Trying ever so hard !!

[burnsy133]

Hi People,

A few years back i bought all the gear ...Cannon this Cannon that, stabalised the whole works, I then spent a small fortune on Photoshop but to no avail, every picture submitted came back rejected, it got to me that much that I eventually sold the lot and went back to just taking numbers. Now years down the line and a tad wiser i have again spent a small fortune (+£5000) on camera equipment, I learnt more about ISO, F stops the lot, went on courses etc etc. Just lately I bought myself a top of the range iMac and went on courses on how to use Appature etc etc, still remembering the disspointment of rejected shot in the past i used one of these lessons to get the apple teacher to read the upload guidelines of JP.net and had him work on a picture of mine, submitted it and hey presto...rejected. This time i am not giving up, the screeners tell me that the picture isnt sharp enough, but i cant see it, how much sharp should i apply ?, how much is too much ?, the guy from the apple store says it is perfectly sharp...me...im confused. Any help greatfully recieved.

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewreject_b.php?id=3757219

Help !!!

[B7772ADL]

It really does appear quite soft and could be sharpened plenty more. It's also too low in the frame and there appears to be a dust spot in the lower left. Might be worth while you posting the original file so that some of us can try editing it up to database standards for you so you can see what it should look like.

Also just had a quick peak at your exif settings. Aperture priority is a good start, most people usually set it to around f8 though rather than f10. More concerning with regards to acceptance is your iso setting which is set to 400. I'm not sure how well your Sony handles noise but iso 400 on Canon cameras is just asking for a noisy background. On a nice sunny day such as that you were shooting on I'd be looking more at iso100/200. Typically in good sunny weather I'm aiming for iso 100, f8, 1/500th or thereabouts.

[Kevin]

Been uploading for 7 years now, started off with a point and shoot and now with an Canon EOS camera and L lens, I can tell you it it certainly takes more than what you have to get your shots accepted. Of course, equipments play a role, but the remaining factors to getting your shots in depend on yourself.

Keep trying and seeking help is a good way to get it all straightened up, I am sure you'll get some of them in eventually!

[burnsy133]

Sorry Kevin I don't follow,

What do you mean by saying "It takes a lot more than what I have got " ???

[Simpleboy]

You need more experience.

You cant just buy expensive stuff and expect it to work.

If you're shooting JPEG and the sony system is anything like the Canon/Nikon system you want to be shooting ISO 160, if RAW (or sony's equivalent) ISO 100 or 200.

[burnsy133]

Originally Posted by Simpleboy

You need more experience.

You cant just buy expensive stuff and expect it to work.

If you're shooting JPEG and the sony system is anything like the Canon/Nikon system you want to be shooting ISO 160, if RAW (or sony's equivalent) ISO 100 or 200.

Thanks for that, i am aware that I cannot buy experience which is why this time i have approached the forums, taken classes etc etc, see where i have gone wrong here, was shooting in terrible conditions in Zurich with the ISO set to 400, for some reason i have not changed it back

I have had a go at changing things...how does this look now ??

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77263765@N06/6777730992/

[Simpleboy]

It's still soft/blurry.
Are you shooting RAW or JPEG?

[burnsy133]

Originally Posted by Simpleboy

It's still soft/blurry.
Are you shooting RAW or JPEG?

I shoot RAW

Ta

Rob

[Simpleboy]

When converting to TIFF or JPEG are you doing any sharpening? It makes a world of a difference if you do it correctly.

[PMN]

Originally Posted by burnsy133

i used one of these lessons to get the apple teacher to read the upload guidelines of JP.net and had him work on a picture of mine, submitted it and hey presto...rejected.

Just purely out of curiosity, why did you think he'd know or be able to understand the acceptance criteria for JP? He teaches people how to use a program, he's not necessarily even going to be a decent photographer!

One quick point and one that's all too regularly overlooked, with digital images sharpness and contrast are very closely related; the less contrast an image has generally the softer it will naturally look so it's essential to nail the exposure and edit to give a nice contrasty image if you want the sharpness to really pop out. Here's your original reject first and a slightly tweaked version, the tweaked one has simply been given a kick of contrast but it already looks sharper, even though absolutely no sharpness has been added.





If you work on nailing the exposure and contrast first you'll have a hugely easier time getting the sharpening right.

[burnsy133]

Originally Posted by Simpleboy

When converting to TIFF or JPEG are you doing any sharpening? It makes a world of a difference if you do it correctly.

Obviously not enough !!!, I have been processing the Raw image and then exporting to a file as a jpeg.

Whilst on the subject of processing, I notice that there are a few guidelines for processing with PS, are there any giving guidence for using an iMac and Aperture 3 ???

Thanks for all the help people.

[Kevin]

Hi we could try giving it a shot if you post the original on here...