Christmas Ornament

This looks like a photo for an advertisement. I presume that you will have this sold by next Christmas, and so we better enjoy it while it is up here.

--Lannie

For this shot, I was trying to focus on the center ball - especially the

spot between the two red flowers. I don't think it's as sharp as I wanted.

I was not using a tripod and only using available light. The lens was a

Sony 18-200.... I'd love sugestions! Please......

Diane

Diane... An excerpt from what appears to be a glorious Christmas tree. Suggestions? Well, as you said it has a tad of soft focus; although at 1600 ISO, 125s, and f/6.3 it should have been sharp..... must have been the eggnog :-).

I've made just a couple edits, I hope you don't mind. First removing a little of the yellow to bring the whites out more naturally, then adjusting the light levels to try and have more separation between your main subject ball and the surrounding darks. Finally, I applied some unsharp mask to take out a little of the soft focus. Realizing this makes it a little stark, I've gone back and added just a touch of gaussian blur to parts of the background.

Regardless, a festive holiday shot that really grabbed my attention. A Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year to you and your family..... Mike

Mike -

Thanks so much for the edits! I think it's much improved.

I'm assuming you made the edits in PS...which I have but have never gotten into. Have just gotten back into some serious photography (used to shoot film) and am currently using Picasa for quick edits until I begin to learn the ins and outs of digital.

And I wish I could blame the focus on eggnog!

I hope you have a nice holiday too..

Diane