The Official Photography Thread - Vol. 3

[kdawg]

When shooting scenery/landscapes, how do you decide which focal length to shoot at? And also what to focus on?
Sorry for all the questions today, just a lot coming to mind

It all sort of depends on what you are shooting and how far or close you are. You can shoot landscapes from a far using zooms but I would say majority like to shoot wide and be up close. You can always shoot panoramic as well if you don't have the right lens to cover your landscape. A tripod is an absolute must imo. As far as subject matter, that also depends on what you are shooting. There are times where you might be so close to your foreground that you might not be able to get everything sharp in focus with the foreground and background and even at a smaller aperture like f/22. That is where you focus stack where you take a pic of the foreground and background in 2 separate pictures and blend them in as one.

Usually the rule of thumb though is to shoot with lowest ISO and at about f/12-f/22 to get everything in focus. Of course if there is no light, you will have to change your setting accordingly. Also your settings depend on if you want to do a long exposure or a freeze frame. There are a lot of variables to landscapes but once you shoot all types of things, it gets easy. For example, star photos is usually shooting with your f-stop really open with your ISO at 3200 where as say shooting a waterfall is a low ISO with a more closed f-stop.

Sorry, I disagree with some of that.

Lowest ISO is definitely right - but I don't agree with the f-stop. If you're at the smaller end you'll get so much diffraction that it will ruin the sharpness. You will get better results from most lenses at around f/8-f/10.

I wouldn't focus stack either unless it's super critical - hyperfocal focus will give almost the same result with one exposure - the whole point of that is that everything will be sharp enough that it doesn't matter (as there are limits on what matters even for big prints).

Beyond that choosing the focal length is generally about what you want to fit in the scene - but a little about how you want it to look too. I've got a picture I've been looking at recently which is nicely composed, well exposed and perfectly sharp throughout the scene - but it bothers me and I think it's because if I'd been further back with a longer lens it would have compressed the scene giving a nicer effect. A longer lens compresses the distances so they don't look so far apart - it's a bit unusual but longer lens landscapes can be interesting.

The other advantage of hyperfocal focus is that it simplifies the process. My favorite landscape lens is usually my 17-50 and at f/8 for 17mm the hyperfocal distance is 2m - so I can leave it set at that all day and all I have to do is adjust the shutter to allow for the light conditions. I can go out all day and not adjust it.

 

[bjamez20]

Beyond that choosing the focal length is generally about what you want to fit in the scene - but a little about how you want it to look too. I've got a picture I've been looking at recently which is nicely composed, well exposed and perfectly sharp throughout the scene - but it bothers me and I think it's because if I'd been further back with a longer lens it would have compressed the scene giving a nicer effect. A longer lens compresses the distances so they don't look so far apart - it's a. It unusual but longer lens landscapes can be interesting.

Took me a long time to warm up to this idea. I used to shoot damn near all my landscapes as wide as possible. Now I'm finding myself using longer focal lengths a lot to compress the scene.

Here's basically the same scene shot at 15mm, 35mm, and 225mm (all full frame equiv. focal lengths). The 225mm shot is by far my favorite, but a couple years ago I wouldn't have even thought to try it out. This is also why I ignore people who say to shoot with a prime and just zoom with your feet.

 

[kdawg]

^ great example.

 

[Fong$tarr]

^^^^Yeah....you are right. I guess there is stuff I even need to try. It's hard to say what setting is used for landscapes since there are so many different ways to do it. The more you shoot the more you know I guess.



And yes, the road shots always look good compressed. I found that out the long way and always thought it was shot wide but shooting at 50mm to 85mm on a road compresses it more where the foreground and background are shown.

 

[jodeva89]

bjamez20 that's a really helpful and informative comparison. thanks for sharing that, repped. i recently purchased the nikon 85 1.8 and the jump from 50 (was my longest length prior) really makes a difference and was cool to see. so much to learn and navigate within the hobby. will try to share some stuff and get some critique but been way too busy recently.

 

[yanky]

Nice way to show the focal length differences up there!

For the longest time I couldn't figure out why my clone stamp tool wasn't working only to realize I had the mode changed to hue and not normal lol

Sinister by Mayank4585, on Flickr

 

[dragicon]

A few from Hong Kong... Didn't get much time to use the camera when I was there for 2 days.

 

[remy]

 
Thanks @Remy, just followed you back but I'm kinda afraid I'm gonna end up with a closet full of NBs now 

lol that's not a bad thing

Also the road shots are very helpful. I have a longer lens that I think I'm going to play with this weekend and see what I can manage.

 

[remy]

@dragicon  that orange subway shot is awesome!

Seems like other countries have such incredible subways while US just has grimy ones 

 

[iamdef]

Nice way to show the focal length differences up there!

For the longest time I couldn't figure out why my clone stamp tool wasn't working only to realize I had the mode changed to hue and not normal lol



Sinister by Mayank4585, on Flickr

Ever thought about using/getting a flash?

 

[dvsonm]

So I read about the new Sigma art lenses for Sony and my question is, will I need an adapter for those lenses? Or are they FE lenses? I got a a7 btw

 

[Fong$tarr]

^^^^They should be meant for the Sony mirrorless line. I can't imagine they would make it for their Alpha series. I doubt you need an adapter.

 

[whatscomplex]

Pretty sure they are for Canon/Nikon mounts. Sigma hasn't started making lenses for the Sony FE mount yet as far as I know.

I just got A7R2 last night. Only lens I have right now is the Sigma 35mm art adapted with the MC-11. It is uncomfortable af honestly. The new Sigma Art's are listed as almost double the weight of the 35mm art, so I can't imagine how uncomfortable the new ones would be. With the adapter, those lenses would be around the same weight as a 70-200 Sony GM lens or 70-200 Canon 2.8L. Imagine lugging that around as a regular lens.

The 35mm art was fine on my 70d, and the adapter itself doesn't add much weight, but I think it's the combination of worse ergonomics on the Sony camera and bad weight balance that makes it a strain on my hand and neck. Was planning on buying the 14mm Sigma but I think I'll have to go another route.

 

[Fong$tarr]

^^^^You're right. I thought I saw the new Art lenses on a Sony but it does have an adapter.

 

[whatscomplex]

^^^^You're right. I thought I saw the new Art lenses on a Sony but it does have an adapter.

The sigma adapter is suppose to be really good too. Haven't tested it personally yet but I heard sonys eye af and stuff works. Also heard that an adapted sigma 85 auto focuses faster than the 85 Sony gmaster. I would just be conscious of the weight when considering an already very heavy art lens + adapter on a smaller mirror less body.

 

[yanky]

Nice way to show the focal length differences up there!


For the longest time I couldn't figure out why my clone stamp tool wasn't working only to realize I had the mode changed to hue and not normal lol

Ever thought about using/getting a flash?

Yup I have thought about getting a yongnuo speedlite but just have been putting it off for a while. I don't really shoot at night unless it's long exposure so I wouldn't get much use out of it.

 

[jodeva89]

a few from my first foray into portraiture. i bought an 85 thanks to the feedback and responses about a week ago and tried it out over the weekend. been busy recently, a good and challenging busy, but havent been able to post and keep up with my personal blog and site which kinda sucks. not too proud to never ask for help so any feedback or constructive criticism is really appreciated. portraits are really new to me so working and trying to stay aware of everything was really overwhelming. i was honestly mentally tired after it was all said and done lol, but felt like i was able to learn a lot just from the experience which was what i was really aiming for.

 

[mylesp]

I forget who asked me to do a video on it, but i put up my 17th video today and its on the tone curve.

Teach Me How to lightroom - 017 - How to Master the Tone Curve

I did thanks! Will Watch!

 

[gwap]

 

[Fong$tarr]

a few from my first foray into portraiture. i bought an 85 thanks to the feedback and responses about a week ago and tried it out over the weekend. been busy recently, a good and challenging busy, but havent been able to post and keep up with my personal blog and site which kinda sucks. not too proud to never ask for help so any feedback or constructive criticism is really appreciated. portraits are really new to me so working and trying to stay aware of everything was really overwhelming. i was honestly mentally tired after it was all said and done lol, but felt like i was able to learn a lot just from the experience which was what i was really aiming for.

Nice! Which one did you get?

 

[jodeva89]

Nice! Which one did you get?

i got the nikon 85 1.8. It was less than $390 USD here in shanghai after conversion and for 1,000 less than the 1.4, i felt like it is more than capable for me at this point in time. so far, so good lol

 

[brandont]

i got the nikon 85 1.8. It was less than $390 USD here in shanghai after conversion and for 1,000 less than the 1.4, i felt like it is more than capable for me at this point in time. so far, so good lol

Amazing work! I'm on the fence right now about picking up an 85mm 1.8. Do you see yourself using it a lot outside of portrait work? 

 

[dragicon]

i got the nikon 85 1.8. It was less than $390 USD here in shanghai after conversion and for 1,000 less than the 1.4, i felt like it is more than capable for me at this point in time. so far, so good lol

Amazing work! I'm on the fence right now about picking up an 85mm 1.8. Do you see yourself using it a lot outside of portrait work? 

I use my 85 1.4, 150 2.8, and 80-400 all for portraits. The 85 is a very nice focal length for portraits, especially outside.

 

[iamdef]

Yup I have thought about getting a yongnuo speedlite but just have been putting it off for a while. I don't really shoot at night unless it's long exposure so I wouldn't get much use out of it.

You'd be surprised. Like that last pic all I can see is the detail that is just out of reach because of the sun's position and if you had a flash we'd get a bunch more to gawk at of the front of that Lambo and the buggy next to it which looks so lovely

 

[djyoung08]

YOOOOOO!!! I can't believe its already been 1 month of doing Lightroom tutorial youtube videos.

Today I uploaded episode number 20 and it goes over my editing workflow on a broad and basic level.

It would be dope if y'all checked it out.

Teach Me How to Lightroom - 020 - My Basic Editing Workflow