# Need a little help



## bgibb42 (Jan 9, 2010)

How do I go about fixing some of the issues with my photos?  The first picture is the original photo I took straight from the camera to here.  The second photo is the original that I edited, but I'm not sure if I made it any better (just brighter).  I'd also like to know why most of the pen is in focus, but the very bottom, near the nib, is blurry.  

Thanks in advance!


----------



## lorbay (Jan 9, 2010)

The pictures are where.????

Lin.


----------



## rjwolfe3 (Jan 9, 2010)

I see them but I can't help much. I suck at photos.


----------



## khogan16 (Jan 10, 2010)

Hi Brian,
the first thing that I noticed was that the the light is harsh,  what I mean by that is you have very hot highlights and very dark and sharply defined shadows. It would help you to use a light tent. You can simply use a bed sheet to diffuse the light, This alone will help your photos.  As far as the Nib being in focus, you would need to know what Aperture set at. IT was probably set at one of the wider settings F 2.8 or f 4. use F 5.6 that will help you. If you are using the auto mode, try setting it to aperture priority and use the f 5.6 setting.  Also add a kicker or reflector to add some dimension to the opposite side that you are lighting it with. Unless you make a light tent and light both sides.  I hope that helps you let me know.


----------



## bgibb42 (Jan 10, 2010)

I have not made a photo tent yet, that is high on my long list of things to do.  To be honest, I do not remember the settings I used on the camera now, but I followed some of the advice posted in other places here to achieve the results I have now.  Believe me, this is WAY better than I had before.  I'll keep working on it.  Thanks!


----------



## DCBluesman (Jan 10, 2010)

To get the entire pen into focus, make sure that the pen is squared to the camera.  Having the pen angled (front to back) from the plane of the camera causes the different sections of the pen to be at different focal lengths.


----------



## mredburn (Jan 10, 2010)

Also your light is from above and behind causing the pen to be in its own shadow.


----------



## WildcatHollow (Jan 10, 2010)

bgibb42 said:


> How do I go about fixing some of the issues with my photos?  The first picture is the original photo I took straight from the camera to here.  The second photo is the original that I edited, but I'm not sure if I made it any better (just brighter).  I'd also like to know why most of the pen is in focus, but the very bottom, near the nib, is blurry.
> 
> Thanks in advance!



You're using a single light almost directly over the pen without modification. If all you have is the single light, put a light modifier between the light and the subject. You can use a thin piece of silk or cotton, or a sheet of plastic difusion material (like the stuff you see on a florescent light). You can even use a large piece of tracing paper (in the art supplies section.)

Although the angle of your pen affects what's in focus and what's not, it's really a factor of something called "depth of field" which is determined by your lens.

In your case, you have a "short" depth of field.

Some of the factors that affect depth of field are: a. the focal length of the lens, i.e., telephoto lenses have naturally shorter depth of fields than wide-angle lenses; b. you're aperture setting, i.e., a wider aperture (f2 to f5.6 has a much shorter depth of field than smaller apertures (f16 - f32). In order to get to the smaller apertures, you need to light your subject more, or shoot at a slower speed - and then you'll need a tripod; and c. the distance from the front of your lens to your subject (focusing distance), i.e., the closer you are to your subject, the shorter your depth of field.

In order to solve all those problems you need a camera than enables you to manually control all of the above parameters.

I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear, but those are the facts.

Regards,

t.


----------

