What makes photos "POP"

The "pop" you are talking about is simply focus and exposure. Walked out to the back yard and took these.

First on is green box auto mode. Second is Av set at f8. ISO 200 on both. No processing at all other than to convert the RAW file and resize for posting.

You know, that green box did a nice job!

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everyone has a different view of what pop is. to most it is lighting and saturation. to others its a narrow dof. some say its all of the above.

for me i see "pop" in photos when using FF with a 35L or 85L. colors are nice and vibrant and they have a weird look to them, especially the 35L. its probably the slightly wide look with the shallow dof and saturation.

i know this is not a great pic. i just snapped it of my friends kid on his bike. even though composition sucks, the pic seems to really stand out. and i didnt even do anything to it.

Booja,
Nice shot. What camera, lens, fstop, shutter,ISO?

Cheers

othila wrote in post #10508779
Booja,
Nice shot. What camera, lens, fstop, shutter,ISO?

Cheers

shot in jpeg. AV mode.

- 5d mk2 w/ a 35L
- shutter- 1/8000
- iso 100
- f/1.4
- ev+1/3

I'm going to go out there and say that about two, maybe three of the above 15 posted photos actually have any 'pop' to my eyes

mikekelley wrote in post #10509749
I'm going to go out there and say that about two, maybe three of the above 15 posted photos actually have any 'pop' to my eyes

OK, so you think most of the photos lack "pop".


what about this one, does it have the requisite pop ?


XSi with Canon 55-250IS

Buchinger wrote in post #10489415
I was recently looking at some photos a friend took at a party. They all seem to have a "POP" to them that I've been unable to accomplish on a regular basis. Is it the camera, lens, white balance? I'm fairly certain these were shot in "Green Box" mode, which is why its so frustrating. I have no idea what kind of lens she is shooting and I believe its a Nikon camera. Either way, is it the lens, the white balance, or maybe even the exposure? Its just frustrating when someone runs around a party, and I have a hard time getting shots like this while I'm working at it so hard. I'm not looking for a magical answer, I'm just wondering if a better lens is the reason, better lighting, or if the glass is all the difference here. I'm going to contact her and find out what exactly she's shooting. I realize I've got a bottom of the barrel Rebel XS, but there have been some good shots taken with those cameras in the past.

Here is a link to the photos, hopefully it works.

http://www.kodakgaller​y.com …rue&sourceId=98​4136008703

I would simply ask her.....

SOOC - I've changed the jpeg settings to add extra contrast on this overcast day. When it's bright sunshine - lower the contrast!

Here is just a sample of available light from the window, using my Fuji disposable camera.

Without seeing the photos you shot that day, its hard to tell what is different about them that makes you think they "pop" compared to yours.

I dont think your freinds photos have any real pop per se, just properly exposed for the most part and some DOF seperation.

mikekelley wrote in post #10509749
I'm going to go out there and say that about two, maybe three of the above 15 posted photos actually have any 'pop' to my eyes

I agree.

Peepaw wrote in post #10510369
I agree.

Again, it is all subjective, each person has a different creative "mind's eye", and so if you only see a few with pop, that just means you have developed a different taste of what you like vs others. There is no real definitive recipe for "pop", unless you mean ...

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After reading these posts, and fiddling with some pictures of mine, it appears there is just more contrast and saturation than my photos out of the camera. I'm guessing that has more to do with the differences between a Nikon and Canon camera. To me they just look "richer", especially the skin tones. Many of my earlier photos lacked the sharpness as well. I haven't had this camera very long, and I'm still at the very beginning of the learning curve, and many times focus is my biggest issue, I'm also tend to shoot lenses wide open more often than not, I just need more confidence getting depth of field with smaller apertures. (backwards terminology?).

I'm getting there, its just frustrating to see someone running around in green box, while I'm struggling in manual mode. I know it will pay off in the long run, just tough getting there!

mikekelley wrote in post #10509749
I'm going to go out there and say that about two, maybe three of the above 15 posted photos actually have any 'pop' to my eyes

I am agreeing with you. If you look at the OP's link to the pictures they said had "pop", they didn't really have it either. What they were calling pop was simply the basics: contrast, focus, saturation. I know what I posted wasn't exceptional in any way. Wasn't meant to be. I was demonstrating that what the OP was talking about should be easy to achieve. Anyone should be able to take decent pictures if they just follow the basics.

That pop or wow factor is something else altogether. Some of you guys (and ladies) get it with almost everything you post. I get it once in a great while. But anyone can get good/acceptable results.

Buchinger wrote in post #10510508
After reading these posts, and fiddling with some pictures of mine, it appears there is just more contrast and saturation than my photos out of the camera. I'm guessing that has more to do with the differences between a Nikon and Canon camera. To me they just look "richer", especially the skin tones. Many of my earlier photos lacked the sharpness as well. I haven't had this camera very long, and I'm still at the very beginning of the learning curve, and many times focus is my biggest issue, I'm also tend to shoot lenses wide open more often than not, I just need more confidence getting depth of field with smaller apertures. (backwards terminology?).

I'm getting there, its just frustrating to see someone running around in green box, while I'm struggling in manual mode. I know it will pay off in the long run, just tough getting there!

Nikon should do as well as a Canon (mods, please don't ban me for saying that). Stop using M. Try the other modes. Maybe you are making things too complicated.

I know that some people say "use only manual". But that's them. There is at least an equal number who say differently. You use whatever gets you the results you want.