Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Frustrated: bokeh

Since starting to get serious in photography I wanted desperately to be able to shoot full manual. I think the point at which I will consider myself good enough to shoot a whole session in manual is once I can FINALLY get this photo.

I took my puppy as my photo subject (bad idea by the way) and placed her what I thought what far enough away from the background I wanted to blur. Then I fully zoomed in on my Rebel and put my ISO at 800, my shutter speed at 1/320 of a second, and my f stop at 22. This was all I needed to do according to a youtube video regarding capturing a bokeh background in my photos. Yes, I youtube'd it. I'm sorry fellow photography bloggers. I couldn't find anyone that fully explained what they did to capture this magnificent photo they were displaying...anyways. So here's what I got after a bit of editing...


They were both really underexposed so I know I'm going to have to work on a shorter shutter and smaller numerical f/stop value. But seriously, someone who is more experienced than I, help! I want so badly to be able to get that bokeh, but I played around on my camera for about a half hour and these were the only decent shots I could get. Someone? Help....

On another note, everyone reveling in the gorgeous sunshine outside? Personally I sat in my camp chair, and started Hunger Games for the second time while Adi roamed the yard. Heaven I tell you.

~M

5 comments:

Tricia said...

Um so I've been trying to get back into photography and I've been dealing with my photos being too overexposed. I'm not even dealing with ISO, just trying to manage the shutter and f-stop. No judgment here on the You-Tubing, I've been looking stuff up on informational blogs and answers.com for tips. Keep shooting!

Sara said...

Hi there,
So confusing this photography stuff, isn't it. I've learnt so much about using my camera over the past year. A great place to start is your camera manual. I just read Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson, and it's a great book for learning to shoot in manual. I think you've gotten confused as if you're after bokeh you need a wide aperture ie a small number, as small as your lens will go. Some kit lenses will only go to 4 or 5 so you have to get in real close and keep your background far away. Hope this helps, keep trying and learning.

Courtney said...

First off, congrats on trying to tackle manual mode!! Shooting your dog will be hard because she is black and keeping her and everything else properly exposed will definitely be a challenge. Bokeh works best with a wider aperture (small number) than f22. I actually wrote a tutorial about it on my blog - http://www.clickitupanotch.com/2010/11/aperture-the-basics/

Also, it helps when your subject has some light coming in through the back. It doesn't have to be a lot. You could definitely get a blurry background with that set up but not sure about the bokeh. Maybe you could find a place with a bush or tree that has some light coming through the leaves. Good luck!! Thanks for linking up! Oh, and if you change your aperture (small number) than you would be able to lower your ISO. Here is another tutorial I wrote about the basics of shooting in manual mode - http://www.clickitupanotch.com/2010/09/shooting-in-manual-the-basics/ Let me know if you have any other questions!!!

Anonymous said...

Manual mode can be very tricky so congrats on trying it :) When you understand manual then talking pictures become much more plesant and you photos are much better.

btw, such a cute doggy!

Tammy said...

Well, I like your choice of subject :)

I'm no expert, but I think your aperture was too small. Try the largest you can use (say a f 5) and see what you get.