Close Ups

Message

Rockhopper · #1 Post by **Rockhopper** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 4:02 am

I find it difficult o get good close ups.....do I zoom in or do I get the camera in closer ? what are the best settings for close ups ?

I have a Fuji FinePix S5600......its meant to be easy, I dont find it that easy...so much so that I have become something of an expert in the use of Photoshop to make my pictures presentable :oops:

99% of the pictures I take are of fishing tackle, it can be very difficult on some of the items.

Any help is appreciated :wink:

Tom.

#2 Post by **Seancelt** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 8:58 am

Hi Rockhopper,
To take good close-up pics you would be better off shooting in Macro mode.
On the camera set the Mode dial to AUTO. On the Menu on the back of the camera is a symbol that looks like a flower press the arrow next to the flower. A flower will display on the screen. You are now in Macro mode. To come out of Macro press the arrow again.
If you want to take very detailed shots with a flash you should use a tripod.
I hope this helps.
Derek

Rockhopper · #3 Post by **Rockhopper** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 9:10 am

Derek,

I use a tripod 99% of the time....I also use the macro setting sometimes, I find my biggest two glitches are blur or bad lighting. Mind you my biggest problem is with items that give off lots of glare.

My problem with the macro is.....I dont know when or why to use it.

I alway use the 2 second timer to, so as to stop and hand judder.

Tom.

#4 Post by **beachcaster** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 9:58 am

you sure you took the end cap of the lens tom??????lol john

Rockhopper · #5 Post by **Rockhopper** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 10:43 am

beachcaster wrote:you sure you took the end cap of the lens tom??????lol john

Just because your not well, dont think I wont beat you up :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

How ya feeling anyways......I see your humour is coming back :)

Tom.

#6 Post by **Seancelt** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 10:59 am

Tom,
I use Macro for detail shots, small objects and close up shots, i.e. flowers. Depending on what I'm photographing I could be as close as 12" from the object and rarely further than 36". If you are having problems with flaring you could try shooting in natural light or at a slight angle ( I know this can be hard with a metal or irregular shaped object).
There are some articles here that you might be able to make use of some of the tips. this one deals mainly with macro shots of flowers but you might be able to adapt it.
http://www.ritzcamera.com/static/articl ... photo.html
A few more that you might find interesting;
http://www.ritzcamera.com/static/articles/index.html
Enjoy,
Derek

#7 Post by **Ronald** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:31 am

Hi Tom ,you could try getting a set of macro lens ,normally a few quid on ebay ,they screw into the filter threads on the end of your camera lens ,basically a magnifying glass usually a set of 3-4 that all screw into each other that'll give a total of 10x magnification with variations depending on the ones used .. They're handy because you can set your tripod a bit further away letting more light onto your subject .
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/52mm-Close-Up-Fil ... dZViewItem
check your filter size ,but i think these are the right size .

#8 Post by **MAC** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:32 am

Hey Tom,

Sorry I haven't been able to get over to you on this one... Working about 18 hours a day at the moment....

Natural Light will help a lot. Get a roll of white paper or cloth and use this as a background. This will reflect light really well for you. If Daylight is not an option, you can try to use 1 or two lamps with phillips daylight bulbs. Place one on each side of the object to be photographed.

If you have some manual settings set you appature to between F8 & F12. F8 should be possible on the 5600. With these settings get yourself about 4-6 feet away from the subject and use the Zoom. Also try not to use the zoom and just crop the pitcute you will get better sharpness. Oh yeah... use the flash as well to fill in the light on the front of the object. Try adjusting the flash level until the light is good.

If you are still getting shadows, try using some reflector cards (white cardboard) at the side where you are getting low light or shadow. This will bounce light back onto the subject.

Kev

#9 Post by **beachcaster** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:54 am

comeing round a bit tom these tabs are great stuff,happy christmas to you and the family!!!cheers john

Rockhopper · #10 Post by **Rockhopper** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 2:10 pm

Guys,

Thanks for the suggestions and info.....I will be reading up on it all.

beachcaster wrote:comeing round a bit tom these tabs are great stuff,happy christmas to you and the family!!!cheers john

John,

Same to you and yours John, glad to hear about the meds working...I'm in the same boat mate.....not as bad as it was a couple of weeks ago :) I will call you soon.

Mac,

Let me know a time, I will put a log on the fire....the last ones have gone out :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: seriously....whenever your ready mate.

Tom.

#11 Post by **coaster** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 8:15 pm

[img]http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f321/powerpaul/22-8-07154.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f321/powerpaul/ppp099.jpg[/img]

I'm only starting to experiment with this myself as you can see above :oops: .
I am using a Nikon D50. My 70-300mm lens has a macro function which was used fore these.
Any tips welcome.

Didn't want to hijack the thread but I suppose it is on topic??

Rockhopper · #12 Post by **Rockhopper** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 12:25 am

No hijacking there Coaster......those are first class pictures to my untrained eye.......I wish!!

Tom.

#13 Post by **countryjimbo** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 5:53 pm

Hi Coaster,

Great shots, especially the second one. You seem to be using a very narrow depth of field (dof) which means only a small part of the image is in focus, increasing your aperture will bring more of the subject into focus.

Post up the exif settings for these pictures if you can and I may be able to offer more advise.

James.

#14 Post by **coaster** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 6:16 pm

Thanks lads.
To be honest James I don't even understand what it is you are asking me to do.
I am what I call "a happy snapper"... Don't have much of a clue about the settings. Everything is shot in full auto but I would love to learn more.
I spend a lot of time out and about and have lost a few once in a life time shots due to my lack of photography skills.

#15 Post by **countryjimbo** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:33 pm

Ah sorry about that I 'll try and explain.

The first thing you'll have to do is switch the camera from auto, you're allowing the camera choose all its settings and it doesn't know what end result you're trying to achieve.

Try the following as a guide:

Sports mode - Use for Fast movement of any kind (This will use higher shutter speeds)

Macro mode - use this for closeups

Aperture priority (A) - Use for general landscape shots. This will allow you control the aperture, how wide the shutter opens and controls how much light gets in. It also controls the depth of field and how much is in focus. High apertures like f8 and above will have pretty much everything in focus, low apertures like f5.6 and below start to blur out background etc. Try a few shots of the same subject with different settings to see how it changes. Follow this link for a better description
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field

Happy clicking!