I saw a great photo opportunity in Fernwood on an evening walk when on break at work. The light gave an almost Edward Hopper- ish feel to the scene, and I took some shots. They were really poor, and I was very disappointed. I then did some drastic cropping and editing but was still not happy. I therefore took the plunge again and threw myself into the melting pot of online constructive criticism. I have to say it is entirely fair and on point , and I do learn a lot from asking for feedback. Here is the feedback, which I post in the hope it might be of value to others too. I will publish the responses in four parts.
Here is the original and the edited version I posted to FB :
Here is my original request:
I would like some advice please. I took this shot with the Sony a6000 with the 16-50 kit lens, at 50 mm, f.5.6, /1/500 sec, ISO 320, AWB. I was standing over the road so perhaps I needed to be closer? I like the composition , and the light was great, but I struggle with sharpness. Advice welcome!
Reduced Sharpness is because you use a kit lens. Not much you can do about it
ME: Yes I am noticing the limitations. I am saving up for a Sony zoom at the moment 70-350mm
Not every kit lens is bad, some of the Fuji ones are pretty good. However, all zooms come with some compromises, so if you want really good IQ you'd probably be better off looking at primes - they don't have to be expensive either, because their construction is simple - hence the 'nifty fifty'.
The only thing about this image that strikes me is that there is a lot of noise in the shadow areas, pavement, elements of her dress (and maybe a bit of chromatic aberration in the lady's face). You can reduce both of those in post.
ME: Thank you K I am going to retry this shot with the Sigma 30mm 1.4 prime and stand closer next time. I did try to sharpen as much as I could in post. I appreciate your observations.
does not need sharpness...I like it..postcard look
ME: Thank you J did like the colors of the building in the sun
You're right Sir. We all struggle with wanting "tack sharp" images and I'm starting to learn not all photos need that quality. Our eyes don't work that way so not every photo has to be sharp from front to back. If you're wanting to clean up some of the noise the use the enhance feature in Light Room. It has really come a long way since it's inception. I frankly don't see much wrong with this photo I like it just fine. The light to dark is abrupt but that how it works too.
It does look like you had nice light there. Very cool.
Something else you might consider is the aperture. Depending on how far away you were it might not give you the depth of field to get everything crisp. Maybe try f8? If you’re doing street photography you probably don’t need 1/500 for the speed.
ME: Thanks J I will adjust SS next time
Try Topaz AI Sharpen or Topaz AI Photo to sharpen
Thank You Beverly for your suggestions I will check out Topaz.
Good idea, bad quality photo
ME: Agreed!
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