MarkR01 Posted March 26, 2008 Share #1 Posted March 26, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello, This is the first year with my Leica D-Lux 3, and I have been having some problems. For the most part, the camera takes pictures well, as I usually only use the 'auto' mode, as I am both young and unexperienced in my usage of my Leica. It was given to me as a gift by a Leica enthusiast, but he is no help to me, as he only uses 35mm film. Most the problems that I have when taking pictures occur when I take them in a restaurant, however the same problems occur when it is both dark and light, but both good and bad pictures show up in both situations. This picture was of a plate of fruit in Harry Cipriani in New York. I took two pictures like this, and they kept coming out looking like watercolor paintings. This is a shot of a porterhouse from Peter Luger's in New York. Again, I took two pictures, and they were both blurry. These two pictures are from the Four Seasons in New York, and both came out blurry and undefined. However, this picture from Todd English aboard the QM2, came out impeccable and sharp. Which setting should I be using? ISO? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 26, 2008 Posted March 26, 2008 Hi MarkR01, Take a look here What should I do? Help a young photographer!. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
MarkR01 Posted March 26, 2008 Author Share #2 Posted March 26, 2008 Here are the links for the above photos: L1030244 on Flickr - Photo Sharing! L1030225 on Flickr - Photo Sharing! L1030269 on Flickr - Photo Sharing! L1030271 on Flickr - Photo Sharing! L1030318 on Flickr - Photo Sharing! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dugby Posted March 26, 2008 Share #3 Posted March 26, 2008 However, this picture from Todd English aboard the QM2, came out impeccable and sharp. Which setting should I be using? ISO? Clearly as you do best whilst on board the QM2.....you have no choice but to live on board the QM2 ......... I recall there was a lady who lived on the QE2 for 14 years...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted March 26, 2008 Share #4 Posted March 26, 2008 Mark - Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your D-Lux-3 gift. It is quite a good camera, and worth your trying to get its full measure. I have some comments. I captured each of your photos and did some post processing to them. This entailed some exposure compensation (in the software that came with my first digital camera, ACDSee, I iteratively moved the shadow and highlight setting to increase each a small bit, and then I sharpened the image a bit). One of our long-term Forum members, and excellent photographer, Wilfredo, posted a thread in which he challenged other members to do post processing on a few images. The outcome was that the majority of digital images need some post processing, not unlike wet darkrooms in which one selects the grade of printing paper, length of enlarger exposure, development times, and the like. Please see this link: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/other/48358-performance.html. I strongly encourage you to begin using the post processing software that came with your camera – Experiment with it and post your results here for constructive criticism – something which I have found in generous supply on this Forum. Actually post your images here so we can see them without having to click elsewhere – It’s more convenient. I also encourage you to post them larger so we can better appreciate them. And of course, post them in the appropriate section. These food photos I would post in the Photo – Other section. In the fruit plate photo your actual point of focus was not on the fruit, but behind it on the butter plate. As well as posting your own photos here for comment, spend a lot of time here looking at the photos and reading the comments. You will begin to pick-up a better feeling for things like framing and composition. Since it’s clear that you frequent expensive restaurants I’ll be glad to share with you a list of other places to dine which I feel are better than some represented here. Stick with it. You have fine equipment, and I hope you have fun with it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_lague Posted March 26, 2008 Share #5 Posted March 26, 2008 I would be very happy to give you some personal and professional coaching. With a weeks worth of dining you could be a pro! I would do this for free......well you would have to buy me dinner at those places, and I guess my wife would not let me go alone. You could come out here to CA to do it for a bit of variety.....we do have great restaurants here as well. OR we could do it in NYC if you pay the airfare and hotel room. Seriously that is a great camera. Learn with every shot and shoot a lot......that is the best way to learn. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted March 26, 2008 Share #6 Posted March 26, 2008 Mark - The two things that helped me grow with my photos were: 1. Having access to people who knew what they were doing who were mercilous in their criticism of my photos. 2. Participating in this forum so I could see what others were doing, why their work worked, read comments, get critiques, and want to do better since I knew I'd be posting images on the Forum. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roguewave Posted March 26, 2008 Share #7 Posted March 26, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Mark, Stu is our ambassador and all round good guy. I'm probably seen as the other end of the spectrum. You'll never learn squat taking pictures of food in a resturant. In fact, I'm not sure what that compulsion is all about. Get outside in the REAL light of day. Read the manual (that comes with the camera or you can download from the Leica site)that some really bright folks wrote. That will enlighten you as to how to use this camera & then just go shooting. Never stop shooting. Get a stiff upper lip, a strong drink and a tight belt, close your eyes and post those liitle babies right here. The lessons are free, the comments worthy and critique just. Good luck. Also, if you must shoot in a food establishment, sit next to a window that has light coming from the sun to illuminate the image. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rivi1969 Posted March 27, 2008 Share #8 Posted March 27, 2008 I guess is simply a matter of being closer to the subject than the lens allows. Macro mode could be handy in these situations. Besides that I don't see the need to specify in which restaurants you took the pictures which is completely irrelevant and has nothing to do with your images. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkR01 Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share #9 Posted March 27, 2008 Thank you all for your generous help. I began to edit/modify/process the pictures using the Photoshop Elements provided with the camera, and I was able to edit the pictures for the better, but I will continue editing them for a little while more before I post them. Besides that I don't see the need to specify in which restaurants you took the pictures which is completely irrelevant and has nothing to do with your images.] I just did that incase someone wanted to know what the picture subject was. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEd Posted March 27, 2008 Share #10 Posted March 27, 2008 I guess is simply a matter of being closer to the subject than the lens allows. Macro mode could be handy in these situations. Besides that I don't see the need to specify in which restaurants you took the pictures which is completely irrelevant and has nothing to do with your images. I'm inclined to agree with this statement. ....perhaps it's better to take the picture before having a drink.. ... Seriously, I see typical camera shake, and or (since you're using "auto" for everything) you are not giving enough time to the camera to "think" and properly get a focus "lock" and or moving the camera after the auto-focus has reached a "lock" under low light conditions it is imperative that you hold and push the shutter button VERY gently while holding the camera with two hands, as steady as possible. Like others have said, practice practice practice.....try it. Ed. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rivi1969 Posted March 27, 2008 Share #11 Posted March 27, 2008 These are 3 examples I took from dishes I prepare myself at home. I am not a professional food photographer nor a chef -as everyone can notice here- but I try to follow some basic rules from the guys who know about this, which are quite simple: First you have to use wide apertures, in my case I use my 50mm f1.4 wide open with my Nikon D80. And second, tripod is a must. Unfortunately the small sensor in your D-Lux plus the 2.8 lens do not help the shallow depth effect... Cheers R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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