I've never been a fan of parties, but I have come to hate them as a photographer. I was asked recently to take photos at three parties this week, or as we call them in Milan, aperitivi. I went to one two nights ago and took pictures with a Lumix GF1 camera. This was just a trial run since I wasn't asked to take pictures at this aperitivo. I wanted to use my small camera because I felt it would be less intrusive.
The results with the Lumix were disastrous. Many of the photos were blurry because the bar was too dark and people too animated--this is Italy, after all. After a while, I switched the ISO to a higher, more sensitive setting. That solved the blur problem, but when I got home and loaded them on my computer with its larger monitor, I saw that the shots were very grainy, or rather loaded with noise. The Lumix camera with its lens are pretty pricey. I've been actively taking pictures for several years now and have studied the topic extensively. It's pretty frustrating and embarrassing when my images aren't as good as ones taken by people at the party with their telephone.
Last night I went to the first aperitivo of three in which I've been asked to take pictures. I didn't use the Lumix this time: it probably could work, but I didn't want to experiment. I took a safer route and used my Canon 5D, Mark II with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L lens. I had to endure several people commenting on my supposedly big camera, but the results were much better and not so embarrassing. However, I am still not pleased with the shots I took.
Looking over my photos, I think I see where I went wrong in a few ways. However, I'd like to confirm my assessment with y'all before tonight when the second aperitivo takes place.
I have many shots which did not come out well, but I'll just show a couple of the better ones here. This first shot is of a friend of mine, the local U.S. consulate (in the middle), and an Italian politician (on the right). The camera locked in on the chin of the politician. It's in focus, but the consulate isn't even though he's fairly in line and parallel to each other.
The aperture is set to f/8; the shutter speed is at 1/10 of a second; and the ISO is at 2500. My Lumix was grainy above 400, so I'm reaping the benefits of a better camera here. With the aperture at f/8, I thought that I would have had a deep enough of a depth of field to have all three of these guys in focus. I'm thinking that if I would set my ISO higher, I could have a shorter shutter time and the subjects wouldn't be so blurry. But I'm concerned that I'll start having problems with noise.
In this shot, I focused on you the young man's face, but at the last moment the focus point switched to his neck and his chest. So the sweater is in focus, but he and his girlfriend are not very clear. In this one, the aperture is set to f/8, the shutter to 1/13 of a second, and the ISO is at 2500. Again, would a higher ISO make this a clearer shot? Do I also need more depth of field and should have set the aperture to f/16 maybe?
Another idea I have to tweak my results is to use a different lens. I own a Zeiss Distagon f/2.8 21mm ZE lens. It would certainly work better when taking shots of more people at a party. It takes excellent pictures, but it's a manual focus lens. I'm wondering if that's going to make all of my shots out of focus since I'm dealing with moving targets.
So, what do y'all think? What can I do to take better pictures tonight, given my equipment and all? I'd appreciate any suggestions on improving my abilities and fast. Thanks in advance.
The results with the Lumix were disastrous. Many of the photos were blurry because the bar was too dark and people too animated--this is Italy, after all. After a while, I switched the ISO to a higher, more sensitive setting. That solved the blur problem, but when I got home and loaded them on my computer with its larger monitor, I saw that the shots were very grainy, or rather loaded with noise. The Lumix camera with its lens are pretty pricey. I've been actively taking pictures for several years now and have studied the topic extensively. It's pretty frustrating and embarrassing when my images aren't as good as ones taken by people at the party with their telephone.
Last night I went to the first aperitivo of three in which I've been asked to take pictures. I didn't use the Lumix this time: it probably could work, but I didn't want to experiment. I took a safer route and used my Canon 5D, Mark II with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L lens. I had to endure several people commenting on my supposedly big camera, but the results were much better and not so embarrassing. However, I am still not pleased with the shots I took.
Looking over my photos, I think I see where I went wrong in a few ways. However, I'd like to confirm my assessment with y'all before tonight when the second aperitivo takes place.
I have many shots which did not come out well, but I'll just show a couple of the better ones here. This first shot is of a friend of mine, the local U.S. consulate (in the middle), and an Italian politician (on the right). The camera locked in on the chin of the politician. It's in focus, but the consulate isn't even though he's fairly in line and parallel to each other.
The aperture is set to f/8; the shutter speed is at 1/10 of a second; and the ISO is at 2500. My Lumix was grainy above 400, so I'm reaping the benefits of a better camera here. With the aperture at f/8, I thought that I would have had a deep enough of a depth of field to have all three of these guys in focus. I'm thinking that if I would set my ISO higher, I could have a shorter shutter time and the subjects wouldn't be so blurry. But I'm concerned that I'll start having problems with noise.
In this shot, I focused on you the young man's face, but at the last moment the focus point switched to his neck and his chest. So the sweater is in focus, but he and his girlfriend are not very clear. In this one, the aperture is set to f/8, the shutter to 1/13 of a second, and the ISO is at 2500. Again, would a higher ISO make this a clearer shot? Do I also need more depth of field and should have set the aperture to f/16 maybe?
Another idea I have to tweak my results is to use a different lens. I own a Zeiss Distagon f/2.8 21mm ZE lens. It would certainly work better when taking shots of more people at a party. It takes excellent pictures, but it's a manual focus lens. I'm wondering if that's going to make all of my shots out of focus since I'm dealing with moving targets.
So, what do y'all think? What can I do to take better pictures tonight, given my equipment and all? I'd appreciate any suggestions on improving my abilities and fast. Thanks in advance.
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