The "where am I going wrong" thread

[shiftlocked]

OK so what am I doing wrong here.  The shots never seem to come out as they look on the back of the camera lol.  

The camera in question is a cannon IXUS 50.  Ive messed about a bit and not really managed to get some nice clean shots thus far.

This is a pic of the photo tent that im using and a few shots of the lights as well..


With the lights on top.  Note that these are Pro Lite Daylight Helix compact fluorescent lights that are 30w  eqiv to 150w



A shot of some paint that i want to take pics off.  Ive setup the white balance already on this one



No flash in the tent


with flash in the tent.


can anyone help me to get the pics a bit sharper

[Paulus]

Are you using Macro mode for the close up shots ?

[shiftlocked]

yup, all were taken on macro

[bear]

A Tripod

[shiftlocked]

yup

[bear]

Set it at superfine

and  L (large 2272 x 1704) you have yours on  S (640 x 480 which is same as 0.3 megapixels I belive)

All under funtions (at least on my ixus 400)

[Eggtastico]

Shine lights through the side, should shift the shadow..
Put a diffuser over the flash - or better still bounce the flash of somthing else.

Also, Im assuming your taking the pics in Auto-Mode, which is capturing the whole picture & not softening/blending out the background.

Can you lower your aperature?

[Eggtastico]

Set it at superfine

and  L (large 2272 x 1704) you have yours on  S (640 x 480 which is same as 0.3 megapixels I belive)

All under funtions (at least on my ixus 400)

Camera Make: Canon
Camera Model: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 50
Image Date: 2007:11:23 16:33:05
Flash Used: Yes (Manual)
Focal Length: 5.8mm
CCD Width: 5.71mm
Exposure Time: 0.017 s (1/60)
Aperture: f/5.6
White Balance: Manual
Metering Mode: Center Weight

[Cheule]

Those lights dont appear to be illuminating the box much to be honest, maybe thats part of the problem right there.

[Alien8]

use a remote or the timer, as even on a tripod the cam can move slightly when you press the shutter, the 2 sec timer should be long enough

[M3ta7h3ad]

Those lights dont appear to be illuminating the box much to be honest, maybe thats part of the problem right there.

Rather than try more expensive lights. Try a slower shutter speed.

Combine it with the tripod advice below and the timer shot, and you should have a nice picture.

[shiftlocked]

I whipped out the trusty D100 (well a friend let me borrow his) and been playing with that.  Will have another bash in a bit

[Cheule]

Rather than try more expensive lights. Try a slower shutter speed.

Well I wasnt really suggesting more expensive lights, just brighter ones? The shutter speed is a good idea, just remember not to overdo it otherwise youll get some chronic colour bleed.

[M3ta7h3ad]

Rather than try more expensive lights. Try a slower shutter speed.

Well I wasnt really suggesting more expensive lights, just brighter ones? The shutter speed is a good idea, just remember not to overdo it otherwise youll get some chronic colour bleed.

didnt mean it as that I was missing a comma perhaps.

I mean "more, expensive lights" as in buy more lights... expensive in comparison to just having a slower shutter speed