Canon 24-70mm Test Shots

Here's a couple test shots I just took during lunch with my new Canon 24-70mm lens.

I already love the quiet and super fast focus as well as the new perspectives and range afforded with a zoom lens (vs. my 50mm lens I've been using).

I am a bit disappointed in the sharpness of the lens vs my $90 50mm prime. I know primes are sharper generally speaking but I definitely thought this L series zoom would out perform in all categories vs my cheapo prime. It doesn't in the sharpness category and this seems ludicrous for the price. I want to give it time to grow on me but have already thought about just selling it and grabbing another prime for much less.

Craigslist Shoot #3

I just got back from my 3rd "I'll shoot your photos for free" Craigslist shoot. It's sunny today and the shoot was at 3:30pm so  that was kind of bummer photo-wise to have to shoot in such harsh lighting. I was shooting a single mom and her two young kids.

Things I need to improve or learn

• Pay more attention to background lighting and it's possible effects on metering. I shot for a while before realizing that the subjects were in the shade with a bright sky behind them which was causing them to be underexposed as the camera tried to balance out the lighting for the entire scene. Probably should have just switched metering modes.


• Come prepared with a list of shots I want (i.e. mom and daughter sitting, daughter alone etc.). I should have talked this through beforehand with the mom and come more prepared. It looks more professional and keeps me from forgetting anything.


• When shooting young children (in this case the one year old boy) I need to bring something to steer their attention back to the camera.


• Avoid harsh lighting. I really need to be stronger willed with people so they agree to shoot when the lighting is better.


• Using focus lock with large apertures is a poor idea . It's also a bad idea to use large apertures when shooting group portraits that require some depth of field due to how people are situated. I lost a lot of shots to the trash bin because I would focus lock on an eye and then reframe the photo. During the short time between locking focus and releasing the shutter some small movement was made and because of the super shallow depth of field the photo is ruined. This happens a particular lot when shooting little kids who are always on the move. Not the best choice of apertures today for some of the shots. Bummer.

Overall it was a good shoot. I think one of my strengths is connecting with little kids and getting them to feel comfortable and have fun while shooting. This might be something I should pursue as a niche.

Frisbee and a Friend

A few various shots from the last week. No post-processing on the Frisbee photos and just a bit of sharpening and crop on the friend at the end.

Critique: I like the 3 Frisbee photos because they aren't zoomed in head shots but are still visually interesting. I am noticing that my default framing is in close. I am sure I do this because of years of trying to make nice photos with crappy cameras where the only way I knew to get a good shallow DoF look was to get in close. Admittedly it's easier to make a "nice" looking photo when you are in close to your subject. The background blurs over a wide range of apertures and you aren't forced to think much about the background. I want to be a better photographer then this though so I need to keep working on framing beyond what has been my comfort zone.