Nikon D80

[TinksDH]

Well, at least you know where you can get a copy!

Good luck in your path on better photography... the only way to improve it to take LOTS of pictures! My kids used to go running when they saw me with my camera in my hand; now they just ignore me!

 

[AndrewWG]

I would add that the closer the camera is to a subject, the shallower the DOF will be, I believe. I could be wrong (I was wrong once back in the 80's I think ) but I think this could also be contributing to the shallow DOF at f5. I would normally think of a photo taken at f5 to have a much broader DOF than this, but with the camera so close, it could limit that.

 

[JR6ooo4]

The way I remeber aperture is.

small number small DOF

large number large DOF

and the smallest number lets in the most light.

Mikeeee

 

[YesDear]

I concur with a previous poster. A tripod would be very helpful. Unless you are in really good light a tripod is what you should do. Since the D80 is digital
pictures are free so take lots at different settings. I also agree F11 would be a good try.

 

[oliviansmom17]

Well, at least you know where you can get a copy!

Good luck in your path on better photography... the only way to improve it to take LOTS of pictures! My kids used to go running when they saw me with my camera in my hand; now they just ignore me!

Ha! I just had a "session" with my 5 & 8 year old children- they laughed through the whole thing. No "quietly contemplative" shots tonight!

I would add that the closer the camera is to a subject, the shallower the DOF will be, I believe. I could be wrong (I was wrong once back in the 80's I think ) but I think this could also be contributing to the shallow DOF at f5. I would normally think of a photo taken at f5 to have a much broader DOF than this, but with the camera so close, it could limit that.

I guess I need to back up a bit- I keep trying to fill the frame with whatever I'm photographing...I'll experiment with stops though, too.

 

[oliviansmom17]

Also taken with the 60mm- but I was further away from my subject...

 

[AndrewWG]

Ha! I just had a "session" with my 5 & 8 year old children- they laughed through the whole thing. No "quietly contemplative" shots tonight!



I guess I need to back up a bit- I keep trying to fill the frame with whatever I'm photographing...I'll experiment with stops though, too.

No, you SHOULD fill the frame with a shot like that. That isn't what I meant. I was assuming that you were using F5 to get a bit more DOF and what I was saying is that it may be the closeness to the subject that caused the shallow DOF, even with an f5 aperture.

I agree with Gdad that you should probably go with a f11 or greater in this situation in order to get more DOF, if that is what you want. Keep the camera where it is, on a tripod with a small ISO. It will give you a slow shutter speed, but that is why you should have it on a tripod. Hopefully I'm making this sound as clear as it is in my mind. Let me know if I'm not.

Also, I personally think that all this talk is for nothing because that is a REALLY NICE photo you posted. I like it alot. Good Job! I think that if you want to practice for a greater DOF, go for it, but I don't think it will make this shot better. It is great just how it is.

 

[jann1033]

the ring is really nice to...you can always crop a little to get rid of excess photo if you need to.
i totally missed that you used f5, i thought it was f3 don't know where i got that

 

[Lizziejane]

I agree with others who've already said they like the photo the way it is! It's lovely! Here's a suggestion - if you've gone to all the trouble of setting everything up on a tripod - take a shot at each aperture setting to get a feel for the difference each setting makes. You are sure to find the one then that gives you the effect you were hoping for.

but really, it's lovely as is

 

[oliviansmom17]

No, you SHOULD fill the frame with a shot like that. That isn't what I meant. I was assuming that you were using F5 to get a bit more DOF and what I was saying is that it may be the closeness to the subject that caused the shallow DOF, even with an f5 aperture.

I agree with Gdad that you should probably go with a f11 or greater in this situation in order to get more DOF, if that is what you want. Keep the camera where it is, on a tripod with a small ISO. It will give you a slow shutter speed, but that is why you should have it on a tripod. Hopefully I'm making this sound as clear as it is in my mind. Let me know if I'm not.

Also, I personally think that all this talk is for nothing because that is a REALLY NICE photo you posted. I like it alot. Good Job! I think that if you want to practice for a greater DOF, go for it, but I don't think it will make this shot better. It is great just how it is.

Thank you very much!
If we get some decent light today I'm going to give it another shot, (no pun intended ) with f11 and a low ISO. Wish me luck!

 

[oliviansmom17]

I agree with others who've already said they like the photo the way it is! It's lovely! Here's a suggestion - if you've gone to all the trouble of setting everything up on a tripod - take a shot at each aperture setting to get a feel for the difference each setting makes. You are sure to find the one then that gives you the effect you were hoping for.

but really, it's lovely as is

Good idea...thank you!

 

[oliviansmom17]

O-kay...so I tried out all the info everyone provided and here are the results:

Unfortunately, I forgot to write down which pic is which ISO/F-stop, but they are both similar enough so that I wouldn't mind experimenting with both next time. Especially on a sunny day. It's pouring rain here so lighting was pretty sad.
One of these photos is ISO 300, the other 400, and one is F/14, the other F/16. I believe the first is 14, the 2nd is 16. The same with the ISO.

To all of you- you're help has been invalueable! I was beginning to get concerned that this lens would just sit in my bag!

 

[oliviansmom17]

Although now that I've seen them posted, they look seriously soft. Maybe I should try to sharpen in PaintPro? I brightened them up a bit already...

 

[AndrewWG]

Those look great. Is the camera closer than before? It seems to fill the frame even more. FYI: Both of those shots were done at ISO 400 and F14.

 

[Gdad]

FYI: Both of those shots were done at ISO 400 and F14.

This is correct- Opanda EXIF Viewer is free and is an easy way to look at the camera settings after the fact- or look at other peoples settings of pictures you like so you can learn.

 

[TinksDH]

Although now that I've seen them posted, they look seriously soft. Maybe I should try to sharpen in PaintPro? I brightened them up a bit already...

It looks like your camera AF decided to focus on front tip of the left-most petal - is that where you intended to focus? Your focus mode is listed as "AF-A", which means it will bounce back and forth between "continuous" or "dynamic", depending on if the subject is moving or not. However, you may also have selected "closest subject" in your menus and it is picking what to focus on.

In macro work, AF doesn't always work as well as using MF and a bright viewfinder.

 

[oliviansmom17]

Those look great. Is the camera closer than before? It seems to fill the frame even more. FYI: Both of those shots were done at ISO 400 and F14.

Thanks! Instead of pointing the camera downward, I brought the rose to a counter and raised the tripod to be directly in front of it.

This is correct- Opanda EXIF Viewer is free and is an easy way to look at the camera settings after the fact- or look at other peoples settings of pictures you like so you can learn.

I'll check it out! I can get all of that info in Nikon's Picture Perfect, but not when I'm in PaintShop, which is sort of annoying.

It looks like your camera AF decided to focus on front tip of the left-most petal - is that where you intended to focus? Your focus mode is listed as "AF-A", which means it will bounce back and forth between "continuous" or "dynamic", depending on if the subject is moving or not. However, you may also have selected "closest subject" in your menus and it is picking what to focus on.

In macro work, AF doesn't always work as well as using MF and a bright viewfinder.

Who knows what I pressed?? I keep accidently pressing things, but in the end it works out b/c I figure other things out in the process of fixing whatever I've done. I doubt myself and manually focus, then switch to auto. I guess I need to learn to trust my eye more.

 

[Gdad]

I'll check it out! I can get all of that info in Nikon's Picture Perfect, but not when I'm in PaintShop, which is sort of annoying.

I like it because you can usually see the info on other shots online with just a right-click.

 

[extreme8]

Have a look here.
Experiment with different values - it's really enlightening.

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

 

[Groucho]

I like it because you can usually see the info on other shots online with just a right-click.

...and if you use Firefox (and if you don't, you should ), you can use either (or both!) FxIF or Exif Viewer to be able to right-click a photo to see exif data, without needing to install a standalone program (which Opanda is). If you use IE, I think you're stuck with an external program.