chaffinch photo???

[jjdevon]

hi all, i hope this photo uploads ok. (not done this part before) i took this photo in my garden, and i am fairly happy with it ( i am not as good as you) i wondered if you good give me some advice on how i might take another photo from the same possition but maybe change the composition?? and also i look at many other photos of birds on here and they all seem so much sharper than this, how can i achive this? is it mainly software editing? or should i play with the settings on my camera? i took the photo using my canon eos350d bigma lens (which many of you advised me to get a while back, which i am v.happy with thank you.) with factory settings.

thank you
jason

[Olly]

Hi,

I'm not a Canon user so couldn't recommend settings but would like to make a couple of points.

The focus seems to be on the left side of the feeder which is why the chaffinch appears a bit soft. All the advice I've had has said to always try and get the eye in as the main point of focus.

Compositionally the only comment I could make is that the background is a bit busy. It might be worth seeing if you can get a slightly more uniform colour behind the bird as I'm guessing the feeder is too close to the hedge behind for the background to be blurred.

Only my opinions and I'm sure others can give more sound advice.

Olly

[matt_xyz]

to improve sharpness and detail you want to be as close to the bird as possible, using a reasonably fast shutter speed and ideally using a tripod or some other means of support.

In terms of composition, as Olly says the problem at the moment is that the feeder is too close to the background so the background is also in focus. Try to separate the two, with as much distance between them as possible. Also, you might want to try to use a branch as a perch, perhaps next to the feeders so that birds will hop onto the perch before using the feeders. If you can find a dead branch from somewhere you can maybe fix it in place somehow.

Matt

[jjdevon]

thanks olly & matt, yes the background is a little close to the feeder, i will have to see if i can move the feeder a little, and i will look at fixing a branch next to the feeder.
thanks guys
jason

[glsammy]

Have you applied any sharpening in software, or have you got the camera set with any sharpening set in the options? Canons tend to produce "soft" images straight from the camera, I always apply sharpening when I'm processing the image. I prefer to have all the camera options set to 0, and apply any adjustments myself later.

[Roy C]

At first I thought the focus point looked to be on the feeder and not the bird but I see you are using the centre focus point only and focus is on the bird so there is no problem there.
I see that the shutter speed is only 1/60 sec and the ISO is 100, you will do a lot better but upping the shutter speed by using say a ISO of 400 (or even ISO 800 if needs be) Also I see you are using Pattern metering, try Partial which covers 9% of the centre of the frame, focus with the bird in the centre and then recompose as you want.

[jjdevon]

Originally Posted by glsammy

Have you applied any sharpening in software, or have you got the camera set with any sharpening set in the options? Canons tend to produce "soft" images straight from the camera, I always apply sharpening when I'm processing the image. I prefer to have all the camera options set to 0, and apply any adjustments myself later.

hi graham, this is the picture straight from the camera, camera options were all set to 0, maybe i will try to learn how to use photoshop elements as i have this on my pc.

thanks
jason

[jjdevon]

Originally Posted by Roy C

At first I thought the focus point looked to be on the feeder and not the bird but I see you are using the centre focus point only and focus is on the bird so there is no problem there.
I see that the shutter speed is only 1/60 sec and the ISO is 100, you will do a lot better but upping the shutter speed by using say a ISO of 400 (or even ISO 800 if needs be) Also I see you are using Pattern metering, try Partial which covers 9% of the centre of the frame, focus with the bird in the centre and then recompose as you want.

ok, thanks roy

jason

[jennyb]

This is all very useful information since I am trying to figure out how to take sharper images too.

I have taken all these points on board, but one further question (slight diversification, sorry) - I take all my bird photos through the window (double glazed). How much will that affect the sharpness of my images?

Jenny

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by jjdevon

hi graham, this is the picture straight from the camera, camera options were all set to 0, maybe i will try to learn how to use photoshop elements as i have this on my pc.

thanks
jason

You really should Jason. Your images will leap out at you after applying the correct adjustments. My shots are all pretty lifeless straight out of the camera. It's amazing how much you can change them to really bring out the detail.
Firstly you should check the levels, and adjust the shadows/highlights. I find this one of the best tools to help bring out the detail in the shadows, whilst also being able to retain the highlight detail.
I'd recommend you do all those adjustments first, and sharpen as the very last job you do on the image.