Lesson 3 Assignment A

[Maria Grice]

Here is my submission for Lesson 3. This is my daughter’s Hello Kitty toy that she left sitting on the couch. It is probably only as big as your pointer finger set against a very busy backdrop (hall entrance way). The challenge for me was to make it stand out against all the clutter behind it.

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[Duncan Rawlinson]

Hi Maria,

Thanks for your patience. Let’s get started!

Here is the EXIF data for this image:

Blurry-Kitty.jpg
http://photographyicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Blurry-Kitty.jpg
Date Time Original: 2013:02:07 20:53:07
Exposure Time: 1/12
F Number: f / 1.80
Exposure Program: Manual
ISO Speed Ratings: 400
Metering Mode: Partial
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length: 50mm
White Balance: Manual white balance
Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS 550D
LensModel: EF50mm f/1.8 II
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Pixel X Dimension: 5184
Pixel Y Dimension: 3456
Maker Note: 814
User Comment: 8332
Date Time Digitized: 2013:02:07 20:53:07
Subsec Time: 12
Subsec Time Original: 12
Subsec Time Digitized: 12
Shutter Speed Value: 3.63
Aperture Value: 1.63
Focal Plane X Resolution: 5728.18
Focal Plane Y Resolution: 5808.40
Focal Plane Resolution Unit: 2
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Exposure Mode: 1
Scene Capture Type: Standard
InteroperabilityIFDPointer: 8596
ExifIFDPointer: 348
Orientation: 1
YCbCr Positioning: 2
X Resolution: 72
Y Resolution: 72
Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2013:02:07 20:53:07

I have immediately notice a few issues with this image but let’s start out out with the good stuff.

For one you have created a simple image and you have tried to focus the viewers eye on the one thing that you think is most interesting. What’s more you’ve simplified your background and tried to white balance yourself.

All of this is great but there is room for improvement in a few areas.

You’ve certainly created an image with shallow depth of field but there are some problems here.

For one the depth of field is so shallow that almost nothing in the frame is in focus. That means that the area of your depth of field that is in focus is not correcly aligned with your subject. I suspect this may be cause of your lens’ minimum focus distance.

It could also be that a 1/12th exposure time is quite slow and there is some camera shake going on.

To improve this image I would have ensure that the subject is within the limits of the lens (all lenses have a minimum distance for focus) such that the subject can be in focus.

I would have also used a tripod and a lower ISO because the subject is not moving at all so you can get away with it.

The image is also a bit yellow so I suspect your manual white balance might be a bit off as well. A simple thing you can do is match your white balance setting to the light environment you are in. In this case I’m guessing it was incandescent light.

The key thing here though is that you are learning what depth of field is and how to clean up your backgrounds.

Keep practicing this. Thanks for submitting your assignment and thanks for your patience. I will be updating the site and improving things around here in the coming weeks.

I will now critique part B.

Thank you.

[Author]

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