Thoughts Please?

Me again with my noob questions...

Stuck up in Scotland for the week with work, the weather is awful! So went out and tried to take some photos in the reported 90mph winds...

I tried to blur out the lighthouse and bring the bench in to focus, I now wish I had put this in full manual mode rather than TV and manual focus. I shot this on 1/200 (unsure of the aperture but was a minimum or 4.5

Under exposed, over exposed, please be as insulting as you like, im desperate to learn. Please remember this was taken in high winds and know it a little blurred!

For the record, Im fairly happy with it, but im easily please so very interested in what other people think!

Very sorry, realised I posted this in completely the wrong section.. Have re-posted so MODS feel free to remove...

Well if the lens can only shoot at a MAX of 4.5 then your exif is showing differently.

Tell me what exact lens you were using, were you using the kit lens?

I am a newb as well, so I will give you my newb opinion, and hopefully someone can chime in and explain why I feel this way about this photo....

I have looked at what must be a thousand photos on this site by professional photographers. All of them look amazing really. This photo, while I can't put my finger on it, just looks like a snapshot.

It's something I would take. It's a nice photo, but not something I would blow up and put on my wall.

I am sure however, if a pro photographer was there, with the same equipment, he would have taken something print worthy.

because I also want to learn, can someone explain to me why this photo gives off that impression?

stay inside man! wait til better weather, 90mph winds? were you able to hold that camera steady?

the photo: boring, underexposed, no main subject (if it IS the lighthouse, then find a better angle to shoot it).

400dabuser wrote in post #13514189
Well if the lens can only shoot at a MAX of 4.5 then your exif is showing differently.

Tell me what exact lens you were using, were you using the kit lens?

Sorry I meant 3.5

The lens is a 28-80

led hed wrote in post #13514217
stay inside man! wait til better weather, 90mph winds? were you able to hold that camera steady?

the photo: boring, underexposed, no main subject (if it IS the lighthouse, then find a better angle to shoot it).

Well, not really... Only chance as the rain had just stopped. Wanted to catch some rough water (which didn't really happen either).

When you say find a better angle, would you have moved to the right and still kept the bench in it? Or perhaps just gone for the lighthouse?

I really have no idea, lots to learn...

EXIF shows f/4 using Av mode.

Underexposed but enough information to pull some detail out of the shadows.

Stuuk1 wrote in post #13514176
I tried to blur out the lighthouse and bring the bench in to focus ... unsure of the aperture but ...

Not sure if the camera you used has these options...

but when what you want is depth of field, that's achieved by lowering the f-stop on your camera. So if 3.5 is as low as it goes, and depth of field was your primary goal, you should have started there, and played with shutter speed and ISO to get the exposer right.

I myself if in that situation and wanted to take a snapshot, I would have made the lighthouse my focal point. Still very harsh conditions though to do anything! I can't imagine

Stuuk1 wrote in post #13514243
Well, not really... Only chance as the rain had just stopped. Wanted to catch some rough water (which didn't really happen either).

When you say find a better angle, would you have moved to the right and still kept the bench in it? Or perhaps just gone for the lighthouse?

I really have no idea, lots to learn...

why not shoot BOTH individually as the main subject. dunno which way i would have moved unless i wa sthere. keep shooting!

If you really wanted to capture something dramatic, I would slap it on manual mode....

I know how to do the depth of field, for the only reason I can give why it is f.4 is because im zoomed in a little.

Oh well, thanks for your thought chaps! I shall indded keep going and must buy a tripod!

- ?... looking to buy my second Canon SLR. I have a Canon Rebel XS and i like the Canon 30D, is this a good SLR? thanks

Hi Stu. You ask for thoughts.

• Wider angle and higher viewpoint - the drama was in the water
  
• Faster shutter speed, so get the ISO up to at least 400 - any small additional noise will not spoil the photo and could help the atmosphere. 1000th of a second would have avoided camera movement and would have sharpened the seagull, which looks like a blur
  
• Mess about with PP - even Zoombrowser has some useful features. I took a liberty (as you don't have image editing ok selected so apologies) and in a few seconds gave a different mood to the image - not a pro job by any means and extreme to make a point, but you have to admit it looks different from the original, for better or worse! Shame you chopped off the legs on the bench...
  

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