Having focus issues w/ kit lens

-2 EC...too much. The IS sure could have created the blur.

poloman wrote in post #11018468
-2 EC...too much. The IS sure could have created the blur.

I'm going to try the same shoot again with a velvet backdrop to see what happens. I'll use everyones tips also. Then after that I'm sure I'll need more tips! Haha

A note on long exposures...
You are more likely to have trouble on moderate length than long exposures. This is true because shutter vibration or tapping a tripod leg or whatever bad event is a smaller percentage of a longer exposure. So, I would much rather take a 15 second exposure than a 3 second one.

poloman wrote in post #11018499
A note on long exposures...
You are more likely to have trouble on moderate length than long exposures. This is true because shutter vibration or tapping a tripod leg or whatever bad event is a smaller percentage of a longer exposure. So, I would much rather take a 15 second exposure than a 3 second one.

That's something I've never heard of. Is it common? Or just with the cheap ones? Why does vibrate more with less time?

edit

I get it, makes sense. thanks!

You can avoid practically all vibration with mirror lock-up and a remote shutter release. A good sturdy tripod helps too. Just thought it might be useful info for you.
How about lighting them subtly from below? Maybe a red and or green gel? They aren't creepy if you can't see them. Makes me wonder if your monitor is calibrated because I almost can't see these.

poloman wrote in post #11019824
You can avoid practically all vibration with mirror lock-up and a remote shutter release. A good sturdy tripod helps too. Just thought it might be useful info for you.
How about lighting them subtly from below? Maybe a red and or green gel? They aren't creepy if you can't see them. Makes me wonder if your monitor is calibrated because I almost can't see these.

I use a tripod and remote, I had is on so that probably caused the slight blur. But I didn't think about monitor settings. I have mine as dark as it can get because my parrots sleep behind me at night when I'm PP and the light shines in their eyes. I'll change my monitor settings too. I don't have the table top or anything to change the light around yet but that's a good suggestion. Thanks again

Im shopping for a new tripod and my budgets is around $125-$150. A friend was letting me borrow his and asked for it back. Any suggestions?

I'm going to get a gorilla pod for taking low shots and having fun, unless there is a tripod within my price range that reaches the floor.

Save your money and get a good tripod. I find that I save more money my spending well, once, rather than spending multiple times piecemeal. There is a forum section that discusses tripods and one can glean appropriate recommendations from there.

Finally, you stated that you shot at -2 EC for a "creepier" look. Have you considered exposing properly, and then adjusting the exposure in post? It's a bit more work but you'll get better results that way.

HeaTransfer wrote in post #11021588
Save your money and get a good tripod. I find that I save more money my spending well, once, rather than spending multiple times piecemeal. There is a forum section that discusses tripods and one can glean appropriate recommendations from there.

Finally, you stated that you shot at -2 EC for a "creepier" look. Have you considered exposing properly, and then adjusting the exposure in post? It's a bit more work but you'll get better results that way.

I'll check on tripods, If I can find one that reaches the ground for around $200 I'm set. I'm not going to be mobile with it, just need it for portrait type stuff (high and low). I don't have a lot of room that why I was considering the g pod.

When I take pictures I try to get them as close as possible to what I want. If I take it properly exposed I don't know if that shot is going to be the one I want. I dont have a lot of experience with pp software but I know how to adjust the general settings. I'll try exposing properly and see what I can come up with. Thanks for the info

You can just prop you camera creatively until you can get what you want.

Here are the new photo's (no PP, just croping). I took them around 3am before bed and I was so happy & amazed that it only took 40 photo's to get what I was looking for. And you were right about ISO, EC, IS, and well...everything- so thank you all very much.

I've added the pseudio (table top studio) setup so you can see how everything was set up for the shot. I could use some advice for lighting and reflectors. I was using a pet light from petsmart because that's the most versatile light I have for now. I just taped a piece of printer paper to it as a softbox - genius, i know I had a 13W(60W) CFL bulb in it.

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Much better. The light on the top of the skeleton head is still pretty strong as you can see some hot spots. You may want to diffuse you main light above a little more but it's a nice improvement.

Much better! If you move the light closer to the subject, the size of the light in relation to the size of your subject will be greater and it will appear softer. You will also get more wrap around. The harshness may be good for what your doing. Just wanted to share that tidbit with you.