Nikon D60 Photos

[RobSutton]

Originally Posted by KeenTeen17

Hey Thanks Dave I have noticed that lots of your photos in the Wildflowers section are the sharpness I am after. I'll do a bit of experimenting while I'm out next. I have noticed that using the flash has improved the sharpness on many occasions because it helps in all lighting. Will this effect the outcome of the aperture changing?

I suspect that if flash is making things look sharper then it is because of camera shake when you're not using flash. Try making a note of exactly what shutter speed and aperture you're using for each shot (it'll be stored as exif data) and which ones seem sharp and which don't. Like Dave I often only go to f11 or f16 rather than f22 for maximum sharpness with macro lenses.

Tripods (with a cable release or use the self timer) really do make sense - you can use slower shutter speeds, smaller apertures and lower ISO ratings all of which help with sharpness.

Then sort out how you process each shot, how much resizing, how much sharpening (confusingly it's called "unsharp mask" in things like photoshop elements) you apply to each one and write it down so you can then start to see what works and what doesn't. It can take a while initially but it soon pays dividends and there is absolutely no reason why your D60 shouldn't perform well.

[Hookit]

I have been a pro photographer for over 30 years and I would not recommend shooting at f22. Most lens work better at the middle f stop, i.e if you have a 2.8lens that goes to f22 the optimum aperture is f8. Far too many think stop fully down and everything will be in focus this in part is correct however test your lens using a lens test chart and you will see that at f22 you will lose some edge definition this is the case with the most expensive lenses. Test your lens find the best f stop and try and work using that f stop.
Always were possible use a tripod even when in good light, it gives you time to look at your subject concentrate on composition. Composition starts in the eye then the view finder and then the base board or PC monitor. It is also useful to have white card with you to use as a reflector to fill in those dark unwanted areas without blasting the subject with flash

[squishy]

learn how to unsharp mask it's really not very hard, and you can get software that does it for free. also, like people have said, for ordinary macro work, F/8-11 is often sharper, and gives you enough DoF.

unsharp masking can't make bad photos good, but it really improves sharpness. spend 5 minutes reading a tutorial online, then download GIMP, or something like that and try it. it really is good.

[KeenTeen17]

I have just been to a photography shop to buy some UV filters and I asked him about this problem. He said the way to get photos like this:
and not this
is to use smaller f/2 or f/5.6 with a longer lens. I have been using my 18-55mm for these past few weeks and its not been really useful. I'll use my tripod from now on as well Thanks for everything

[zan]

That's good advice from the guy in the shop, but (as a slight aside from your original post) the difference that stands out most to me between those two shots is the angle of shooting and the background. One of the 'rules' of underwater shooting is to get as low down as you can, and always shoot upwards onto your subject so that you really separate it from the background. It looks like you've done this in a couple of your photos, but it might help you compositionally if you tried getting down to the same level as the plants, and chose your background before the subject. Get that right, and the rest is much easier.

[DZ]

Dont forget the wind. A slight breeze at the wrog moment and all the tripods in the world wont help

[kiff]

Originally Posted by KeenTeen17

I have just been to a photography shop to buy some UV filters and I asked him about this problem. He said the way to get photos like this:
and not this
is to use smaller f/2 or f/5.6 with a longer lens. I have been using my 18-55mm for these past few weeks and its not been really useful. I'll use my tripod from now on as well Thanks for everything

here's two images both taken with the Nikon D60 both hand-held and no sharping or any other ways of cheating to try and getting a better looking photo

using the Nikon 18-55mm Zoom which I think is what your using


using the Tamron 90mm Macro


the Nikon 18-55mm standed zoom that comes with the D60 is ok, but you just can't bet a prime lens

[Maccattack1]

Use your tripod , f16 is ok if you need large dof but as above often f11 is sharper .Maybe use small clamps to stop the flowers waving around - there was a thread about this recently.You may be able to preview your depth of field by shutting down the aperture before taking the picture .Also all the usual ,try to take pictures without touching the camera...

Enjoy taking lots of pictures

Malcolm

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by kiff

no sharping or any other ways of cheating to try and getting a better looking photo

Sharpening is _not_ cheating, but an essential part of digital image processing:

Sharpening -- Part I

(Wish I had a quid for every time I've had to post the above link!)

Jim

[kiff]

Originally Posted by Jim Ford

Sharpening is _not_ cheating, but an essential part of digital image processing:

Sharpening -- Part I

(Wish I had a quid for every time I've had to post the above link!)

Jim

Rubbish it's not essential if you get it right in the first place there is no need for any other editing all these are with default camera setting any form of editing would just make them all look unnatural and false,



most images that have had extra sharpening always have very unnatrual looking black and can even give the impression that the main image has been stuck on to the back ground very unnatural looking
one reason if you enter a decent photographic competition they ask to see the raw image is to see how good your photographic skills really are as they wont to judge your photographic skill not your editing skills