Re: Re: Back after a year break…

#20876
Duncan Rawlinson
Keymaster

Hi Lauren,

Welcome back! I have to say it’s a nice luxury to be able to come and go as you please! If only we had that option in high school?! 😉 Nice to have you back. On with the critique…

You have nailed both of your assignments. You have clearly understood the assignment, although there is always room for improvement.

In your photograph of the skateboarder you have shown that he is clearly in motion and that’s great. Motion is one of those tools you can use to augment your images. Photography is a static artform and using a slower shutter speed to show motion is one way to liven up your image. The tricky part is to ensure that some part of the frame is either in focus or that the idea is coming across. The whole image can be a blur if you want so long as it conveys whatever you are trying to convey.

Panning your camera with a slow shutter speed to match the speed of your moving object as it passes you by is a great way to do this. The trick is to match the speed and direction. That way the object in motion will remain in focus and the background will go out of focus. This is way easier said than done and it takes some serious practice.

In your image you’ve pretty much done this exactly and that’s great.

One way to practice is to get our a zoom lens and stand back from a road (please be careful) and try to capture the cars as they go by.

Now in your shallow depth of field images.

The image of the squirrel is good and it illustrates the benefit of shallow depth of field. If you want someone to look at the squirrel in your image you don’t want them to be looking at the background… This is exactly what you’ve done. You’ve got me looking at the area of interest and nothing else.

Now keep in mind control over the size of your depth of field becomes important here. Especially if you want to make large prints. Take a look at your full resolution image at 100%. You will note the the fur on the side of the squirrel is sharper than the nose and eyes of the animal. This could be a result of your shallow depth of field or auto focus, focusing on the wrong thing.

Just be aware when shooting shallow depth of field that you want the most interesting thing to be in focus. In this case the animal’s face, nose, and ears.

Often you can’t tell if you just look at your image on your camera’s screen because the screen is so small. The best way is to control it yourself and know what you’re doing through practice.

Nice job here.

It’s nice to have you back and I have added you on FB. 🙂

Thanks!