Photography Advice: Shooting from "The Beach"

[George G]

Hey guys,

Just after some advice on shooting pictures from "The Beach". I keep getting "blurry" rejection on my pics. Here a couple of examples:

http://www.planespotters.net/Aviatio...show?id=258902

http://www.planespotters.net/Aviatio...show?id=258644

What settings do you use to get a nice sharp picture??

I have a Canon 500D and use the kit 55-250mm EFS lens.

I shoot in P mode @ 100 ISO. Centre Weighted Average Metering and AF is set to SERVO. Stabilizer is on.

Do you recommend i shoot in Shutter priority mode?

P mode usually gives me an aperture between F8 and F11 and shutter speed usually is faster than the focal length of lens eg 1/320 (depending on light of course)

Any tips are much appreciated. Thanks

[A McLaughlin]

*rant on*

I've seen A LOT worse accepted on planespotters and jetphotos! As with a lot of these sites, many of the screeners seem to look for reasons to reject photos rather than reasons to accept them.

But that's their prerogative, and as photographers we can take it or leave it...I've left it!

*rant over*

[Raymond Rowe]

Both Aviation websites is a mates club.I used to upload but have not done for a long time.

[Bernie P]

Getting back on the topic that the OP mentioned, have you tried shooting in FULL MANUAL mode and also, shooting in RAW format? It takes a little getting use to, I am still learning myself, but it comes with benifits!

I use lightroom to edit with, and this can fix up if its a little 'under exposed' or 'over exposed' that the settings weren't quite right... So sometimes, it is in the editing that small mistakes can be corrected.

Are you putting your pics up to any of the free, or small fee, websites like Flickr etc?

Hope to see some more of your work!

[George G]

Thanks for the replies guys.

@ chris d

I'm using photoshop elements 9. If the image needs straightening, i straighten then crop. I generally run it through unsharp mask a couple of times before adjusting levels, adding a little saturation and slightly adjusting color curves.

It was 1600px wide only because they allowed for it. Will start resizing images to 1024px from now on and see how that goes.

@ A McLaughlin & Raymond

I totally understand. I'm not to fussed though, as this is a new hobby of mine. I've only been down to the airport like 4 times or so. I'll just keep annoying these peeps with my "sub-standard" pics .

@ Bernie P

Have not really shot in full manual mode before. I should really give it a go and will also shoot in JPEG + RAW mode so i can get the best of both worlds. Hopefully go down on Sunday morning and try and get some decent shots.

I dont use flickr. I am on redbubble.com, a photography website where you can sell your pictures. I might upload my pictures on there.


Thanks for the help guys..i'll just keep practising!

[Nigel C]

George, I've referred people to this link before, and it's a workflow that I pretty much follow for the wildlife photography that I do.

Originally posted by fellow board member and talented photographer Craig Murray...
http://yssyforum.net/board/showpost....52&postcount=5

And a quick example of the outcome, this using a 400D with 100-400L. Northern Giant Petrel, Continental Shelf off Wollongong.

[David Knudsen]

Don't be too upset about rejections from jetphotos, I've found sometimes I have to reupload exactly the same image 2-3 times if I don't agree with the rejection (Since the "appeal" option never seems to get a response). I share Andrew's opinion that some screeners just look for reasons to reject.

For example, this shot was rejected the first time as 'blurry', which I didn't agree with, so I just re-uploaded the exact same photo, which then got rejected for being a "Dirty Scan / CMOS Dust Spots" (which I couldn't find), third time with the same file, it got accepted.

[George G]

@ chris d

I do have noise reduction switched on. But @ 100 ISO how much noise could there possibly be to reduce?

I think the image looks the way it does because of the crop i have applied. If you want PM me your email and I will send you the original..new to the forum so don't know if its uploadable here.

@ David K

I'm not too upset about it,i see it as a challenge . Like i said before this is something new for me, and i have already learnt heaps about photography and editing since i have started. Just looking for ways to improve even more.

[George G]

Hey guys....just a quick question.

How would you make an aeroplane appear sharp in a photo at the time of shooting, and not having to sharpen in post processing??

Usually shoot between F/7 and F/9.

[George G]

Thanks once again Chris.

I do believe I will get there eventually