AS Promised, Unknown is back.
This one is the happier, more joyful unknown.
Theres not really much to this shot at all. It was taken at f/2.5 on a 30mm lens. The one thing i would say when using wide apertures is to manual focus – thats what i did here, and to my knowledge the focus is near enough perfect.
Also, think about how close the subject is to the camera. Closer means that when you focus not only is it easier to see, but the background is thrown out of focus even more, and you can get a nice bokeh effect. (Bokeh is the style and texture of the out of focus areas of a low depth of field shot)
And one thing – Tripod. Tripods are not essential, but make life so much easier when doing this type of shot. locking the camera off reduces shake and reduces the chance of missing the focus by a few hairs. When working at this sort of level, it is imperative that focus is spot on.
Editing? I warmed this one up by adjusting the exposure level, the contrast and the white balance in post production. It was taken on a gloomy overcast part of the day, and its supposed to be a happy shot. Therefore, edit what you need.
One general rule (or, if you rather, guideline) is not to edit if it doesn’t need it. And even then, not too much. A shot is rarely perfect straight out the camera. Its the age old film v’s digital debate, but with digital, its a case of a computer is essential to get the best out the shot. Sharpness and exposure, slight adjustments to white balance and contrast, and all the others, are easy to do. I shoot in RAW, and process in either Canon Digital Photo Professional, Adobe Photoshop Elements 5, or Apple iPhoto.
Hopefully i shall be doing some more “unknown” shots – in the meantime you can check my flickr site out. Click the photo links on the right hand side.
