WVBigfooter wrote:
I deleted the one pic & used auto-fix, which is a color correction tool, on the rest. I should say I shot the ones I did this past Saturday at f/4.5 in Aperture Priority mode at ISO 100. The others, I believe, were shot at at f/5.6 in Aperture Priority mode at ISO 100 with white balance set for sunny conditions for the ones of the brunette & at cloudy conditions for this past Saturday. Next time, I'll use AWB

Ok now I see your problem with focus. I would have moved the ISO up to 250 or even 400 and then increased  the f stops by 3, and the shutter speed up by three stops.  You would get stronger images, and sharper ones too. I still suggest auto focus for you.

You really need to get Lightroom for 10 dollars a month. This will help you correct any light and color balance issues.

Risen Phoenix Photo wrote:

Ok now I see your problem with focus. I would have moved the ISO up to 250 or even 400 and then increased  the f stops by 3, and the shutter speed up by three stops.  You would get stronger images, and sharper ones too. I still suggest auto focus for you.

You really need to get Lightroom for 10 dollars a month. This will help you correct any light and color balance issues.

All my life, I've read & been taught/told: 1) You can't trust autofocus & 2) The sharpest aperture is one stop down from wide open. I used autofocus for the ones of the brunette and everyone said they weren't sharp at all. Since I adjusted the focus with the LunaPic site, they look plenty sharp to me. Why pay for programs when there are free resources online? I might pay for Lightroom and find my antivirus won't let me download it. It's extremely picky

WVBigfooter wrote:
Why pay for programs when there are free resources online?

You pay because the free stuff is crap and the Industry standard pay program is 1000x better
I think the OPs problem could be camera shake more than OOF images
OP did school teach Reciprocal focal length rule ?
https://photographylife.com/what-is-rec … hotography
https://www.slrlounge.com/the-reciprocal-rule/

Stop trying to fix bad images...only show the best ones

WVBigfooter wrote:
All my life, I've read & been taught/told: 1) You can't trust autofocus & 2) The sharpest aperture is one stop down from wide open. I used autofocus for the ones of the brunette and everyone said they weren't sharp at all. Since I adjusted the focus with the LunaPic site, they look plenty sharp to me. Why pay for programs when there are free resources online? I might pay for Lightroom and find my antivirus won't let me download it. It's extremely picky

If you're happy with the results (and there's nothing wrong with that) and you choose to rebut any criticism that you receive, exactly what is your reason for repeatedly posting in the Critique thread? What are you hoping to hear or gain?

WVBigfooter wrote:
All my life, I've read & been taught/told: 1) You can't trust autofocus & 2) The sharpest aperture is one stop down from wide open. I used autofocus for the ones of the brunette and everyone said they weren't sharp at all. Since I adjusted the focus with the LunaPic site, they look plenty sharp to me. Why pay for programs when there are free resources online? I might pay for Lightroom and find my antivirus won't let me download it. It's extremely picky

Generally, each lens (type) will have different range of maximum sharpness. The instruction book for the lens typically shows the plot. But as Risen Phoenix wrote, if you are not using a tripod you may need to up the ISO to shorten the shutter speed. For the most part people really can't hold much better than 1/30 second without shake and, again as a general rule, shutter speed should be at least the reciprocal of the focal length to get a sharp image (so for a 500 mm lens a minimum of 1/500 second). But, I guess you already know this. Software sharpening has it's place but - to me - it is for tweaking not major adjustment. Finally, as we get older normal aging means our eyes loose some ability in focusing - well mine do at least. Modern auto-focus can help a lot.
Best, JT

WVBigfooter wrote:
All my life, I've read & been taught/told: 1) You can't trust autofocus & 2) The sharpest aperture is one stop down from wide open. I used autofocus for the ones of the brunette and everyone said they weren't sharp at all. Since I adjusted the focus with the LunaPic site, they look plenty sharp to me. Why pay for programs when there are free resources online? I might pay for Lightroom and find my antivirus won't let me download it. It's extremely picky

Nobody here can force you to do the things you need to do to up your game - all they can do is continue to be generous with their advice even if it feels like they're banging their head against a brick wall.

WVBigfooter wrote:
All my life, I've read & been taught/told . . .

Remember that 50% of all the people are below average.

I've taken the liberty of doing a quick color correction using Elements auto correction:

WVBigfooter wrote:
All my life, I've read & been taught/told: 1) You can't trust autofocus & 2) The sharpest aperture is one stop down from wide open. I used autofocus for the ones of the brunette and everyone said they weren't sharp at all. Since I adjusted the focus with the LunaPic site, they look plenty sharp to me. Why pay for programs when there are free resources online? I might pay for Lightroom and find my antivirus won't let me download it. It's extremely picky

(1) This is the 4th thread that you have started (that I am aware of) asking for critique on essentially the same images. You keep getting lots of good advice but you ignore it. To be honest, it is a little bit surprising to me how patient people are being with you.

I will give you credit for the one new pic where your model is kneeling in the grass and wearing black leather. In this one pic, there is some improvement in the focus and/or motion blur issues that are so obvious in your other images (except for the daisy pic). So that is one positive, although I don't know whether that was just luck or whether you have altered your technique in some way. The other "new" images of that same model looked pretty much like your earlier pics.

(2) You seem to have certain ideas stuck in your head: i.e. "can't trust autofocus" and that you must always stop down one stop on any lens. Also, you have just now....4 threads into this, revealed that you are shooting at ISO100. I asked about that in your first thread. And EXIF info is wiped from your images. So we still don't know what your shutter speeds are.

Something very basic that any photographer needs to understand is that ISO, aperture, and shutter speed are inter-dependent for a given EV value. That means that any change of one of those three parameters requires an offsetting change in one or both of the remaining parameters to maintain a given EV. This is Photography 101. If you optimize for aperture and ISO, shutter speed can suffer. If your shutter speed is too slow, then anything you might gain by using ISO100 or stopping your lens down is more than offset by causing motion blur.

I suspect that you need faster shutter speeds.  This was discussed in your 1st Critique thread. Your camera can probably shoot at ISO400, maybe ISO800,  with no noticeable harm to image quality, especially when we are talking about images destined for the web at 800px wide. You have to try this stuff out...learn your camera/lens. Experiment with various ISO/aperture/shutter speed settings to see which combinations give the best image quality. Get past this ..."everything I've been taught" mentality, because it is not working and it is preventing you from improving.

(3) The guys here trying to help you know what they are talking about. They take nice pictures. They have experience and knowledge. If you want to learn, listen to them instead of trying to defend and justify what you are doing. Because what you are doing is simply not producing good results. Look around at images here on MM. Look through some lists which include lots of different photographers/models  and expose yourself what is possible (here's my list: https://www.modelmayhem.com/list/589834).

(4) Instead of trying to correct problems in editing, it is much, much better to improve photography skills so that original images are as good as you can possibly make them. There are fundamental, significant issues in your existing images. Improve your shooting skills first.

Only so much can be done in software, especially free software. That color correction that you applied really didn't help much (if any). Your brunette/black dress model still has very green looking skin.

(5) The best way to handle white balance is to do a custom setting. I am sure your Canon has this ability. Do you have the User Manual for your Canon? Get some kind of white poster board or cardboard or anything that is close to pure white. When you are at the shoot location, have your model hold the white card next to her face then take your reading from the card (according to the instructions in your manual). That will cost next to nothing and will give far better results than guessing which WB pre-set is appropriate. After you have set a custom WB, be aware of any significant changes in light because that will affect WB. If the light changes a lot, or if you move to a new location, you want to get a new custom WB setting.




Shoot more new pictures. Check your shutter speeds when shooting and experiment with faster speeds...regardless of your fears or preconceived notions regarding ISO or aperture. Allow  EXIF info to remain intact in the images you upload to give more info to anyone who may be kind enough to offer further advice.

Hope this helps. Most of it has already been said...more than once and by more than one person. Improving at photography, or anything, is done one small step at a time, but always begins with the basics. Good luck...

JT Life Photography wrote:

Generally, each lens (type) will have different range of maximum sharpness. The instruction book for the lens typically shows the plot. But as Risen Phoenix wrote, if you are not using a tripod you may need to up the ISO to shorten the shutter speed. For the most part people really can't hold much better than 1/30 second without shake and, again as a general rule, shutter speed should be at least the reciprocal of the focal length to get a sharp image (so for a 500 mm lens a minimum of 1/500 second). But, I guess you already know this. Software sharpening has it's place but - to me - it is for tweaking not major adjustment. Finally, as we get older normal aging means our eyes loose some ability in focusing - well mine do at least. Modern auto-focus can help a lot.
Best, JT

I always use a tripod, but I was having trouble getting the panhead to be exactly vertical

Mark Salo wrote:

Remember that 50% of all the people are below average.

I've taken the liberty of doing a quick color correction using Elements auto correction:

Umm...That's too cool. She looks like smurfette

WVBigfooter wrote:
All my life, I've read & been taught/told: 1) You can't trust autofocus & 2) The sharpest aperture is one stop down from wide open. I used autofocus for the ones of the brunette and everyone said they weren't sharp at all. Since I adjusted the focus with the LunaPic site, they look plenty sharp to me. Why pay for programs when there are free resources online? I might pay for Lightroom and find my antivirus won't let me download it. It's extremely picky

K I M I L Y wrote:
Nobody here can force you to do the things you need to do to up your game - all they can do is continue to be generous with their advice even if it feels like they're banging their head against a brick wall.

I agree KIMILY.

Don't just do what you've been taught or told. Use your own experience and make informed decisions.

My autofocus is good and I trust it. I know because I have used it or a system like it, millions of times. I know my aperture limits based on my camera model, because I calibrated my lens using a chart, and fine-tuned my focus for each lens in my camera body settings. I don't simply shoot using the settings that someone tells me to. But I don't mean to blame your focus problems on your lens. Even the worse rated lens is capable of better sharpness than in some of your images.

LunaPic is not a substitute for getting it right in camera. Why are you letting your antivirus dictate the quality of your images. Download a free trial of Lightroom.

And seriously, listen to the advice you've been given in your forum posts. Many experienced photographers have been telling you the same things over and over, and it's not a joint conspiracy against you. It's just pretty solid advice

.

Mark Salo wrote:
Remember that 50% of all the people are below average.

I've taken the liberty of doing a quick color correction using Elements auto correction:

WVBigfooter wrote:
Umm...That's too cool. She looks like smurfette

That's way closer to natural than the original. You can always warm it up if you want. But at least the model isn't a sickly green.

Umm...this is what I'm taking about. Someone tries to help the OP and he shoots him down.

Why post in critique if you're never going to listen and always have an excuse, contradiction or snarky comment? That's not the way this is supposed to work.

If you're willing to accept help and advice from experienced photographers, you can learn a lot here. But I think that's doubtful at this point.

WVBigfooter wrote:
I always use a tripod, but I was having trouble getting the panhead to be exactly vertical

Then get a head that works. A shot doesn't have to be exactly vertical. Horizons don't actually have to be level in all your shots.

I'm not saying to always shoot at an extreme dutch angle but this isn't some recipe for a shoot that you learned in school. If you want to rotate your image, do a slight rotation adjustment in Lightroom.

Free yourself man! Move around, get some great angles, move in closer. All that movement and energy will make your model feel less stiff and sterile as well. Play some music whenever possible. I hate using tripods or monopods unless I really have to.

WVBigfooter wrote:

Umm...That's too cool. She looks like smurfette

I am going to assume your computer  screen is not color calibrated either.

WVBigfooter wrote:
Umm...That's too cool. She looks like smurfette

A-M-P wrote:
I am going to assume your computer  screen is not color calibrated either.

Good point. Blue ≠ Green.

WVBigfooter wrote:
I deleted the one pic & used auto-fix, which is a color correction tool, on the rest. I should say I shot the ones I did this past Saturday at f/4.5 in Aperture Priority mode at ISO 100. The others, I believe, were shot at at f/5.6 in Aperture Priority mode at ISO 100 with white balance set for sunny conditions for the ones of the brunette & at cloudy conditions for this past Saturday. Next time, I'll use AWB

I don't think AWB is going to help you.  When shooting among a mass of greenery (trees, grass, bushes, etc.) all of the reflected light is green.  When you place your model in the shade they are lit with reflected light.  Hence your model's skin looks green.

Use custom white balance when you're reflecting colored light (green) onto your model - or better yet, take the time/care to pose and light your model so that your primary light source is not green.

ChadAlan wrote:

WVBigfooter wrote:
All my life, I've read & been taught/told: 1) You can't trust autofocus & 2) The sharpest aperture is one stop down from wide open. I used autofocus for the ones of the brunette and everyone said they weren't sharp at all. Since I adjusted the focus with the LunaPic site, they look plenty sharp to me. Why pay for programs when there are free resources online? I might pay for Lightroom and find my antivirus won't let me download it. It's extremely picky

I agree KIMILY.

Don't just do what you've been taught or told. Use your own experience and make informed decisions.

My autofocus is good and I trust it. I know because I have used it or a system like it, millions of times. I know my aperture limits based on my camera model, because I calibrated my lens using a chart, and fine-tuned my focus for each lens in my camera body settings. I don't simply shoot using the settings that someone tells me to. But I don't mean to blame your focus problems on your lens. Even the worse rated lens is capable of better sharpness than in some of your images.

LunaPic is not a substitute for getting it right in camera. Why are you letting your antivirus dictate the quality of your images. Download a free trial of Lightroom.

And seriously, listen to the advice you've been given in your forum posts. Many experienced photographers have been telling you the same things over and over, and it's not a joint conspiracy against you. It's just pretty solid advice

.

Thank you for your advice.l I let my antivirus dictate what I download because if you don't, you're wasting your money on it

WVBigfooter wrote:
Thank you for your advice.l I let my antivirus dictate what I download because if you don't, you're wasting your money on it

Thats silly
Lightroom is not a virus
Turnoff AV and download the program

Brooklyn Bridge Images wrote:
Thats silly
Lightroom is not a virus
Turnoff AV and download the program

I just tried to download the free trial from adobe.com and almost got a ransomware. I had to restart my pc. I got one of those messages saying my pc had been locked and I needed to call a certain phone number to get it unlocked. If you click on "Ok" in that message, you're screwed. It's usually not the program that's infected. It's the site itself. I had a problem with Skype & decided to allow a Microsoft tech to try to fix it remotely. I saw him ignore a warning from my AV about a certain website it had warned me about several times in the past and I ended up paying the Geek Squad $127 to fix my pc

A-M-P wrote:
I am going to assume your computer  screen is not color calibrated either.

My monitor is set according to the instruction manual. I just adjusted all of the pics with Adobe Photoshop Express

WVBigfooter wrote:

My monitor is set according to the instruction manual. I just adjusted all of the pics with Adobe Photoshop Express

http://spyder.datacolor.com/portfolio-view/spyder5pro/


After you properly calibrate your monitor you will be shocked by what your images actually look like.

IllustrativeArts wrote:
...but once the dust settles your work emerges from the ash like fallen angels from heaven.

That was beautiful. I cried a little.

Brooklyn Bridge Images wrote:
Im not buying that story but here is the solution
Buy the box version
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ … nload.html

Don't call me a liar! Try it for yourself if you don't believe me

WVBigfooter wrote:

Don't call me a liar! Try it for yourself if you don't believe me

Go to Best Buy and get a box copy. No excuses

Risen Phoenix Photo wrote:

Go to Best Buy and get a box copy. No excuses

You can't get a free trial that way and it's expensive

WVBigfooter wrote:

Don't call me a liar! Try it for yourself if you don't believe me

Well, if not a liar then probably very mistaken. Adobe is a reputable company where tens of thousands and probably hundreds of thousands of people have downloaded their software. If their site was compromised it would be front page news, and if you were getting hit with malware it was almost certainly coming from a site you had open on another tab, or from some other source than Adobe. Now, Adobe Flash had a vulnerability that made it open to a ransomeware attack, however there was an emergency patch for that back in April. If you haven't updated your Flash player that could be the problem. But I am 100% certain it was not ransomeware coming FROM Adobe.

Also, AFAIK Microsoft never takes responsibility or tries to fix problems when the issue is with third party software such as Skype. A common scam is bogus technicians claiming to be from Microsoft so it is possible you were not actually working with a Microsoft tech, and you may have a screwed up computer.

On the photography front, if you are using a tripod as you say, make sure you have any image stabilization turned OFF, as that can actually cause shake and blur.

roger alan wrote:
But as he has shown very little cognizance of those problems, even when they are pointed out to him, how much good could come from having a better editing tool? IMHO, not much.

I agree - getting an editing app in the blind hope that it will fix the underlying photography problems is not the way to go.

The only way to educate someone with such a dogmatic mindset is face-to-face IMO. Show by example what might be achieved and how. Drum it in until it sticks. If his attitude was less defensive and his beliefs less entrenched then someone local would have been more than happy to share his experience for nothing more than the price of a beer I reckon.

You know, I'm toying with the notion that the only reason he's here is to entice models into the forest so he can use them as bait for Bigfoot. Catch what happens to the poor model on camera so he gets his 15 minutes of fame on the evening news. Motion blur and OOF de-rigueur. Or am I bonkers too...