My Garden Gnome (not everyone likes them!)

mumof2

Think this is the best I will achieve with the tokina lens 12 - 24 f4
however must try with the kit lens and see what happens.

(Trying to get blurred background - bokeh to be precise...):D

dazftw

No picture my friend.

Just looking on your flickr. If you want to get bokeh, you need to stop down as far as you can get maybe down to F1.8 or lower. You have F4.0 there which is ok for a blurred background but not for bokeh. Also it helps to have some sort of light source in the background.. Street lights or even a lamp? The further away the better.

mumof2

dazftw wrote: »

No picture my friend.

Just looking on your flickr. If you want to get bokeh, you need to stop down as far as you can get maybe down to F1.8 or lower. You have F4.0 there which is ok for a blurred background but not for bokeh. Also it helps to have some sort of light source in the background.. Street lights or even a lamp? The further away the better.

Did I forget to put up the picture?? I was tired, but I did copy link from flickr - maybe forgot to paste....

Thanks @ Mod:o

Ok, as for the bokeh, I understand. Im only messing with this lens to get in practice, and my aperature only goes to F4 on this lens.

Am going to try with the kit lens too.

Another question - with the nifty fifty f1.8 will I still need to have my subject alot further away from the background to get the soft bokeh, or can I just use the lens focus to achieve that within a gathering of flowers?

Im off with the camera again today. Hope it stays bright:D

Thanks

Rachel_Barmer

That's a great picture!

Makes me feel like I want a gnome in my garden now

mumof2

Rachel_Barmer wrote: »

That's a great picture!

Makes me feel like I want a gnome in my garden now

He's the only one I have as Im not even keen on them myself. I needed something moveable to practice getting soft background images, but my lens isn't good enough. Not blaming the gnome:D, but I couldn't move the daffodils further away from eachother, and didn't want to pick them:rolleyes:

FoxT

Nice shot! Well lit, well exposed, and the blurred background helps the gnome stand out. f /1.8 will blur the background even more. It also helps to try go for a plainer b/g as well, like a sheet of paper or card. Well worth experimenting with the lens you have..

- FoxT

Mountainsandh

Well done Mumof2, you're starting to achieve what you set out to achieve, and get the shots you want, or close enough... after a while you will get to know your lenses and what they can do in what conditions. I love the backgrounds I can get with my 1.8 50mm, although the lens itself is a super cheap one from Ebay, and a wreck with dust/fungus, I can have great fun with it !
I like the way my Heaton's bathmat came out in this one's background, and the yellow are a set of useless Nylon table hand towels...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38994151@N03/5541048157/
I like imagining what background I want, it's fun ! Handy to avoid showing the mess in a place too :cool:.

mumof2

Mountainsandh wrote: »

Well done Mumof2, you're starting to achieve what you set out to achieve, and get the shots you want, or close enough... after a while you will get to know your lenses and what they can do in what conditions. I love the backgrounds I can get with my 1.8 50mm, although the lens itself is a super cheap one from Ebay, and a wreck with dust/fungus, I can have great fun with it !
I like the way my Heaton's bathmat came out in this one's background, and the yellow are a set of useless Nylon table hand towels...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38994151@N03/5541048157/
I like imagining what background I want, it's fun ! Handy to avoid showing the mess in a place too :cool:.

Thanks! I will get the f1.8 and try it out for that price and see if I can do better than above. Do you think it would work with flowers? Im going to search online for pictures taken with a nifty fifty 1.8, to see what can be achieved.

Mountainsandh

Yes Mumof2, it will work with anything, thing is though, if you're shooting outside, it will be brighter, and so with a really wide aperture like 1.8, to achieve the blurry background, you will want to have your Iso less "reactive", so maybe iso 100 or less if your camera goes lower, and a fast shutter speed. Otherwise you're letting too much light in (because your aperture is wide open), and your photo will be too bright, see what I mean ?
As far as I'm concerned, I love it actually when I can have a faster shutter speed, because I rarely use a tripod, and am quite shakey taking pics, so my photos are often a bit soft, I'd love to have them really sharp.
Actually, the faster shutter speed will be better in case there was a little breeze for example. But you can't choose what distance the "backing flowers" will be to the foreground flowers, so you will have to select different locations and viewpoints to find ones that work for you.
And remember that sometimes if it won't focus on the foreground flower, that's simply because you're too close to it.
Looking forward to seeing your pics now
edit : look, found nice flower nifty fifty shots here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gr8fl89/3387692932/

mumof2

Mountainsandh wrote: »

Yes Mumof2, it will work with anything, thing is though, if you're shooting outside, it will be brighter, and so with a really wide aperture like 1.8, to achieve the blurry background, you will want to have your Iso less "reactive", so maybe iso 100 or less if your camera goes lower, and a fast shutter speed. Otherwise you're letting too much light in (because your aperture is wide open), and your photo will be too bright, see what I mean ?
As far as I'm concerned, I love it actually when I can have a faster shutter speed, because I rarely use a tripod, and am quite shakey taking pics, so my photos are often a bit soft, I'd love to have them really sharp.
Actually, the faster shutter speed will be better in case there was a little breeze for example. But you can't choose what distance the "backing flowers" will be to the foreground flowers, so you will have to select different locations and viewpoints to find ones that work for you.
And remember that sometimes if it won't focus on the foreground flower, that's simply because you're too close to it.
Looking forward to seeing your pics now
edit : look, found nice flower nifty fifty shots here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gr8fl89/3387692932/

Thanks so much for your advice - it really makes sense now and these are the results!!


red beauty by Just Imagine..., on Flickr


1st attempt by Just Imagine..., on Flickr


red beauty by Just Imagine..., on Flickr


floating? by Just Imagine..., on Flickr

None of these have been edited or processed (I know they can do with cropping as well but right now im happy ive managed to achieve what I wanted)!