Sad Double Bass Player

[Jim A]

I noticed how sad she looked. From memory, it was Country and Western music - maybe that was it!

[Shadowman]

Nice effort, unfortunate that the mic spoils the capture, is she a singer as well or did she provide a narrative during the show?

[bje07]

Same remark concerning the mic and may be not enterely so sharp

[rpcrowe]

On my monitor it looks like the focus was on the instrument and her hands. I have noticed that this sometimes happens when the portion of the image closest to the camera is not the main point of interest...

[Manfred M]

Event photography is challenging, given the generally poor light quality and light levels. Add to that issues of actually being able to get close enough to shoot at a reasonable focal length to give the required depth of field can be a real challenge as well. Add to that the propensity of performers to sit extremely close to a microphone and we have a real challenge. I've been at shoots where, regardless of my shooting position, the mic was so close to the performers face that I could only get separation between numbers when the performer sat back and stood up or sat down. Given those circumstances, you've come away with a shot you should be happy with.

The little bit of softness is a minor issue, but the overlap of the microphone on the face is a more significant distraction. Two other issues; the lack of separation of the performers arm along the bottom of the frame and the negative space you've left above and the left side of the performer's head to show the top of the base are both not working for me.

[shreds]

Sorry but the missed focus is the main issue here. The eyes or in this case, the sun glasses are the first point of contact and the sharp double bass is secondary.

Moving your position to get greater separation from the mike or as said, waiting for the performer to lean away or back from the mike is the challenge.

Most music photography has similar related issues.

[Jim A]

Thanks heaps everyone, it's best to know, rather than hold out false hopes. Especial thanks to Manfred for taking the time to explain in detail - much appreciated!

[DanK]

Jim,

Apart from composition issues--how did you achieve focus? Were you using AF, and if so, did you use multiple AF points?

In my experience, this kind of focusing error is not rare if you use multipoint focusing. The camera will look for a high-contrast edge. There are "better" things to focus on than what you presumably wanted, which is the eyes.

For that reason, I virtually never use more than a single AF point unless I am photographing a moving subject that the camera needs to track. I either focus and recompose or move the selected single AF point to someplace close in the frame. (For example, if I am going to do candids of kids, I usually leave the AF point somewhat above center.) This can be done with a stock setup, that is, with AF on the shutter button, but it is easier with back-button AF because you don't need to keep your trigger finger in one position to avoid having the camera re-focus.

[rpcrowe]

At risk of sounding like a Sony Fan Boy (I guess that I am) the Sony Eye AF tends to work with sunglasses also.



No more need to focus and recompose for portraiture, although that has been a viable technique for a very long time... However, whatever works, use it!

Using a single point AF and moving that point with a joy stick (if the camera is so equipped) works also

Some mirrorless cameras have a touch focus capability that can be used in conjunction with the EVF. Viewing the image through the EVF and using your thumb on the LCD to select the focus point...

The face detect of my previous Canon 6D Mark-2 would focus on a face but, generally it would nail focus on the eye or eyes. The 6D2 also has touch focus capability which could work in this case also. In both cases Live-View must be used...

The Nikon and Canon mirrorless cameras also have Eye AF but, I believe you need to be relatively close to your subject for it to work ...

One thing that can cause difficulties is letting the camera decide on which point to focus. It will most often select the nearest high contrast point such as the instrument in this image or a dogs nose rather than the eyes in a dog portrait.

[William W]

Additional to Dan's question (Post #8) regarding the Focus Method used - - -

What was the camera's Shutter Speed?

Thanks,

WW

[Wandjina]

Microphones are always a problem with photographing live musical performances. Musicians love them and photographers hate them. As mentioned previously, wait until the performer moves back slightly from the microphone and then take the photo. Or in this case, move slightly to your right to change the angle of the shot. This way the microphone is clear of the body and can be easily cloned out. It is the performer you want to photograph, not the Shure microphone.

[Jim A]

Thanks everyone, you are, of course, absolutely right. The instrument player is out of focus, but her instrument is in focus. I could, with spending a bit of time, clone our her microphone, however to what purpose? It still will not be a good pic, so how did I ever think so?? I really like to photograph 'events'. This was very much towards the end of a demanding day. Just liked the costumes and music of this jazz duo. Too many times I try to rescue a pic for sentimental purposes - duh!

The good news is that I took a much, much better photo of a chainsaw competitor which won more than one award. Win some, lose some!