hopeless photography

[craigie]

i am hopeless at taking pictures

[falsecast]

Well you got the background colour right - it doesn't take a great pic to show a great fly, and I'd be confident of catching with those anywhere

[oddgitt]

but your tying is very nice indeed! What hooks are they craigie?

In terms of taking happy snaps, I would recommend getting a good light source - whether this be a lamp or taking them in a brighter area (a daylight bulb is a good investment). As the light is coming from the top of the picture at quite an acute angle, there are shadows being formed.

I would try a white background - but it depends on the fly dressing - i find white gives alround good contrast.

Try and get a bit closer - the camera should have a marco setting (usually a little flower icon) which should let you get up to within a few centimetres of the fly and still be in focus.

Got a new camera for xmas myself and am still trying to figure it all out!!

Good luck!!

[craigie]

hi mate,ur right about the lighting its very poor were i tye my flies,i had the macro on i thinkthe hooks are dohiku hdg 644 & dohiku 302sh sizes 16

[emerger1981]

is that peacock eye on the body?

merry christmas

[Former member 2]

Craigee... look at the shape of you square..... its distorted.
You are working on a macro setting with the camera only able to get a tiny amount of the picture in focus.
( depth of field).

If you're square background is distorted it says that you camera is'nt parallel with the the plane that you are focusing on. So only part of the image is in focus and the rest is slipping out.
Thats why about a third of the way up the hook points look sharp ( apart from some camera shake) but by the top of the shot they look whooly.

To put this another way. Think of the rectangle on the back of your camera that represents your sensor ( like your rectangle of film). Then think about the rectangle or square your flies are on. Thos two rectangles need to be parallel to get all those flies into focus when you are on Macro.( or shooting with a wide aperture)

With out a tripod and lights it is hard becuase you are likely to shadow the shot, maybe you need to think of another way of presenting the flies to the camera.

[craigie]

cheers lads,is this any better


---------- Post added at 05:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:18 PM ----------

one more before xmas dinner,will work on it l8er,cheers lads atb craig

[Former member 2]

They certainly look better and more lively. Though the hooks to the left now look slighty out of focus.
Another tip.. I dont know if you have a focus devise to see if its in focus or not,( whether it is on the screen or a seperate viewfinder).
But if you have, instead of concentrating on the stripes or tails,,, which is really hard to concentrate on. Just look at the the shinny highlight on the gold heads.. it will look dull and subdued unless its in focus.
( look at your two photos and you will see the difference)

Your second set up they look like they are camoflaged for the back ground. Try a contrasting plain back ground.

[craigie]

Originally Posted by emerger1981

is that peacock eye on the body?

merry christmas

yes they are mate,cheers pom i will sus it out eventually.

[midlander]

Your photography isn't too bad mate but your composition skills are bloody awful. We don't want to see the desk or the edges of the background card, shoot close, crop tight or both...

Nice flies though, once we can see them properly. Keep up the good work mate.

Incidentally, your second image has a yellow caste, you'll want to use a custom white balance, if your camera has one, to get true colours.

Edit again.. If you've not already done so, try reading this.