An orchid for my wife...

[Al_Hughes]

For Mothers Day, I picked up this orchid as a gift for my wife from our three dogs.

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[Marko]

Hi Al - when uploading to this forum directly - images need to be 310k or less - or the forum compresses them and this can affect sharpness.
This might be happening here as the main left flower doesn't seem that sharp.

Aside from that - I might up the contrast here a bit.
Hope that may help

[Al_Hughes]

Thanks Marko, I don't think I was using a tripod here either. Lesson learned, thanks!

[Marko]

If the shutter speed was less than 1/60, then you needed a tripod no matter what lens you were using.
If the lens is long, then that ups the minimum shutterspeed to 1/focal length of the lens.
So let's say you were at the 200mm end of a 70-200mm zoom....your minimum shutterspeed would need to be 1/200 if you appreciate sharpness :)

What was the exposure?

In this case though it might be a combination of both compression (uploading at less than 310k....the file in this thread is only 31k SMALL for this sized image) and softness.

Hope that may help.

[Iguanasan]

Since the uploaded image is only 31KB I'm guessing it was compressed by the board's software. I'm not sure what you are using for software on your end but you might want to export it again and make it around 800 pixels long and at about 95% jpeg compression which usually brings my images in around 140KB or so which I believe look reasonably sharp but fits well on the forum. I also agree with Marko on the contrast as the light seems flat. If the orchid is still around move it closer to the window and try it again.

[Al_Hughes]

Thanks Iguanasan, your comments are much appreciated. I am going to re-shoot the photo and re-submit. Maybe I'll get my flash out and see if I can bump up the TV. It was shot at f/11 for 4 seconds. I'm still learning though and this has been one of my biggest problems. I like the long exposure shots but couldn't understand why my images aren't sharp.

[Iguanasan]

Thanks Iguanasan, your comments are much appreciated. I am going to re-shoot the photo and re-submit. Maybe I'll get my flash out and see if I can bump up the TV. It was shot at f/11 for 4 seconds. I'm still learning though and this has been one of my biggest problems. I like the long exposure shots but couldn't understand why my images aren't sharp.

So, is the original not sharp either or is it just this one? Remember, this one was compressed by the discussion board's software which can cause degradation in the image.

If the original is not sharp then I would suggest it's another issue. Either the focus is off, the lens is poor, or possibly something moved while the shutter was open. If this was a 4 second exposure did you use a shutter release or did you press the shutter? Try using the countdown timer to wait 2 seconds or 10 seconds and then take a shot if you don't have a shutter release cable.

[Marko]

Iggy - he said he wasn't using a tripod on a 4 second exposure. Problem solved. You need a tripod here :)
I'm surprised it's this sharp actually.

[Al_Hughes]

Unfortunately, I've misplaced the original RAW image, all I can find is the edited jpg. So I can't say if it was sharp or not. At 4 seconds. I must have had it on the tripod because my hands are not THAT steady! However, I did re-shoot the orchid and will re-post it.