Ducks

Ok, I found some ducks and decided to try my luck at shooting them. Some of the shots turned out ok, but some were awful. I have only took a handful of shots with this camera and this is the first shots with the 70-200.

Anyway, Here is the only one that came out ok. I have done nothing to these photos but download them. Be hard on me, I can handle it .

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

Geese not ducks.

Too underexposed.

Those arent ducks..crap, I looked all day for ducks lol. Oh well. If it walks like a duck, acts like a duck...haha.

Even the first one?

I had my camera on 2.8 for all the shots, I guess I should have gone up a couple of stops.

Edit* Now that I think about it, if I had gone to a bigger number it would have let in less light right? I would have to adjust the ISO setting?

pprice wrote in post #5949109
I had my camera on 2.8 for all the shots, I guess I should have gone up a couple of stops.

Edit* Now that I think about it, if I had gone to a bigger number it would have let in less light right? I would have to adjust the ISO setting?

They still would have been geese, not ducks.:p

Thanks, I got a lot of laughs from your post. Especially, when you asked, "even the first one?" YUP

Being a n00b to the 40D, but not having been sullied with anything prior....I'll tell you how to pick your focal point. I'm feeling generous, I owed you for laughing...hopefully with you.

Anyway, the button on the upper right on the back of the camera. Press it. Look through the viewfinder. Take your index finger on the wheel up by the shutter button. The focal point will move. When you find one you like. Stop.

Is this how it should be done? I dunno. But it works for me.

Thanks penny! I am going to give it a try right now! I could not find it in the instructions (or I did not understand it), and the video instructions I bought said you could do it, but did not say how.

Thanks!!

Edit* Got it!! One more question if someone is feeling sorry for my noob butt, Can you only do one red square at a time (or all of them)? What I am thinking is this, if I wanted to put a square on one duck, and another square on another duck, is that possible?

I only know of doing it as either just one square, or all the squares. Plus, what are you going to do when the ducks move? )

Now I need to find out how to put mine into AI Servo!! Let me know if you have that figured out!

I know how to do that!
Press the AF-Drive (right next to the ISO button) on top of the camera to the right (to the front of the screen.

Once you push it, turn the wheel to the front of the button and it will change it on the top display.

Thanks! My oh MY that does work!!

I kept sitting there poking at all the buttons, but I was stubborn and refused to pull out the manual to try to find the instructions. I hate the way it's written. Kinda dry reading...especially when I try reading at work and don't have the camera in my hands.

I bought the tutorial dvd, it was pretty good.

pprice wrote in post #5949406
Edit* Got it!! One more question if someone is feeling sorry for my noob butt, Can you only do one red square at a time (or all of them)? What I am thinking is this, if I wanted to put a square on one duck, and another square on another duck, is that possible?

No, that won't work. When you have the camera set so that all focal points are active, then the camera chooses which ones to use based on how well it is able to focus on each point. When it highlights more than one, it is limited by the characteristics of the lens and aperture setting on how far apart they can be distance-wise. If you are not very familiar with lens depth-of-field, it would be well worthwhile doing an Internet search on the subject. It is one of the more important areas that you will need to be very familiar with.

You might ask those "ducks" to show you their ID's to prove whether they are ducks or geese. You can be fairly safe in assuming that long neck and short legs equals goose.

BTW, on your first shot, I noticed that you had used an exposure bias compensation of -.67 whereas it should have been about +.67 based on my evaluation of the image and its histogram. I suspect that you had the negative exposure bias compensation dialed in for all of the images.

bill boehme wrote in post #5950743
BTW, on your first shot, I noticed that you had used an exposure bias compensation of -.67 whereas it should have been about +.67 based on my evaluation of the image and its histogram. I suspect that you had the negative exposure bias compensation dialed in for all of the images.

I dont understand this really . I am not even sure how I set it at all lol. I got so much more to learn!!

Thanks for the tio though, when I figure out what it means, I will correct it next time .

I'm just learning to shoot outdoors as well, here is my humble opinions:

It didn't make much sense to me until I started to look at it as - a triangle where f/stops, ISO and shutter speed are the three points. You change one you push the other two.

Lower f/stop is for taking a picture when its darker. The more light the higher the f/stop should be (in very very general terms). The higher number the f/stop gets the slower the shutter gets which lets in more light.
Right now as a newbie, I would stick ISO on auto until you figure out the other two. When you are comfy, than you know you want this shot to be at f/4.0 but can't get the speed to where you can hand hold it, than you use ISO to compensate.

As far as your -.67, what are you using to import/convert your pictures. It probably has a "Auto" button that you pressed and it looked at the white background and decided that it was overexposed. "Auto" works, sometimes, less than half the time in my experience.

First one would have been nice if the dude (non-duck/geese discriminating term:rolleyes standing up was more to the left and the other 2 dudes where fully in the shot, see the Rule of Thirds and what the other guys said about it being under exposed.

But you could brighten it up and cut of the right side and still have a keeper.

Second one if fine, but too dark, again you can probably rescue it and keep it.

Third one you shot at F/2.8, with a shutter speed of 1/3200 at ISO 100, you could easily of backed of the shutter speed for more light, and increased the F/number to get more field of depth, then backed of the shutter even more cause those geese/ducks/dudes don't look like they are moving very fast.

Maybe if you increase the F/number 1 full stop (usually 3 clicks) to F/4, you could compensate that by dropping the shutter down (3 clicks) to 1/1600.

That would give you the same shot with slightly more in focus (well technically more of the image acceptably sharp)

It would still be dark though, then you get more brightness you could have either dropped the shutter down another 3 clicks to 1/800 (open the shutter for twice as long lets more light in) or set the iso to 200 (makes the camera more sensitive to light)

Looks like you use Av mode, so just bump up to F/5.6 most of the time and let the camera figure out the shutter needed. Make the F/number bigger (like 8 to 16) when you want lots in focus (landscapes) and make it smaller (2 - 4) when you want to blur out backgrounds (portraits, close-up) I wonder if you had the exposure compensation on the camera set to -0.67, if you have put it back to 0 as soon as you can.

I'm still new at this too, but I hope that helped

Both of you gave some great advise .

Im not really messing with any post processing yet. I am trying to take a good picture that needs little PP when done. I know, I got a long way to go lol. It is OK though, Im only taking pictures right now to get better, not to keep them (although I will keep some to laugh at when I get better).

Thanks for the tip Y'all, I will use them today!