C&C My Photo Please

Hello Everyone,

So I have been reading these forums for the past few days. I have only had a chance to use my camera two times thus far. I would like some criticism on this photo. I know its no where near good but I would like to know how I can make it better.

Photo Stats
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel XSi
Exposure: 1/250
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 255mm
ISO Speed: 200

The photo was also not edited whatsoever, since I have no idea how to use any photo software yet, although I have already bought/installed LightRoom and Photoshop CS4.

Hi and welcome to POTN!
Looking at your photo, it seems that the face is out of focus whereas the jacket, especially the left sleeve is in focus. The most important thing in photographing people is to have the face in focus and more particularly the eyes. It could be that your camera was not set to centre point focus or focus was achieved on the jacket when you took the shot. Always try and see if your focus point is on the face by half pressing and holding the shutter button - then without taking your finger off the button, re-frame the person in your viewfinder and gently press the shutter button.
The other option is to have a much wider depth of focus by selecting a smaller aperture to bring more of the person into focus. You need plenty of light for smaller apertures, which may mean increasing ISO and possibly increasing noise levels too.
I hope this makes sense?

Ianfp wrote in post #9689844
Hi and welcome to POTN!
Looking at your photo, it seems that the face is out of focus whereas the jacket, especially the left sleeve is in focus. The most important thing in photographing people is to have the face in focus and more particularly the eyes. It could be that your camera was not set to centre point focus or focus was achieved on the jacket when you took the shot. Always try and see if your focus point is on the face by half pressing and holding the shutter button - then without taking your finger off the button, re-frame the person in your viewfinder and gently press the shutter button.
The other option is to have a much wider depth of focus by selecting a smaller aperture to bring more of the person into focus. You need plenty of light for smaller apertures, which may mean increasing ISO and possibly increasing noise levels too.
I hope this makes sense?

Thank you very much for the pointers. I will take that into consideration next time. I hope to learn a great deal of information from this site. Your criticism is greatly appreciated.

i think that your picture is actually in good focus..i'm not sure what lanfp is seeing..

based on your shot settings i think your camera was dialed in pretty good to get a clean sharp image..
the only thing i noticed is the focal length is at 255mm and most zoom lenses tend to yield slightly softer images at times at the long end of there zoom range.

i'm guessing this picture is more of a snap shot that you captured and not a planned shot.Regardless i would suggest not shooting with snow in the back ground,you need to have some contrast in your background,especially with a subject with very fair skin..
also i think if you lowered the exposure level in lightroom you might pull out more detail in his face..

keep shooting!keep posting!!

kompakt wrote in post #9690680
i think that your picture is actually in good focus..i'm not sure what lanfp is seeing..

based on your shot settings i think your camera was dialed in pretty good to get a clean sharp image..
the only thing i noticed is the focal length is at 255mm and most zoom lenses tend to yield slightly softer images at times at the long end of there zoom range.

i'm guessing this picture is more of a snap shot that you captured and not a planned shot.Regardless i would suggest not shooting with snow in the back ground,you need to have some contrast in your background,especially with a subject with very fair skin..
also i think if you lowered the exposure level in lightroom you might pull out more detail in his face..

keep shooting!keep posting!!

Thanks for the advice. I will lower the exposure level in LightRoom tomorrow when I get home (currently baby sitting at my fiance's sisters house for the weekend and her laptop does not have photo editing software).

I understand what you mean about the snow not being a good contrast. Living in the great north of Canada (Sudbury, Ontario) it is difficult in the winter to photograph against anything that isn't white when you are outside.

I will post the updated picture here once I fix it up in LightRoom. Do you happen to know of some great online tutorials or reading I can use for a first time LightRoom/Photoshop/El​ements user?

I thank you for your time.

I think all the snow reflecting washed out the colors. In CS4, under Image click Auto Tone and you should get colors back. I just tried it and looks better IMO. I always Auto Tone my pics first and 50% of the time I like it. YMMV

I know what you mean about having a hard time not having snow in your pictures,i live in Ontario haha
A good starting point for tutorials on lightroom and elements is youtube.There a ton of tutorials on there.Heres a link for both.

http://www.youtube.com …troom+2&search_​type=&aq=f

http://www.youtube.com …q=1&oq=photosho​p+elements

But to really understand all the basic elements of those programs i would suggest you go to your local chapters book store or what ever major bookstore chain they have in sudbury and go to the photography section.They will have multiple books that are a beginners guide to lightroom and elements for 20-30$ an your set!

pnmd wrote in post #9694693
I think all the snow reflecting washed out the colors. In CS4, under Image click Auto Tone and you should get colors back. I just tried it and looks better IMO. I always Auto Tone my pics first and 50% of the time I like it. YMMV

I am assuming that is Photoshop CS4 and not LightRoom or Elements?

kanewtz wrote in post #9694952
I am assuming that is Photoshop CS4 and not LightRoom or Elements?

Yes in Photoshop CS4. Since you don't have image editing OK on I'll link to it. Auto Tone and Smart Sharpen:
http://farm5.static.fl​ickr.com …93194710_750ab7​1b6c_b.jpg

pnmd wrote in post #9695263
Yes in Photoshop CS4. Since you don't have image editing OK on I'll link to it. Auto Tone and Smart Sharpen:
http://farm5.static.fl​ickr.com …93194710_750ab7​1b6c_b.jpg

Wow...that did, in fact, make the picture a lot better. Thank you for posting it. I will try to yield the same result when I return to my house tomorrow night.