Advice for a fuckwit

1. Resize picture
2. Consider SQT
3. If you really do not understand what is happening and why to your pictures consider asking a pro to help you or go to a workshop.
4. Read up on how the physics of the camera work. Do you really understand the relationship between shutter, ISO and apeture?
5. Throw yourself in the deep end and take a lot of pictures for a bit and don't care about failure. One of the advantages of digital is you don't have to worry about processing costs so you can shoot a lot of errors and go back though the EXIF data and see aperture, ISO, shutter speed. As well as focus points white balance and focal distance.

If all of this fails you really have to get someone to help you out. Not just a friend, not just someone you like the pictures of. Someone who really knows how to use cameras preferably someone who has done studio work as they often know the technical side of photography very well.

>>2890712
>exposure time 1/400sec
You are complete shit, not the camera at all.
You don't need "tips", you need to learn the day 1 basics of how a camera functions.

>>2890731
Anything less and it was blurry. Sorry for asking here, I'll go read 'Babbys first camera'

You're not giving us much to go on.

Is "blurry" out of focus or shaky?

Is "noisy" at low or high iso?

My wild guess is your hand holding technique needs work & you need to supplement your night time shots with a flash, but without seeing the bad pics there's not a lot to go on.

>>2890717
>Resize picture

>muh DSL!

>>2890736
the rule of thumb is shutter speed less than the lens focal length for handholding.
That means for a 50mm, 1/50th or less can be handheld without blurring if the person isn't a retard.
A 400mm lens having some lost shots at 1/400 would be understandable.
You are one clumsy motherfucker if you're somehow shaking a camera so rapidly that with 55mm lens you're screwing up at 1/80, 1/100, 1/125, 1/160, 1/200, 1/250 and even 1/320.

You should get checked for Parkinson's Disease at your doctor because it seems either your nervous system is damaged or you're possessed by some kind of hand-shaking demon.

>>2890767
this.
also, you should post the pictures that you messed up on, so we can have a better analysis instead of posting a single image that you think is fine

File: IMG_5708.jpg (4MB, 4272x2848px) Image search: [Google]

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>>2890751
Blurry as in shakey and the ISO was always low
Here's a perfect shit picture. I didn't resize it this time cause someone else complained about it. I thought I had to resize for this board

[EXIF data available. Click here to show/hide.]

Camera-Specific Properties:
Equipment Make	Canon
Camera Model	Canon EOS 1100D
Lens Size	18.00 - 55.00 mm
Firmware Version	Firmware Version 1.0.4
Lens Name	EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 III
Image-Specific Properties:
Image Orientation	Top, Left-Hand
Horizontal Resolution	72 dpi
Vertical Resolution	72 dpi
Image Created	2015:10:02 07:10:40
Exposure Time	1/25 sec
F-Number	f/5.6
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO Speed Rating	400
Lens Aperture	f/5.7
Exposure Bias	0 EV
Flash	No Flash, Compulsory
Focal Length	18.00 mm
Color Space Information	sRGB
Image Width	4272
Image Height	2848
Rendering	Normal
Exposure Mode	Manual
Scene Capture Type	Standard
Exposure Mode	Manual
Focus Type	Auto
Metering Mode	Evaluative
Sharpness	Unknown
Saturation	Normal
Contrast	Normal
Shooting Mode	Manual
Image Size	Large
Focus Mode	One-Shot
Drive Mode	Single
Flash Mode	Off
Compression Setting	Fine
Macro Mode	Normal
White Balance	Auto
Exposure Compensation	3
Sensor ISO Speed	224
Color Matrix	133

>>2890767
See the problem is that I actually am a retard, but thank you for the helpful advice. I will keep this in mind. If it makes a difference at all (which I'm sure it doesn't) it's the kit lens I'm using, though I'm gonna blame everything on my own retardation

>>2890941
Whenever you've got a blurry shot you've got to try and find out why it is so.

In this case it's probably motion blur if you were handholding the camera. Look at your shutter speed: 1/25. That's really slow, even for an 18mm lens.

To get a faster shutter speed with so little light, you're going to have to either open your aperture further (assuming it's not already at max) or raise your ISO. Higher ISO unfortunately will make things noisier, but it's better to have a sharp noisy shot than a blurry clean one.

>>2890945
The aperture was already at max and I was just being an idiot not wanting to put up the ISO

>>2890941
Looks like shaky hands. How are you focusing? Are you using AF? Do you remember where you focused on this shot? Do you have more examples?

Everyone is giving good advice when they tell you to read up on the basics, but you're already doing yourself a huge favour by actually getting out and shooting and making these mistakes. Combined with actively trying to learn about and solve the issues come up, this is the best way to learn.

I like your first shot a lot. Do you have a tripod? If you want to keep doing stuff in these woods (I would, they're cool), you could probably benefit a lot from taking your time to set up on sticks and trying different things with the same framing. Frame up your shot, try an exposure with low ISO and a small aperture, but a slow shutter. Then, same framing but with a wider aperture and faster shutter speed, but bumping up ISO until you find out what the practical limit is, probably anything over ISO 1600 would start to get rough with your camera. Generally play with the exposure triangle without changing the framing so that later you can compare them and find out how they play off each other and change the character of your image.

If you're serious about learning and improving, bring a notebook and note down the settings and your intentions for each exposure.

>>2890967
Thank you, this is some really nice advice. I have a tripod alright and would like to take better shots with it. Generally I just use AF and don't think too much about it. Seems I have a lot more practise to do.

This board is actually very encouraging even when everyone is a dick. Though thank you again for the advice and for the constructive feedback

>>2890712
If you want to get the basics down, go to the following website and start from Concepts & Terminology: http://www.cambridgeincolour.com

>>2890941
Nice composition. This almost looks like missed focus - I'd expect a hint of double image if camera shake was the issue BUT please post a few more.

For this shot you could have dropped aperture to f4 to give yourself a little more ss without compromising DoF much, and I doubt iso 800 would be noticeably noisy.

As a starter I'd switch to aperture priority for a while and try manual focus, just to eliminate autofocus issues from the equation.

A 12mp cam at 18mm (I.e. Shooting wide) should be very forgiving in terms of handholding technique, but definitely read up on that side of things (elbows tight against body, breathing out before hitting shutter, squeezing smoothly etc).

File: IMG_5717.jpg (3MB, 4272x2848px) Image search: [Google]

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>>2891006
Thank you for the advice. This is all very helpful. I think I need to stop being so shakey and to not be so scared of using a higher ISO. Also concentrating on focusing a lot better too

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Horizontal Resolution	72 dpi
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Exposure Time	1/25 sec
F-Number	f/5.6
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO Speed Rating	400
Lens Aperture	f/5.7
Exposure Bias	0 EV
Flash	No Flash, Compulsory
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Exposure Mode	Manual
Focus Type	Auto
Metering Mode	Evaluative
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Contrast	Normal
Shooting Mode	Manual
Image Size	Large
Focus Mode	One-Shot
Drive Mode	Single
Flash Mode	Off
Compression Setting	Fine
Macro Mode	Normal
White Balance	Auto
Exposure Compensation	3
Sensor ISO Speed	224
Color Matrix	133

File: IMG_5854.jpg (5MB, 4272x2848px) Image search: [Google]

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>>2891006

[EXIF data available. Click here to show/hide.]

Camera-Specific Properties:
Equipment Make	Canon
Camera Model	Canon EOS 1100D
Lens Size	18.00 - 55.00 mm
Firmware Version	Firmware Version 1.0.4
Lens Name	EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 III
Image-Specific Properties:
Image Orientation	Top, Left-Hand
Horizontal Resolution	72 dpi
Vertical Resolution	72 dpi
Image Created	2015:10:02 07:29:42
Exposure Time	1/80 sec
F-Number	f/3.5
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO Speed Rating	400
Lens Aperture	f/3.5
Exposure Bias	0 EV
Flash	No Flash, Compulsory
Focal Length	18.00 mm
Color Space Information	sRGB
Image Width	4272
Image Height	2848
Rendering	Normal
Exposure Mode	Manual
Scene Capture Type	Standard
Exposure Mode	Manual
Focus Type	Auto
Metering Mode	Evaluative
Sharpness	Unknown
Saturation	Normal
Contrast	Normal
Shooting Mode	Manual
Image Size	Large
Focus Mode	One-Shot
Drive Mode	Single
Flash Mode	Off
Compression Setting	Fine
Macro Mode	Normal
White Balance	Auto
Exposure Compensation	3
Sensor ISO Speed	224
Color Matrix	133

File: IMG_5753.jpg (3MB, 4272x2848px) Image search: [Google]

3MB, 4272x2848px

>>2891006

[EXIF data available. Click here to show/hide.]

Camera-Specific Properties:
Equipment Make	Canon
Camera Model	Canon EOS 1100D
Lens Size	18.00 - 55.00 mm
Firmware Version	Firmware Version 1.0.4
Lens Name	EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 III
Image-Specific Properties:
Image Orientation	Left-Hand, Bottom
Horizontal Resolution	72 dpi
Vertical Resolution	72 dpi
Image Created	2015:10:02 07:17:21
Exposure Time	1/25 sec
F-Number	f/5.6
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO Speed Rating	400
Lens Aperture	f/5.7
Exposure Bias	0 EV
Flash	No Flash, Compulsory
Focal Length	51.00 mm
Color Space Information	sRGB
Image Width	4272
Image Height	2848
Rendering	Normal
Exposure Mode	Manual
Scene Capture Type	Standard
Exposure Mode	Manual
Focus Type	Auto
Metering Mode	Evaluative
Sharpness	Unknown
Saturation	Normal
Contrast	Normal
Shooting Mode	Manual
Image Size	Large
Focus Mode	One-Shot
Drive Mode	Single
Flash Mode	Off
Compression Setting	Fine
Macro Mode	Normal
White Balance	Auto
Exposure Compensation	3
Sensor ISO Speed	224
Color Matrix	133

File: 1421440840623.jpg (1021KB, 800x6937px) Image search: [Google]

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>>2891123
>>2891067
>>2891059
You might want to close down the aperture for wider depth of field, up to f/11-f/16. Also lower the shutter speed and use ISO 100, you can even go long exposure to preserve the low ISO and give a dreamy look with clouds, water and trees movement. For this you will need a tripod and a remote shutter.
Also look up Thomas Heaton and other landscape resources.
Some cheat sheets for you

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>>2891130
2/3

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>>2891132
third one

>>2891130
Thank you very much for the information. I'll have a read through these pictures

>>2891067
>F/3.5 and 1/80s time at 18mm
This isn't about shake, the blur in this image comes from lack of understanding of Depth of Field (DoF)
F/3.5 is a wide aperture, with a very small DoF. You'll notice at 3.5 if you take a picture of your hand, the objects in the background will be blurry.
If you repeat this at F/22, a very small opening in the lens, there's a lot less light, but it's coming in much more straight (since it's not as wide an opening) and the objects behind your target won't be very blurred.

As your picture here is scenery, with like 20+ feet of things worth looking at, you'll need to have a wide depth-of-field so the things in front are in focus and the things in back are also in focus.
To do this you'll need to close down your aperture (Something like F/12-F/22 rather than F/3.5), put the camera on a tripod so you can increase shutter time and then also raise ISO (400 is rather low, 800 is more normal for a dark forest, some cameras can even do 1600 without much degradation)
Increasing ISO without increasing shutter time would add far too much noise, so it wouldn't be better than the current shot.
The compromise will be between how much the water is motion-blurred (a long shutter time will make it look like a cloud rather than detailed time-freeze) versus how noisy the picture is if you use high ISO to combat the bad lighting instead.
For photography, having extra light available is automatically overall superior to less light, because there is nothing you can buy (without using some sort of flash) to do really fast shutter shots in darkness with low-noise.

Whereas you can do super-fast shots in bright light (fast shutter) with low noise, and you can go ISO100 with Neutral Density filters (reduce light) when you need slow shots in bright light.


If you were shooting a portrait rather than a background, you only need a half-a-foot of DoF instead of like 20 feet, so for those you can keep the lens open wider and much more often handhold.

So it's not until >>2891006 we see somebody not recommend manual. Memeual is for tryhards on /p/, not people who actually want photographs.

But then he fucks it up by saying use manual focus. Don't use manual focus. That's for tryhards. Decades of autofocus system development was put into your hands for a reason. If you want to go manual focus manual exposure hipster mode, get a fucking film camera.

>>2890971
It's better to have everyone be a dick. Too much placating and back-patting isn't very useful.

After seeing your other images, I still think your composition is doing really well. You've also done well to find an interesting subject (this forest).

Bring that tripod with you and keep shooting. All of these photos would benefit from a tripod, and it's not like you need to be able to run and gun; the forest isn't going anywhere fast.

Come back and post your next batch. Keep making mistakes so you learn how to avoid them first-hand.

Like the others said your composition is good but you need to understand the physics going on here a little better. I've literally never seen anyone compose this competently and not get the mechanics of it. Good thing is you've already done the hard part the rest is basically gradeschool math.

>>2891297
On a tripod and with live view, you really want to use manual focus for really fine tuning, and if you're setting up hyperfocal, then obviously AF is useless as you're simply focusing the lens to an arbitrary point in space.
Since he'd be using live view anyway, there's no reason not to be in manual shooting mode as well, *especially* if OP wants to try shooting panos, as you don't want exposure to change between shots.
At least try to understand the context of the thread before dumping your cents in.

>>2891006
>use manual focus to eliminate AF issues
this is absolute garbage advice.
If you think a lens has AF issues, buy (or print) a Lens calibration chart, set it up correctly and test your body and your lenses. You can rule out back-focusing or front-focusing on the body and on different lenses, while actually solving the problem, unlike the idiot who goes into a forest and uses manual focus on complex scenes and botches their shots in an environment where the fix isn't definite.

DSLR are not made for manual focusing. Manual focus cameras would use a larger viewfinder with higher magnification.
It is beyond the ability of the human eye to outperform autofocus when using a common DSLR body. The sensor uses phase-detection and very carefully splits beams of light up and detects the difference between where these land to determine if you're front-focusing, back-focusing or spot-on.
The only way for the human eye to not embarass itself while trying to manual focus is if you use a live-view mode and then do 10x digital zoom on the target area so that you're not entirely blind to how much you're missing focus by using manual.
Of course, this requires you to be in live-view, 10x zoom so you can't see the rest of the photo effectively at all for composition and still takes far longer than autofocusing with an ordinary calibrated lens.
This extremely slow manual method can be slightly useful when you're slowly shooting some non-moving product and neither camera or object is moving, if for some reason AF has some hiccup, but it should only be a 1-in-1000 kinda of technique.

>manual focus haters
Stop being such pussies

>>2891375
there's nothing masculine about not understanding technology, that's a feminine thing if anything, So...
>not using autofocus
stop being a pussy and clean your sandy vagina out it's starting to stink up the place