Guidance From The Experienced

[bertam]

I haven't really found my way in photography yet. There are a few interests as far as subjects are concerned and facial expressions is high on my agenda. The attached image depicts what I mean (i hope). These two boys both have an inquisitive expressions on their faces. They are actually standing in the sea and watching the passengers disembark from a small ferry boat. I shot this with an FZ70 from about 200/300 meters.

My request for guidance is this..........

Using my Sony A7 MII what lens do i need to buy to take a similar image, but with better IQ?

[Donald]

Can I throw a question back at you, Bertram - What do you see as not good enough with the image quality produced by the lens you used to capture this picture?

[bertam]

I would have liked to see the faces sharp and you can see the sea does not show any sparkle/life

[dem]

What you need is to be 3 meters away, have the sun shining from the right angle (into the camera from behind your subject but well outside the frame to get the sparkles on the water) and use the flash to balance the light and illuminate the faces well.

No camera, lens or flash will be able to fix poor lighting from 200 meters away and add the sparkles if they are not there.

[rpcrowe]

#1 to Dem

IMO, the problem with your image being less than sharp is that you were probably shooting at a very long focal length hand held. Many bridge cameras (including my Canon SX50-HS) have focal lengths that are just about impossible to hand hold despite stabilization. A tripod could help and a monopod correctly used "might" help

As far as a lens for your Sony A7 Mii... I don't think that there is any lens in a decent price range that could capture these two boys from 200 yards distance... The 600mm f/4 costs over three thousand-five hundred U.S. Dollars and still might not be long enough to do the job.

OTOH... some PP sharpening might help this image...



It won't make it a great image but might help a bit...

As far as no sparkles on the water, that is purely a function of the direction and type of available light shining on that water.

[ionian]

I think the others have captured the key things you need to know. The Sony is a gem of a camera, but gear doesn't make beautiful pictures - you do. Keep posting images here for comments, keep up your reading and work on your processing and you'll soon be making big strides forwards.

[bertam]

#1 to Dem

IMO, the problem with your image being less than sharp is that you were probably shooting at a very long focal length hand held. Many bridge cameras (including my Canon SX50-HS) have focal lengths that are just about impossible to hand hold despite stabilization. A tripod could help and a monopod correctly used "might" help

As far as a lens for your Sony A7 Mii... I don't think that there is any lens in a decent price range that could capture these two boys from 200 yards distance... The 600mm f/4 costs over three thousand-five hundred U.S. Dollars and still might not be long enough to do the job.

OTOH... some PP sharpening might help this image...



It won't make it a great image but might help a bit...

As far as no sparkles on the water, that is purely a function of the direction and type of available light shining on that water.

You are correct it was a hand held shot with a 1200mm zoom bridge camera. I was standing on the beach when I took the shot and the two boys are standing in the sea with the water up to their waist line. Since there was only one moment in time to get the shot, there was no time to to prepare. That's assuming i knew how to prepare! Thanks for your guidance.

[bertam]

What you need is to be 3 meters away, have the sun shining from the right angle (into the camera from behind your subject but well outside the frame to get the sparkles on the water) and use the flash to balance the light and illuminate the faces well.

No camera, lens or flash will be able to fix poor lighting from 200 meters away and add the sparkles if they are not there.

I'm beginning to realize that I still have a 'Point & Shoot' brain and a 'Think Before You Shoot' camera. Thanks a lot!

[Manfred M]

You are correct it was a hand held shot with a 1200mm zoom bridge camera. I was standing on the beach when I took the shot and the two boys are standing in the sea with the water up to their waist line. Since there was only one moment in time to get the shot, there was no time to to prepare. That's assuming i knew how to prepare! Thanks for your guidance.

First of all I can't handhold a camera at 1200mm and get a sharp image. There will be camera shake and both boys are a bit soft, especially the one in front. The other issue is that at 1200mm, your depth of field is razor thin, so getting a clean focus is going to be doubly tough.

The "sparkles in the water" are technically referred to as specular highlights. Simplifying a bit, it means sunlight reflected in the water. First ingredient is always having the sunlight cooperate. Normally we actually don't want those distracting things in our images most of the time.

As for being prepared for the shot - practice makes perfect. It's definitely a learned skill.

[Mike Buckley]

Keep posting images here for comments, keep up your reading and work on your processing and you'll soon be making big strides forwards.

Bingo!

[Shadowman]

Another thing to consider is time of day, you can get wonderful captures when the light is favorable and you eliminate any potential camera shake. Try using the current system at various times of the day, if you can get a patient model then make good use of the time and have fun. Also, look at various poses and different directions of light, see what provides the most pleasing facial features.