600)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 105 mm
Focal Length: 106.8 mm

Okay wait, something from Katrina's book is coming back to me. I'm slowly working myself through this hee hee, because I was zoomed in, the apperature changed, right? Geez, this stuff is really hard I can't wait until it all clicks in my brain....so, can anyone give me a step by step on how to get the shot I wanted with the gear that I have? Heck, even suggest gear that I would need so I can start keeping a list of things that I want and reasons I want them so next time I get some extra cash I can better figure out what to buy first. tia

if I remember correctly, I zoomed in at the last minute because ava runs faster than i can get down on the ground. lol

[dugarner]

You're right---the numbers 3.5-5.6 tell you that at 18mm, the widest aperture you can have is 3.5. At 105mm, the widest you can have is 5.6. No matter what you do, you can't force that lens to open up more than 5.6 at 105mm.

You did the best thing when your aperture stops down farther than you want it to---zooming in. A longer focal length will simulate a wider aperture. (Meaning, if you can't get the aperture wide enough, back up until you can maximize your zoom. But because you're zooming in, that aperture is closing and less light is getting in if you keep the shutter speed the same. So keep in mind that the more you zoom, the more you may need to compensate with ISO or shutter [need slower shutter to make exposure brighter]. I almost always prefer fiddling with shutter, at least when ISO is above 200 because my camera doesn't handle ISO > or = 400 very well.)

That shutter speed seems awfully fast, even with an aperture of 5.6. Try metering in auto first, and see what the camera recommends.

The only thing I can see that you may have wanted to catch was a closer, more detailed footprint. You sort of have to pick the one close to you and get down (like you did) but be sure you have your camera spot-focusing right on the footprint you want, or be careful to see which focus lights light up and make sure you compose with that in mind.

At that focal length, you're only going to have 2 or 3 inches in front of and behind what you want in focus before it's blurry. You're only going to get one (or part of one) print in focus. (I hope this makes sense!)

Please take all this with a grain of salt (or sand!) as I am not a pro, I don't know what I'm doing, I've just tried over and over to get great shots like this (and I think your photo is awesome!) and I've learned how to compensate for my fat fingers and slow brain.

There are lots of professionals here who I'm sure will jump in.

HTH!

Sarah

[anke]

Sarah's explanation was awesome, for the little knowledge I have, I could just about follow everything she said You could still save this picture by cropping out the first few prints if you wanted to use it. this way you would have the focus on the first one you see. It's a great idea for a shot that's for sure. I am with you, this stuff is really hard to put all together in your head, I am having a tough time with the zooming and focusing and and and... I need one of these ladies to move in with me and give me instructions on a daily basis

[dugarner]

Originally Posted by anke

I am with you, this stuff is really hard to put all together in your head, I am having a tough time with the zooming and focusing and and and... I need one of these ladies to move in with me and give me instructions on a daily basis

Anke, see, I knew two heads are better than one! I didn't even think about cropping up to the footprint that is in focus. I was thinking about all the other "stuff." And my trick is---I use auto! No, really, if I'm outside and it's sunny, I'm familiar enough with what zoom/aperture do that I am comfortable just zooming without dialing in any settings. If I don't use auto, I just meter on the auto setting and dial those in on manual, then nudge a setting here or there. If I know I need a certain aperture and I can't get the exposure right, I will knowingly underexpose knowing I can easily fix it in RAW.

Basically, shooting 3,000+ frames last year for Project 365 helped me see quickly how my camera acts in particular situations. It's a very individual thing!

[katrinak]

I think you did well given your lens and the moving child Sarah's advice is spot on too.

My guess is you were shooting in full sun to get the shutter speed you did. If you are going to do a do-over I'd suggest focusing about 1/3 of the way into your frame (focus and recompose or change your focus point as Sarah suggested).

You can completely get the look you want with the lens you've got, just need to limit your foreground.

Glad you are learning from Get Me Off of Auto! It makes my heart happy! (manual and semi manual will definitely give you better results than auto will!)

[carollee]

I have this vision of you almost laying on the sand, it's a great perspective, but having to rush in case the wave came.