I don't have much time to spare for the forum these days, but it's good to see you guys becoming more and more involved in photography. We're seeing some pretty nice shots too. Keep it up.
I would have liked to comment on each picture, but as I said, I have a limited amount of time these days. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean that I'm an expert who can give lessons to all of you in photography
I just mean that I would like to pay compliments to the good shots when they are posted and offer some constructive criticisms where it's appropriate.
*img179.imageshack.us/img179/5861/dsc005431.jpg
I need some advice. Which is The best way to take close up photographs?
I own a Sony cybershot 12MP DSC-W210.
The above shot is not as good as it could have been.
1. The highlights are blown (no detail in the bright areas). This is because you're using multi-segment metering which means that the camera tries to compensate for the dark background by increasing the exposure. The resultant exposure is too high for the highlight areas.
The principles are the same as for taking photos of the moon (I explained these to toofan some time back in the thread).
Try using spot-metering and let the camera take the metering from the ash at the head of the cigarrette. If the shot still does not come out properly exposed, try adjusting the exposure compensation settings (EV) and the flash power settings. Or experiment with manual exposure settings.
2. You're using flash. It's hard to get an even lighting with 3D objects with flash, especially at close range. Use additional lighting to illuminate the sides or use reflectors such as white cloth or paper so that some of the flash light will be reflected on to the sides of the subject.
3. You were shooting in a dark environment and this required the slow shutter speed of 1/3 sec. To get a sharp picture at that shutter speed, do not hand-hold the camera. Either use a tripod or set the camera on a firm surface (you might have done this).
4. You used Auto white balance. This can sometimes result in an unnatural colour with some subjects photographed with flash. Is this why you converted the image to greyscale? You could try setting the white balance to Flash mode.
