I So Screwed Up

[marlenesexton]

I spent the morning dressing, first time in a long time. It was fun and I felt sexy and pretty. I shot a bunch of pictures but once I got them on my computer, they looked fuzzy. I have a nice hobby photog set up so I was a little upset. Upon further inspection, they were blurry like the lens wasn't focusing. Oh, that might be because I had the lens set on manual focus. I never leave it on manual focus because when you want manual focus, auto isn't going to hurt that bad but the other way can leave you with ruined pictures.

I might be able to salvage some of them for avatars and small resolution stuff. Damn!

[reb.femme]

Always a pain when the pics are blurred. It always seems that some of the nicer poses are the ones that go awry. It's all the effort we go to that makes it the complete pain in the derriere when it happens.

Had a few go that way last week when I was away with work. Still in my case, you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear. :heehee:

Reb

[marlenesexton]

I managed to do a smart sharpen in PS and some other playing around to get a decent avatar. Not a total loss.

[reb.femme]

Photoshop!!!!............I wish!
I'm a cheapskate and use GIMP.......it's free, which is always a bonus. :)

Reb

[Kate Simmons]

No biggie Hon. I probably had at least 10,000 or so that ended up on the "cutting room floor" over the years. But, then again I can be pretty fussy like Lucy in Peanuts.:)

[kimdl93]

Blurry images are my best look!

[Kandy Barr]

I'm with you kimdl, to much clarity just ruins my photos!!!

[Princess Grandpa]

Sorry the pictures were blurry. I guess you will just have to find time to dress again. /giggle

[Emogene]

And the down side is? Now you just HAVE to get all dolled up again and take the pictures again! Oh darn!

[marlenesexton]

Yeah, poor me. I'll have to do it all over again Thursday or Friday. Boo hoo! I agree, blurry is probably my friend but I like to control the blur, you know. And PS isn't that expensive is you pay monthly. I use it to make covers for my books so it's a write-off.

[Andrea Rain]

Sorry to hear about the piccies Marlene, I have had similar things happen to me, not fun!

[Wildaboutheels]

Actually, Manual focus IS what you want for best results. Whether you are using a remote or the camera timer. Plus if possible put the camera in manual shooting mode and select the highest F stop [aperature] possible without having too slow a shutter speed to freeze the action. 1/30 should not be a problem and you might be able to get away with 1/15 if you are pretty good at holding still.

Of course you need to prefocus the camera at the distance you will be for the pics. Shooting video is also an option if your camera/editing program allows you to pull stills from the video.

[Cheryl123]

Sorry about the photos Marlene ... I bet they would have looked terrific. But welcome to the club. About the auto-focus .. I've have that problem when using the self-timer because I have a bad habit of standing in front of the camera when I press the shutter button. The camera focuses first before starting the timer, so it's trying to focus on me standing three feet away and doesn't have enough time to recover. I remind myself to stand to the side. Echoing Wildaboutheels advise, manual will will always do the job if the f stop is in the f/11 or smaller. Regardless, I always do a test shot first. Keep the shutter speed high enough so it doesn't blur. PS or any of the cheaper look-a-likes has no trouble correcting under-exposure (I wobble too much in heels for a 1/15 shot ... lol) xoxxo

[Beverley Sims]

At least with digital you have only wasted your time.
No film was harmed in any way by this exercise.

When it happens to me....
I just say.... Oh! darn.

Well something like that anyway. :)

[Jana]

Freudian slip? In any case, blurry means less wrinkles, at least in my case... :P

[Ressie]

Actually, Manual focus IS what you want for best results. Whether you are using a remote or the camera timer. Plus if possible put the camera in manual shooting mode and select the highest F stop [aperature] possible without having too slow a shutter speed to freeze the action. 1/30 should not be a problem and you might be able to get away with 1/15 if you are pretty good at holding still.

Of course you need to prefocus the camera at the distance you will be for the pics. Shooting video is also an option if your camera/editing program allows you to pull stills from the video.

This of course depends on what kind of camera. My point & shoot doesn't have F stops so auto works best. But I guess I could read the manual to learn more about manual mode. I also take a lot of pics with the imac's built in web cam.

[linda allen]

My story beats yours:

Many years ago, some friends and I formed a band (music) and entered a local contest. We won, then won the state contest so they flew us to Nashville for the finals (pretty much a once in a lifetime experience for most of us).

My wife won't willingly take pictures (because she is not good at it) so a friend went with her. The friend claimed to know how to use a camera. I gave her friend my 35mm film camera, telephoto lense, etc., Once we got on stage, she bagan to take pictures. When she finished the roll of film, she opened the camera and inserted another roll without first rewinding the film into the canister!. When we got back to the hotel and I opened the bag, there was the roll of exposed film just lying loose in the bag.

I was so upset (I would normally use a different word), I don't think I ever spoke to her friend again.

[TeresaCD]

I suspect we've all been there in some way..

[dee anne]

Welcome to the club. I have had trouble with photos myself. Funny how mine never seem to look as good as I thought I did in the mirror. LOL

[Jorja]

One night I got all dolled up and was going to do a sexy boudoir photo set for my partner. Everything was set to go. I started in posing this way and that way. My these pictures were going to turn out HOT! So I get all finished and walk over to the camera. I forgot to take off the lense cap!:Angry3::eek::cry:

[linda allen]

................ I forgot to take off the lense cap!:Angry3::eek::cry:

I'm thinking that must have been a long time ago or you have a very old camera. For film cameras, I used to use a SLR so with the lense cap on, there was nothing in the viewfinder and it was pretty obvious. All my digital non SLR cameras have a built in, automatic lense cap (and they are cheap, $100 cameras)

[Jorja]

Yes, that was probably 30 years or so ago.

[Leah Lynn]

I loved my old SLR's! However, my major problem now, is that digital POS always makes me look bad. It never takes a pic that looks anything like the reflection in the mirror!

I always look fantastic it the mirror!

Leah

[Alice Torn]

Until just last year, i was using cameras with 35mm film, and really took it in the shorts, when i went to get them developed, and later saw they were lousy, and had to pay big. It was my fault, too.

[marlenesexton]

Of course you need to prefocus the camera at the distance you will be for the pics. Shooting video is also an option if your camera/editing program allows you to pull stills from the video.

And there's the rub ;)

[Wildaboutheels]

A "poor man's alternative"... Shoot video and if the video is of "good enough" quality, once it's loaded into your computer, it can be played in slow mo or paused at the right/best place. You then take a pic of the paused IMAGE on your monitor. For those with basic cameras, or limited skills, you would likely get the best results if you SET your camera or phone for CLOSEUP pics. [Normally indicated by a flower symbol]