My sister-in-law asked for a photo of this locket to use in a post on her blog. Seemed simple enough! However I found that each shot that I took seemed to be out of focus. I was using a tripod and a release cable, so I could not figure out why this was happening. So I increased the shutter speed, added light and locked the mirror in the up position, but the shots still seemed out of focus. So I gave up for a while and watched the football game (Vikes beat the Bears!).
Then it hit me: When using a tripod, you should turn off stabilization! I knew this, but have never experienced a problem before when leaving it on. So I set up the shot again, turned off both stabilization on the lens and auto-focus. I manually focused and took several more shots, the best of which is the one displayed above.
Anyone have any additional suggestions as to how I could have made this clearer? I could have increased the ISO to get a faster shutter speed, but when I tried this it didn't seem to improve the focus, plus I got noise.
HDR: No
Exposure: 1/60 sec
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 100
White Balance: Auto
Metering: Matrix
Flash: Yes - Off-camera
Stabilization: Tripod (Lens stabilization off; Manual focus)
Wow, I'm glad I asked you for this photo since it seemed to serve as source for a lesson - one that didn't involve remembering how cold it gets outside in Minnesota in December.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
And the photo is gorgeous, too!
DeleteThe chain works well for leading lines and leaving the chain out-of-focus also helps me "focus" on the locket itself.
ReplyDeleteIn the old days, I'd have reversed my lens and used it as a macro lens - holding the lens and camera together and shooting a manual mode. It's far easier to add a close-up lens today - which also allows use of the tripod for stability.
Looks like you could have benefitted from more DOF. I'd go with more even non-flash lighting and stop down as far as possible. Focus stacking could also help but is a lot of work.