Some times I hate the pictures I take

[chirurgeon]

I just got a good look at some of the pictures I took on my last trip to WDW. I spent over 1/2 hour at the tiger enclosure in AK taking pictures and 9 out of 10 pictures are out of focus. I don't really remember the settings on the DSLR but I think the problem was, I was on automatic and the lighting was getting a little lower since it was the end of the day and the shutter speed must have slowed up some. I will have to watch out for this later. I think I will do more manual shots with setting the shutter speed myself.

Let me know what you think. The pictures can be seen at chirurgeon.smugmug.com. They are the June 2007 pictures. Starting at photo 700 or so. Yeah I know, I take a lot of pictures , but don't we all.

Kim

 

[AndrewWG]

Kim,

I haven't looked at your pics yet as I am running out the door but I can say that the tigers were hard for me to photograph nicely as well. If I remember correctly, isn't there a glass enclosure that you have to shoot through? That could be a major problem. I'm not sure if there is or not, but that was how my pics looked when I went back and looked at them. A bit of that fuzzy "looking through glass" appearance. Certainly not super sharp. DD8's pics were the same way.

 

[JR6ooo4]

Long shutter speed will not usualy cause a missed focus situation. Perhaps you have motion blur or camera shake.

Mikeeee

 

[MontanaZoo]

I have a lot of experience shooting tigers (that sounds odd). We have Siberian tigers at the zoo where I volunteer as their only photographer. We have a glassed in area and an open area that's an overlook. I usually set my Canon xTi to Av so I don't have to worry about exposure with the tiger moving through dark/light areas. Then, I'll also switch to multi exposure and just hold down on the button if the tiger gets into a good position. The frames between what I thought I was getting can be really surprising and entertaining.

I don't usually take a tripod out with me on grounds cause I can be out there for hours and hours (I know, I should) and tigers are fast. I'd be changing tripod positions constantly. I usually brace myself on something. I also have the advantage that if I'm there during an enrichment the keeper will usually ask me where I want him to throw it. Keepers love pictures of their babies.

For the glassed in part, I'll put the filter right up next to the glass or turn at an angle depending on how much reflection I'm getting.

Here's a bunch of my tiger shots.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliez_pics/sets/72157603224205987/

Through glass:

 

[JR6ooo4]

They all seem to be around 1/50, 1/40 and 1/30 of a second. ISO 400 and also many are at the long end of the lens.

Long shutter and a long lens makes it hard to get a crisp photo. Then, even if you could hold the cam still with those settings, the subject is moving. That will blurr the best photographer's shots.

Mikeeee

 

[MICKEY88]

They all seem to be around 1/50, 1/40 and 1/30 of a second. ISO 400 and also many are at the long end of the lens.

Long shutter and a long lens makes it hard to get a crisp photo. Then, even if you could hold the cam still with those settings, the subject is moving. That will blurr the best photographer's shots.

Mikeeee

that's why I strive to NOT be the best...

 

[MarkBarbieri]

The single most important rule to being a good photographer is to throw away your mistakes. I've noticed that the better the photographer, the fewer of their shots they keep.

 

[MICKEY88]

The single most important rule to being a good photographer is to throw away your mistakes. I've noticed that the better the photographer, the fewer of their shots they keep.

is that because they throw a lot away, or because it takes them fewer shots to get the great one..

does that mean when you go on vacation, you shoot thousands and only show us hundreds, because you are pretty darn good..

 

[MontanaZoo]

The professional photographers I know charge per click (film or DIGITAL) when on assignment.

I am the take thousands like hundreds type of amateur.

Per click

 

[pjacobi]

With a 300mm lens, you will need a shutter speed of at least 1/250 or 1/400 to avoid camera shake.

The common rule is to use 1/focal length for the minimum shutter speed. For a 300mm lens, the mimium in 1/300, for 55mm lens, the minimum is 1/55.

When I use my Canon 30D with the long end of my 75-300 USM lens, I usually set ISO to 1600, Tv at 1/400, center point autofocus.

Image stabilized lens allow use of 1-2 stops slower shutter speed then the 1/focal length rule.


-Paul

 

[chirurgeon]

Thanks for all the good advice. At least I know the tigers at AK aren't going anywhere. I can take alot more shots on my next trip.

Kim

 

[boBQuincy]

The tiger viewing areas at AK that are not behind glass are behind a wire mesh or a wooden fence (at low level). Photographing through the wire mesh takes some care and practice. The closer the lens is to the mesh, the less the mesh will show in your photos. For longer lenses this is less of a problem but the mesh can still degrade your images.

I met a photographer at the first viewing area, the one with the fountain. He was standing several feet back from the mesh and saying it would not show in his photos. Not so, when the lens closes down (and even when it doesn't) the mesh will be visible as a slightly blurry area. If this weren't a problem we wouldn't bother cleaning dust off our lenses since it wouldn't show.

For the best images take the lens hood off, hold the lens right up to the mesh, and hold the mesh as a support.

Btw, the wire mesh was not there in the early days of AK but after seeing a few kids on their parents shoulders right next to the opening I believe management got nervous!

 

[jann1033]

is that because they throw a lot away, or because it takes them fewer shots to get the great one..

does that mean when you go on vacation, you shoot thousands and only show us hundreds, because you are pretty darn good..

not saying mark isn't good ( he is) but if he( or anyone) only shows his best howevermany, so what, at least he knows what's good

i looked up your photos and i think some are because of the glass( like the one with the tiger walking toward the camera by those red steplike things) and i wonder if some might not be due to you trying to follow the action..maybe you haven't quite stopped moving when you snapped or the camera hadn't gotten focused yet..i don't think you are moving the shutter due to a heavy shutter finger as the mask ones are sharp...i you have a xti if you use al servo af when you shoot moving objects it's supposed to help you as they move. in al servo af you push the shutter 1/2 way then it keeps focusing on the object till you shoot.

i hate less of my photos the longer i am using my camera...now i try something, and sometimes still it doesn't work but sometimes i know why at least and occasionally i get one i actually like.

i do wish zoos etc would start planning more for photography and really a good view for a person would probably make for a better photo..scratched dirty glass or tiny mesh doesn't really make for fun viewing or photographing, safety smafety, i want good photos( course it creeped me out last time we were at the zoo after that tiger killing a few months back and a lot of the cats had new electrical wires on the tops of their pen's fences....yikes, so they weren't tall enough evidently?)

 

[JR6ooo4]

i you have a xti if you use al servo af when you shoot moving objects it's supposed to help you as they move. in al servo af you push the shutter 1/2 way then it keeps focusing on the object till you shoot.

Good point.
I used servo focus exclusively when shooting a friend's soccer games.

Mikeeee

 

[jann1033]

i used it for some bird shots and it seemed to work good for that as well

 

[Michele]

The single most important rule to being a good photographer is to throw away your mistakes. I've noticed that the better the photographer, the fewer of their shots they keep.

Unfortunately, if I threw away my mistakes sometimes that would leave me with no pictures at all.

I say this jokingly but it can be true. If I threw away all the bad pictures I have taken during Wishes I wouldn't have any left. But I keep trying.

I feel like while I am learning how to take good pictures, I have to keep mistakes so I can look back at the exif data and see what I need to do differently next time. For instance I got back from WDW yesterday, my Wishes pictures are the worst I've taken yet. I took better ones 2 years ago before I even started experimenting with different settings. So I am comparing the settings I tried this time with the older ones to see what I should do next time.

 

[JR6ooo4]

Unfortunately, if I threw away my mistakes sometimes that would leave me with no pictures at all.

I say this jokingly but it can be true. If I threw away all the bad pictures I have taken during Wishes I wouldn't have any left. But I keep trying.
.

I posted two from the safari ride, that I liked.

Mikeeee

 

[MontanaZoo]

I posted two from the safari ride, that I liked.

Mikeeee

I don't think I even had two I liked out of my safari ride. I swear they stepped on the gas every time I got the camera in focus.

 

[jann1033]

we never did this on purpose and since my camera was not working right it didn't help much but if i really want a photo i try to sit in the front row...we have a tendency to talk to the driver and are interested in the ride ( we're annoying that way) but i think sometimes when they realize you want to take a good photo they will kind of warn you or slow down a little. at least that is what they did for us.

 

[chirurgeon]

I treated myself to AKL Concierge December 2006 and went on the Sunrise Safari. That was wonderful. They give you an entire hour on the Safari route and will stop so you can take pictures. My pictures from that turned out pretty well. They are on Smugmug. It was a little misty that morning but I think that adds to some of the shots.

Kim