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UER Mobile > UE Photo Critiques > Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!) (Viewed 6614 times)

post by Xiketic

Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!)
< on 7/8/2019 6:57 AM >

I want to improve my documentation of the places I explore so I recently obtained a manual camera. After a quick crash course on which knobs do what, I went to photograph this local beachside spot (definitely would recommend visiting simply for the views, regardless if your party is into urbex).

I'm looking to learn so please offer your critique! Thank you.

I believe this one is overexposed:

And I'm not totally sure why this one is blurry (out of focus?):

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post by blackhawk

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Re: Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!)
<Reply # 1 on 7/8/2019 2:19 PM >

Lovely images

Maybe slightly overexposed (can't say for sure because of my viewing screen).
Shooting in full manual is fun and good to use when not in a rush.
Most digital have this mode.

#2 may be blurring due to cam shake. Even at moderately high shutter speed keeping the cam still at release is important.

Squaring off the images helps when framing them up; true vertical lines should be parallel to the frame sides.
The middle of the lense must be same elevation as the optic dead center with cam shooting line at a 90° right angle to true vertical.
At least one side of the frame should be true vertical preferably the one closest to the cam.
Better if both sides are if possible.

It mars the image (the last two) when not squared off unless it was done for artist effect.
Get in the habit of doing this and will became almost a reflex response.
On a 2D image the visual cortex has problems processing images that aren't square off; it takes more effort and can be disorienting.
Real world it compensate automatically and uses other senses/feedback to aid in doing this.

[last edit 7/8/2019 4:35 PM by blackhawk - edited 3 times]

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post by Abby Normal

Re: Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!)
<Reply # 2 on 7/9/2019 1:55 AM >

Posted by blackhawk

<snip>

Squaring off the images helps when framing them up; true vertical lines should be parallel to the frame sides.

<snip>

Good point.

Most photo editing software allows you to rotate the image by degrees, or fractions of degrees, in order to straighten up the alignment of the picture. Generally you have to slightly re-crop the image afterwards to get back to a rectangular photo. I use this technique when I find my images that aren't properly horizontal or vertical.

Some cameras have an option to display a grid in viewfinder that can help you determine whether your camera is square to vertical or horizontal lines in the composition.

Abby Normal

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post by blackhawk

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Re: Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!)
<Reply # 3 on 7/9/2019 2:48 AM >

Posted by Abby Normal

Good point.

Most photo editing software allows you to rotate the image by degrees, or fractions of degrees, in order to straighten up the alignment of the picture. Generally you have to slightly re-crop the image afterwards to get back to a rectangular photo. I use this technique when I find my images that aren't properly horizontal or vertical.

Some cameras have an option to display a grid in viewfinder that can help you determine whether your camera is square to vertical or horizontal lines in the composition.

Abby Normal

Simply rotating the image will not square it off as the angles of lines across the image will be off.
You can make look better many times, often losing some of the image.
That doesn't take the place of a properly square off shot; you can't manipulate information you didn't capture!

I pick a spot on a subject I want as frame center and get the cam to the same height, then find preferably two true vertical lines to line the sides up with.
People shooting I can square it up pretty good in seconds.
Good framing is critical to nailing keepers.

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post by Xiketic

Re: Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!)
<Reply # 4 on 7/9/2019 12:44 PM >

Thank you for the replies! I didn't even consider camera shake for the blur. What do you consider a "high shutter speed" that I could use to capture something quickly, say a moving bird?

I used instagram's editor for a quick attempt at squaring this photo off. I understand there is quality loss, but I can't see the difference at this size.

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post by blackhawk

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Re: Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!)
<Reply # 5 on 7/9/2019 1:55 PM >

Posted by MonkeyGang
Thank you for the replies! I didn't even consider camera shake for the blur. What do you consider a "high shutter speed" that I could use to capture something quickly, say a moving bird?

I used instagram's editor for a quick attempt at squaring this photo off. I understand there is quality loss, but I can't see the difference at this size.

https://i.imgur.com/JaXynAj.jpg

As high as you can go at a reasonable exposure/ISO at the f/setting you want.
If you jerk the cam on release you can get shake even at high shutter speeds.
It's like shooting a gun; your body needs to be planted and have a smooth trigger pull.

Brace your body with feet wide/staggered, elbows in when you shoot, hold breath when you go to release the shutter.
Brace yourself or the cam against something like a pole, doorway, wall etc at lower speeds.
Speeds depend on if you want speed blur or not and the speed of/distance to the subject.
Lower than 1/120-800 of a second for stills gets dicey if your technique isn’t spot on.
A image stabilized lense is best for moving subjects and shutter speeds under 1/400.

That little rotation trick wouldn't work on #4 as the columns in the background would be off if you corrected for the one in the foreground.
It be less noticeable but still flawed.
Practice squaring off shots as you frame them until it's second nature.
Sometimes you need to get the cam near the floor or ground, sometimes 10+ feet up depending on the desired frame center and distance to the subject.
A good viewfinder helps a lot.
It's a skill set of its own.
Doing it right when shooting saves you a lot of grief, time and would have been keepers...

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post by Abby Normal

Re: Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!)
<Reply # 6 on 7/9/2019 4:41 PM >

Yes! To my way of thinking, photo editing is primarily used when you didn't correctly capture the image when you pressed the shutter button. A well composed and exposed image straight out of the camera will beat an image that has to be corrected in post processing. Also keeping in mind that some errors, as you point out with squaring the line angles, just can't be completely fixed. Generally you can correct one side of the image, but the other will remain skewed.

I've spent a lot of time trying to fix my own screw-ups and it's rarely satisfactory. The one technique that I often use is to crop an image to achieve a better image. Again, it should have been properly composed in-camera, but the results are usually an improvement to the image.

I think the take-away is this: Taking time to properly compose and expose the image is time well spent. The "point and push" will get you a snapshot, but rarely a cinematic image. Slow down and get the shot.

Abby

Posted by blackhawk

Simply rotating the image will not square it off as the angles of lines across the image will be off.
You can make look better many times, often losing some of the image.
That doesn't take the place of a properly square off shot; you can't manipulate information you didn't capture!

I pick a spot on a subject I want as frame center and get the cam to the same height, then find preferably two true vertical lines to line the sides up with.
People shooting I can square it up pretty good in seconds.
Good framing is critical to nailing keepers.

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post by blackhawk

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Re: Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!)
<Reply # 7 on 7/9/2019 6:32 PM >

Posted by Abby Normal
Yes! To my way of thinking, photo editing is primarily used when you didn't correctly capture the image when you pressed the shutter button. A well composed and exposed image straight out of the camera will beat an image that has to be corrected in post processing. Also keeping in mind that some errors, as you point out with squaring the line angles, just can't be completely fixed. Generally you can correct one side of the image, but the other will remain skewed.

I've spent a lot of time trying to fix my own screw-ups and it's rarely satisfactory. The one technique that I often use is to crop an image to achieve a better image. Again, it should have been properly composed in-camera, but the results are usually an improvement to the image.

I think the take-away is this: Taking time to properly compose and expose the image is time well spent. The "point and push" will get you a snapshot, but rarely a cinematic image. Slow down and get the shot.

Abby

Images that should be and aren't squared off are a pet peeve of mine... it's not hard to do once you understand the concept and work it out.
Framing is trickier as it's art but there are still basic guidelines you can follow that work well most times.
See this here way too often.

I lost a lot of great keepers because of this in the beginning of places now long gone.
Silly me.
Fortunately there were many skilled shooters on this site and I eventually learned the error of my ways.
At least some of them

Slow down, learn the basic skills needed, strive to perfect them and your art...

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post by rob.i.am

Re: Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!)
<Reply # 8 on 7/9/2019 11:24 PM >

Posted by blackhawk

That little rotation trick wouldn't work on #4 as the columns in the background would be off if you corrected for the one in the foreground.
It be less noticeable but still flawed.

Literally 10 seconds in Snapseed. Not perfect but close enough.

3CDA78D0-893B-4D8B-B8A1-AE33E70A5AB2 by Rob, on Flickr

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post by blackhawk

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Re: Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!)
<Reply # 9 on 7/10/2019 12:24 AM >

Posted by rob.i.am

Literally 10 seconds in Snapseed. Not perfect but close enough.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48244942292_49888a6e92_z.jpg 3CDA78D0-893B-4D8B-B8A1-AE33E70A5AB2 by Rob, on Flickr

Jeeeeezse, takes less time then that to square it off...

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post by rob.i.am

Re: Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!)
<Reply # 10 on 7/10/2019 12:30 AM >

Posted by blackhawk

Jeeeeezse, takes less time then that to square it off...

Which is awesome, if your goal is to have a square photo.

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post by blackhawk

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Re: Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!)
<Reply # 11 on 7/10/2019 12:57 AM >

Posted by rob.i.am

Which is awesome, if your goal is to have a square photo.

Squared off not square

Problem being there will be many images that can not be salvage after the fact.

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post by rob.i.am

Re: Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!)
<Reply # 12 on 7/10/2019 1:09 AM >

Posted by blackhawk

Squared off not square

Problem being there will be many images that can not be salvage after the fact.

OP cropped it square.

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post by ryanpics

Re: Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!)
<Reply # 13 on 7/10/2019 5:35 AM >

I seem to be a little late this but oh well. The blurry pic was from focus, not shake. There would be a sort of directional streaking if it was shake, if that makes any sense.

Weird example and not my photo but you can see here how there a kind of directional blur going from top left to bottom right or vise versa.

I like the pictures alot and it definitely seems like a cool place. That once shot should've been squared off a bit better but I didn't really notice until blackhawk pointed it out. If you ever get lightroom, it has a super easy and effective tool for this. I let it do it for any shot that needs it, and maybe 1% I have to manually square it off.

If you get your technique good, you can go as low as 1/30 or sometimes lower and get a useable shot. It might take a few tries and some creativity but it's possible. I like to stay at around 1/60 or 1/80 for dark scenes like abandonments, if I'm handheld. For a shot of something like a moving bird, you should probably use 1/500 or higher. For my sports shooting I'll use anywhere from 1/500 to 1/4000 depending on light. I try not to below 1/250 for sports but I will if I absolutely have to.

Try looking at other people pictures and seeing what setting they used. Flickr shows it all and they've got tons of photos on there so just take a look around.

Anyway, great shots! I look forward to seeing more stuff from you.

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post by roue_libre

Re: Beach swing and drain (first manual camera!)
<Reply # 14 on 6/14/2021 7:40 PM >

Posted by Tarnished
Wow, such lovely pictures [bla bla bla, and spam link]

Username checks out.

See you later, spammer! Your taxis's waiting...

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