what lens to rent ?

[86JR]

I have a project due in for FOTONOW called portrait of the hoe, its for uni.

Its going to be exhibited to the public and could potentially make or break my photographic career. Some of mine have been picked to show, but im not happy with all but one of them really:

Love this one.^

Then these that im not happy with:

I made this out of one shot but the lecturer who chose them didnt even look at it, and its quite pap quality, 70-300mm at 300mm

If i could make a similair one in much higher quality i would be very happy. Possibly from mount batten ?
I want to go to mount edgecombe (plymouth) and climb up the hill and take a shot of the hoe, and then, using selective colour, just colour in the lighthouse. But would also like a panoramic shot of it.

I have to take : 50mm 1.8, 70-300mm, 18-70mm. Im wondering if the 18-70 will be sharp enough, never managed to get a sharp shot with this lens.

So, what would be best to rent for a 2 day period. No budget.

thanks

 

[Gaffer]

Its going to be exhibited to the public and could potentially make or break my photographic career.

Ok. I have been watching you post here. You have lots of enthusiasm but to be fair, your pictures are missing the mark. Let me try to be constructive.

Brid in flight, is one of the most difficult things to shoot well but it is very rewrding when it comes off. They move fast, they are difficult to focus on and they are shy so they don't like to come close.

There are several techniques for getting close to birds. You could use a hide. They are expensive to buy but you find them ready built in some locations. Is there a RSPB centre near you? Check it out. Use google to search for birding locations nearby.

A car can be a very effective hide (if you have one) roll the window down in a suitable location and wait. Birds tend to ignore cars much more than they do someone standing outside.

Bring bird food. With some birds, seagulls, ducks and the like, they will come very close for food scraps.

And you have *got* to get the horizon level.

Expect to take hundreds and hundreds of bird pictures to get one decent one.

This isn't doing much for me. No impact, if you see what I mean. Light trails would work better where they make a more impressive pattern. I would shoot somewhere darker (no streetlights) with more cars going round some sort of interesting curve.

When doing portraits, think about your background. You either want a relevant, clear background which positions your subject in their environment (possibly out of focus but still identifiable and clerly meant to be there), or you want background which is completely blurred or indisticnt, so that it does not distract for the subject. Watch out for things like half-a-signpost in the beackground - unless it is specifically there for some reason.

It appears to be out of focus. That's a non-starter. Have a look at other people's pictures of plymouth lighthouse:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=plymouth+lighthouse

Note some of the common features:

Bright colours. red/white building contrasting with green grass and blue sky.

Off-centre positioning of the building in the frame. Sometimes a jaunty angle.

A viewpoint where the lighthouse isn't lost amongst other buildings.

I have to take : 50mm 1.8, 70-300mm, 18-70mm. Im wondering if the 18-70 will be sharp enough, never managed to get a sharp shot with this lens.

So, what would be best to rent for a 2 day period. No budget.

You have got all the kit that you need. A wide lens, a fast lens and a telephoto.

Andrew

 

[sorn21]

Im wondering if the 18-70 will be sharp enough, never managed to get a sharp shot with this lens.

have to say, post before me is ver,y very accurate, listen to him!
but as for it being a "sharp lens" do you have a tripod?
I assume so due to your light trails shot, but could be supported by a handrail...

 

[martinturner]

How about just keeping it simple and doing a closer crop of it with the kit you have already?

I took the below shot over a year ago with a D40 and a 50mm which I manually focussed. You have this kit already!!!

 

[Mr Jones]

I agree with all the comments above me and I think it's fair.
I'd like to ask though, do you wear glasses? Either answer, when was the last time you've checked? I find most of your shots out of focus, which could well be your camera AF having, you're not using the AF points correctly or something less likely, like you needing your eyes checked. Just a thought.

 

[peterattheboro]

Don't worry about it making or breaking your career. You'll have plenty of opportunities if you stick at it.