I need advice please!

Bruiser

This may seem like an elementary question but I would appreciate an answer because I need to take pictures tomorrow:

I would like to take a few close up head shots of a recently engaged couple that can be blown up and dry mounted on their wall (as a gift). My question is this: I would love to take the pictures with my 50mm f1.8 lens. The pictures always come out really nice but, because the depth of field is so shallow, I'm always afraid that both faces won't be clear. Is there a way around this problem? What would be my best option (in terms of lenses) for the type of shot I'm looking to take? In addition to my 50mm lens, I have an 18-105vr lens and a 70-300vr lens. Obviously, with the these other two lenses, I can simply use a smaller aperture and the depth of field will be greater. I guess I'm wondering if there is a way to do it with the 50mm. I shoot with a Nikon D90. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

pathfinder

Shoot at f5.6 or f8 with the 50mm f1.8 lens, and you will get more DOF, and, as a prime lens, it will almost certainly be sharper than your zooms.

Scrubs

like pathfinder suggested 5.6 - 8 will be better.

at 1.8 I think It would be a tad difficult to get satisfactory results with two people unless you tell them to stand like statues which might make for quite a rigid shot - as you will know at 1.8 the nose can be in focus and the eyes out..Not saying it can't be done - far from it but really think you will be better of working at a larger F stop number.


If it is the bokeh and blurry background You want you could always use the 300mm and zoom in, slightly different than the bluriness
of a shorter lens as it condenses/flattens the image.

If all else fails you could always resort to a photoshop plug in
like Alien Skin 'Bokeh" http://www.alienskin.com/bokeh/index.aspx

Scrubs

Bruiser wrote:

Obviously, with the these other two lenses, I can simply use a smaller aperture and the depth of field will be greater. I guess I'm wondering if there is a way to do it with the 50mm. I shoot with a Nikon D90. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I think I misunderstood you... Are you saying that your 50mm lens is stuck at f1.8? why can't you change the aperture?

Bruiser

Scrubs wrote:

I think I misunderstood you... Are you saying that your 50mm lens is stuck at f1.8? why can't you change the aperture?

My bad . . . I was under the impression that the 50mm f1.8 lens was designed to shoot at f1.8. I didn't realize it was variable. I remember doing something when I first got the camera and lens where I "locked" the lens at f22. Does that sound familiar? I'm not sure what that did. I just tried going into Aperture Priority Mode and changing aperture to 5.6 (I think). It seems like the shutter speed became ridiculously slow. Any ideas? It's good to know that I can adjust the aperture though.

ChatKat

Nice portraits
A really good general setting for portraits with a 50 mm lens is at 5.6 for two people. Put your camera on AV (Aperture Priority mode) with that lens. Set the camera to take your photo at 5.6 aperture and the shutter speed will set its self. Make sure your background is clear of debris and then it is pleasing and you will probably have a decent photo.

Art Scott

do you have a flash ......if so keep it in av mode and even shoot from f5.6 thru f16 all shluld stay lit except for the background.....remember to shoot several poses and do the same with each.....if you can get the flash off the camera even better other wise quickly make you a light scoop ot diffuse and spread the light to make it more pleasing.
if there is someone to do test shots before the apppintment all the better.

Danspage

I will probably get slammed for this so sorry in advance and please forgive me..bow

Its time- Charge up you battery's get your manual READ it with your camera in your lap. Learn your camera, this is what I do.

Fyi Check your manual to see how to set your min shutter speed for your camera with the flash on.

Fyi Your In camera falsh can not reach more then 10-14 feet at iso 100.

Set your Iso higher so you can use a faster exposure/shutter speed it will also help with your in camera flash..


Hope this helps!

See ya

pathfinder

Tread lightly here, Dan.

Bruiser, in the threads that are always at the top of this forum, is one called ?Moderator's Choice- Best of Technique". There is a lot of very helpful and informative links in there, including this one about aperture - http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=6653

and one about basic photographic theory - http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=12058

Here is an excellent one that will help you understand what to do to raise your shutter speed when the aperture you want to use calls for a longer shutter speed than you want to use - - raise the iso. Here is the link http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=547853&postcount=15

You might even want to start learning how to soot without using a light meter as people did 60-75 years ago. I wrote about that here - http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=30235

Read through these links and I think you will begin to understand the answers to your questions.

If it still does not make sense, come back and we will try to help answer your questions then.

Bruiser

pathfinder wrote:

Tread lightly here, Dan.

Bruiser, in the threads that are always at the top of this forum, is one called ?Moderator's Choice- Best of Technique". There is a lot of very helpful and informative links in there, including this one about aperture - http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=6653

and one about basic photographic theory - http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=12058

Here is an excellent one that will help you understand what to do to raise your shutter speed when the aperture you want to use calls for a longer shutter speed than you want to use - - raise the iso. Here is the link http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=547853&postcount=15

You might even want to start learning how to soot without using a light meter as people did 60-75 years ago. I wrote about that here - http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=30235

Read through these links and I think you will begin to understand the answers to your questions.

If it still does not make sense, come back and we will try to help answer your questions then.

Thanks everyone.

rustic

Bruiser wrote:

I remember doing something when I first got the camera and lens where I "locked" the lens at f22. Does that sound familiar? I'm not sure what that did.

Hi Bruiser,

You're right about locking the lens at f22. The 50mm 1.8 has a manual aperture ring on it that allows you to change the aperture just like you would change the focus in manual focus mode. Most likely your camera wants you to control the aperture via the camera settings, though, not via the lens directly, and for this to happen you need to lock the aperature ring on the lens at f/22. This doesn't actually prevent the aperture from changing, it just allows the camera settings to control it. (At least that's how I understand it... someone please correct me if I'm wrong!)

On my D50, if I move the aperture ring on the lens away from f/22, I get an error on the LCD. Took me a while to figure out what was wrong when I first got it!

Hope that helps, and you should find your lens to be much more enjoyable once you stop it down beyond f/1.8.

ChatKat

To Dan
Hi Dan -

That is good advice. Except the shoot is today. After today, he should read this board and his manual and even take a class or join a camera club where they go shoot and help each other.

Danspage

pathfinder wrote:

Tread lightly here, Dan.

Bruiser, in the threads that are always at the top of this forum, is one called ?Moderator's Choice- Best of Technique". There is a lot of very helpful and informative links in there, including this one about aperture - http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=6653

and one about basic photographic theory - http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=12058

Here is an excellent one that will help you understand what to do to raise your shutter speed when the aperture you want to use calls for a longer shutter speed than you want to use - - raise the iso. Here is the link http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=547853&postcount=15

You might even want to start learning how to soot without using a light meter as people did 60-75 years ago. I wrote about that here - http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=30235

Read through these links and I think you will begin to understand the answers to your questions.

If it still does not make sense, come back and we will try to help answer your questions then.

Thanks Pathfinder for the links.

I have been taking photos since 16and now I am near 50 cry. As you can see I just switched to Canon just 2 weeks ago. So with my fully charged battery I sat, read and played ajusted till I had to recharge. I still need to spend more time on the couch.

I still have to learn the flash. I noticed a new thread about the Canon flash.clap That's the plan today, read and play with the flash.

The Dslr and the new flash systems with remote exposure systems are very complex.

You do not have to master the camera and flash. You do have to be able to get it in to auto.

On a meetup group with ten other nikon users and Swimsuite Models I was Not able to get my used sb800 nikon flash back to TTl. How furstrating it was, I was doing the right thing to reste it to TTl but it would not reset. The problem was that with all the exsitement we rushed and did not hold down the button long enugh (about 3 seconds ). rofl

I did get it to ttl after 30min or so, I just could not seem to take that 3 seconds to hold down the reset buttons.

Anyway I take my owen advice and and try to learn at home before I go out.

Your rseults are worth it.

Flash did fire.. lol

Danspage

rustic wrote:

Hi Bruiser,

You're right about locking the lens at f22. The 50mm 1.8 has a manual aperture ring on it that allows you to change the aperture just like you would change the focus in manual focus mode. Most likely your camera wants you to control the aperture via the camera settings, though, not via the lens directly, and for this to happen you need to lock the aperature ring on the lens at f/22. This doesn't actually prevent the aperture from changing, it just allows the camera settings to control it. (At least that's how I understand it... someone please correct me if I'm wrong!)

On my D50, if I move the aperture ring on the lens away from f/22, I get an error on the LCD. Took me a while to figure out what was wrong when I first got it!

Hope that helps, and you should find your lens to be much more enjoyable once you stop it down beyond f/1.8.

I had this lens and you need to lock the aperature ring on the lens at f/22 it allows the camera settings to control the aperature.

Bruiser

Thanks again for your help everyone. I think it worked well at f5.6. Here are a couple of the shots I took. Let me know what you think.

#1 - I like this except I don't like that his face is partly covering hers.




#2 - I like this one, except that she has a few strands of hair in her face.




#3 - I like this one but, again, her hair is a bit in her eyes.