I usually don't complain too much when my photos get rejected but I have to ask a question about this...
I uploaded ten pictures the other day, and they were rejected because they are "blurry". I thought most looked pretty good (even better than some of my other pictures on this website!). If they are blurry, could the blurriness be caused by the aperture settings on the camera, or could it be the way I scanned the photos? Any other possible reasons? If you would like to have a look at one or two of those pictures, feel free to e-mail me. I just started aviation photography two months ago, so I am still learning about photography.
darcy_stevens@yahoo.com
Moderators: richierich, ua900, PanAm_DC10, hOMSaR
RE: Blurry Photos
When I first started out I had some problems with blurry photos.
Make sure you are using good film. Slide film is the best, but if you
can't use that try to stay away from anything above 200.
Make sure you are using good photo processing. I don't advise using
Wal-Mart, Walgreens, or the like. Many camera stores do their own
processing and tend to use better chemicals, better paper, and the
employees actually know what they are doing and keep the machines
clean. It's a little bit more expensive, but it is definately worth the cost.
How's the quality of your lens? You get what you pay for when it comes
to lenses. A cheap zoom lens will yield fuzzy pictures. The best brands
are Minolta and Nikon, but they can be spendy.
Are you scanning your pictures in the best manner as possible? You can't
just throw the photos on the bed, scan, then post. Each image
requires some manipulation. Don't work with the image in JPEG
format, use TIFF instead. Converting to JPEG should be the very last
step. Don't oversharpen either. If you have to sharpen more than twice
(once with low resolution images) then you may not have a great photo to
start with. My own personal standard is that if I cannot read the tail
registration number, I don't use the photo for my own website or submit
it here.
Finally, are you taking photos using the best techniques and the best
weather conditions? Cloudy days tend to reduce sharpness for my pictures.
If I under expose photos that makes them fuzzy too.
I certainly do not claim to be an expert on this, but these are the things
that I addressed for myself and I've got about 400 photos on here in the last
six months. Your mileage will vary of course.
Mark Abbott
Minneapolis, MN
Make sure you are using good film. Slide film is the best, but if you
can't use that try to stay away from anything above 200.
Make sure you are using good photo processing. I don't advise using
Wal-Mart, Walgreens, or the like. Many camera stores do their own
processing and tend to use better chemicals, better paper, and the
employees actually know what they are doing and keep the machines
clean. It's a little bit more expensive, but it is definately worth the cost.
How's the quality of your lens? You get what you pay for when it comes
to lenses. A cheap zoom lens will yield fuzzy pictures. The best brands
are Minolta and Nikon, but they can be spendy.
Are you scanning your pictures in the best manner as possible? You can't
just throw the photos on the bed, scan, then post. Each image
requires some manipulation. Don't work with the image in JPEG
format, use TIFF instead. Converting to JPEG should be the very last
step. Don't oversharpen either. If you have to sharpen more than twice
(once with low resolution images) then you may not have a great photo to
start with. My own personal standard is that if I cannot read the tail
registration number, I don't use the photo for my own website or submit
it here.
Finally, are you taking photos using the best techniques and the best
weather conditions? Cloudy days tend to reduce sharpness for my pictures.
If I under expose photos that makes them fuzzy too.
I certainly do not claim to be an expert on this, but these are the things
that I addressed for myself and I've got about 400 photos on here in the last
six months. Your mileage will vary of course.
Mark Abbott
Minneapolis, MN
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RE: Blurry Photos
That was an excellent description Mark. Darcy, follow Marks advice and I'm sure your photos will be added.
Johan
Johan
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- Guest
RE: Blurry Photos
Mark,
Thanks for your advice! I don't use slide film, but I am using 200 film. I am using the best photo processing (I go to Black's, and always stay away from Wal-Mart), and use glossy paper. My lens should be ok, but I did not know about the scanning. I always saved in JPEG... I didn't realize that I should use TIFF and then convert to JPEG. I rarely sharpen my photos - I guess I should sharpen a little, but not too much. I usually take pictures in the best weather conditions - bright, sunny days (and try to stay away from shadows). I didn't know about the under-exposure on cloudy days though.
Darcy
Thanks for your advice! I don't use slide film, but I am using 200 film. I am using the best photo processing (I go to Black's, and always stay away from Wal-Mart), and use glossy paper. My lens should be ok, but I did not know about the scanning. I always saved in JPEG... I didn't realize that I should use TIFF and then convert to JPEG. I rarely sharpen my photos - I guess I should sharpen a little, but not too much. I usually take pictures in the best weather conditions - bright, sunny days (and try to stay away from shadows). I didn't know about the under-exposure on cloudy days though.
Darcy
RE: Blurry Photos
Hi Darcy
What I do is scan the shot, crop, adjust sharpness etc in Corel Photo Paint 9 and save as .BMP file.
I then open up Adobe Photo Shop and touch up any "spots" then save as .JPG.
Once saved as .JPG I then compress using JPEG Wizard to reduce the size of the file
All my recent shots have been done this way and I find it works very well indeed.
Regards
Gary Watt
Aberdeen, Scotland.
What I do is scan the shot, crop, adjust sharpness etc in Corel Photo Paint 9 and save as .BMP file.
I then open up Adobe Photo Shop and touch up any "spots" then save as .JPG.
Once saved as .JPG I then compress using JPEG Wizard to reduce the size of the file
All my recent shots have been done this way and I find it works very well indeed.
Regards
Gary Watt
Aberdeen, Scotland.
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