Macro focus and high contrast

[saturno1]

I have an s45 , I have been trying very hard to get the macro focus to give me a postive result. I addition while shooting small white flowers , no matter how I set the camera the pictures are burned or blurred and burned.
suggestions?

[Conk]

What we need are examples with settings info.

[Digital Aura]

Conk wrote:
What we need are examples with settings info.

Just curious...but how would he do that? I mean show us examples?

- Digital Aura

[Conk]

Digital Aura wrote:
Conk wrote:
What we need are examples with settings info.

Just curious...but how would he do that? I mean show us examples?

- Digital Aura

Link to a specific photo or embed it. The help link at the top of the page shows what codes to use to embed.
If you have your photos in an online album linking is no problem. If the host that has your album allows embedding then you should be able to.
Hosts like Pbase only allow embedding if you are a paid user.
The info I asked for along with the photo is the data that is accompanied with image files. Shutter speed, f-stop time etc. With this info and an example of the image people here can suggest settings to use to get a better results.

[saturno1]

http://www.mexicantextiles.com/othertraditions/linttoproblem.html

I pu the photos in a cornor of my website. But not all the info came thorugh the gallery process in Photoshop, so here is the rest of it.

IMG_3983.JPG
Camera Model Name
Canon PowerShot S45
Shooting Date/Time
8/27/2003 8:10:57 PM
Shooting Mode
Portrait
Photo Effect Mode
Off
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/50
Av( Aperture Value )
3.5
Metering Mode
Evaluative
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
Auto
Lens
7.1 - 21.3 mm
Focal Length
10.3 mm
Digital Zoom
None
Image Size
1600x1200
Image Quality
Superfine
Flash
Off
White Balance
Auto
AF Mode
Manual Focus
File Size
852KB
Drive Mode
Single-frame shooting
Owner's Name

File Name
IMG_3960.JPG
Camera Model Name
Canon PowerShot S45
Shooting Date/Time
8/27/2003 7:40:07 PM
Shooting Mode
Auto
Photo Effect Mode
Off
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/160
Av( Aperture Value )
2.8
Metering Mode
Evaluative
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
Auto
Lens
7.1 - 21.3 mm
Focal Length
7.1 mm
Digital Zoom
None
Image Size
2272x1704
Image Quality
Superfine
Flash
Off
White Balance
Auto
AF Mode
Single AF
AF Range Mode
Macro
File Size
2540KB
Drive Mode
Single-frame shooting
Owner's Name

File Name
IMG_3834.JPG
Camera Model Name
Canon PowerShot S45
Shooting Date/Time
8/10/2003 8:03:22 PM
Shooting Mode
Portrait
Photo Effect Mode
Off
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/400
Av( Aperture Value )
2.8
Metering Mode
Evaluative
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
Auto
Lens
7.1 - 21.3 mm
Focal Length
7.1 mm
Digital Zoom
None
Image Size
1600x1200
Image Quality
Superfine
Flash
Off
White Balance
Auto
AF Mode
Single AF
AF Range Mode
Macro
File Size
604KB
Drive Mode
Single-frame shooting
Owner's Name

File Name
IMG_3991.JPG
Camera Model Name
Canon PowerShot S45
Shooting Date/Time
8/27/2003 8:19:40 PM
Shooting Mode
Portrait
Photo Effect Mode
Off
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/200
Av( Aperture Value )
2.8
Metering Mode
Evaluative
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
Auto
Lens
7.1 - 21.3 mm
Focal Length
7.1 mm
Digital Zoom
None
Image Size
1600x1200
Image Quality
Superfine
Flash
Off
White Balance
Auto
AF Mode
Single AF
AF Range Mode
Macro
File Size
669KB
Drive Mode
Single-frame shooting
Owner's Name

[stopbath]

Your problem here lays in the the exposure reading, and exposure compensation.

Your white flower is the focal point of the photo, but it is taking up only a minor part of the picture. The camera has no way of knowing that 'that' is what you want exposed properly, so you have to tell it.

You could dial in negative values in exposure compensation to bring the scene darker, so that the white of the flower is not too white, or you could spot meter the flower (if possible) and dial in positive compensation to make it more white than the metered grey the camera suggests.

Set up a re-shot and experiment with evaluative metering and spot metering and compensation.

For more information, on what's the mechanics of this, do a web search for the zone system of photography or go to your library and get a book which includes some details on the zone system.

[BOBinsane]

Yeah, you might want to choose a different metering mode for flowers on a dark background, etc...