Newbie Question

[OneCan]

Hi Everyone!

I have a newbie question so please be gentle.:oops: Can anyone give me a hint how to get entire photo's in focus with a EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM. I'm getting nice shots but the background is always blurred.

Thanks!

[shannyD]

lol.. that is a good thing. if you want it all in focus.. you have to change your fstops to like f16 to get everything in focus. those have a tenancy to look rather flat though. but thats what i would suggest.

also if you dont have it already. i would suggest understanding exposure by brian patterson. its a fantastic books. and goes over this in it.

[poloman]

shannyD is right. You will need a longer exposure for those high f stops. You may need to use a tripod. Image stabilization will help. Using your 14mm will make getting everything in focus much easier as well.

[Mark_Cohran]

lol.. that is a good thing. if you want it all in focus.. you have to change your fstops to like f16 to get everything in focus. those have a tenancy to look rather flat though. but thats what i would suggest.

also if you dont have it already. i would suggest understanding exposure by brian patterson. its a fantastic books. and goes over this in it.

Shannon's right. Sometimes you don't want everything in focus. That's called selective focus and it's used to isolate your subject from a busy background. You utilize your camera to control the Depth of Field so you can have only just the subject in sharp focus (shallow DOF) or have the entire image in focus. Since Depth of Field is determined by Focal Length, Aperture and Distance to Subject you need to control those parameters to get the DOF you need for the image you're trying to shoot. A good tutorial can be found here:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/depth-of-field.htm

The book Shannon recommended is an excellent read on exposure and how your choices affect your images. The title is correctly provided as Understanding Exposure, but the author is Bryan Petersen.

To answer your specific question you need to use a short focal length (70mm), a small aperture (f/8 and above), and increase your distance from the subject if possible, or some combination of the above.

[OneCan]

Thanks! I really appreciate all your help.:)

[JeffreyG]

One Can.....I have to ask.

How did you end up with a 5D, and ultra, ultra wide prime lens and a telephoto zoom? That is the most eclectic pair of lenses I think I've seen.

What do you tend to shoot?

[nw85887]

One Can.....I have to ask.

How did you end up with a 5D, and ultra, ultra wide prime lens and a telephoto zoom? That is the most eclectic pair of lenses I think I've seen.

What do you tend to shoot?

Or how did he end up with a full frame and not know what fstop does? :p

But I digress.

Here is a good online DoF calculator : http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

[argyle]

Folks with that kind of gear list are usually a bit advanced...I'd recommend what others have said and get the books, read up, and practice quite a LOT. Luckily with digital, you can see immediately as you learn...us older shooters grew up with film and didn't have the instant feedback that digital gives.

[OneCan]

The gear was given to me as a present from a relative who wasn't interested to further pursue photography as a hobby. Basically I got thrown into deep water not knowing how to swim, but I hope to learn quickly. This forum is great and I'm convinced that I will learn a lot here and get help. Here's a recent shot:

http://www.xxxcontentoutlet.com/06.JPG

[poloman]

Well...you certainly have beautiful subject matter! :) In the above picture, a larger aperture and therefore a shallow depthe of field could be desirable. When your shooting people...get them in the shade and use flash to fill the shadows.

[nwa2]

When you say "entire photo's in focus" it depends on what you are taking a picture of. Yoy need to read up on depth of focus and get a feel for how it hanges with focal length and aperture.

Your portrait above is kind of spoiled with the model having to squint into the sun.

[cdjr4@cox.net]

When I got my first SLR, I didn't even know how to upload a photo to the web!! I took an online class from betterphoto.com. I can't remember the name, but with instructors were a husband/wife team. The Silvermans I think. They were so incredibly nice, and it really jump started me into even knowing what questions to ask. It's a little pricey, but well worth it IMO. Hope this helps.

[PhotosGuy]

Basically I got thrown into deep water not knowing how to swim, but I hope to learn quickly. Well, you've already found a pretty subject to shoot! Some guys just post pics of ducks! :D

Virtual Camera
http://www.photonhead.com/simcam/
Notice the background change when you use his "Shutter and Aperture" settings!

Canon: = Enjoy! Digital SLR camera =
http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/index.html
Canon: Shooting by selecting settings yourself (http://web.canon.jp/imaging/mode/camera/myself-e.html#program)

[OneCan]

Well, you've already found a pretty subject to shoot! Some guys just post pics of ducks! :D

Virtual Camera
http://www.photonhead.com/simcam/
Notice the background change when you use his "Shutter and Aperture" settings!

Canon: = Enjoy! Digital SLR camera =
http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/index.html
Canon: Shooting by selecting settings yourself (http://web.canon.jp/imaging/mode/camera/myself-e.html#program)


WOW! Those are some great tools! Thanks a lot PhotosGuy!!!!