BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Questions

Increasing DOF in low/moderate light conditions

	Rearward Assault Male Broadtailed Hummingbirds disputing over a perch, Sacramento Peak, New Mexico; f3.5 1/200s @ 70mm macro mode; overcast, midday; cropped and enhanced in iPhoto (Mac); Constructive comments greatly appreciated! Pamela K
	Rearward Assault -- Sharpened same as "Rearward Assault" but with Unsharp Mask applied in PS Pamela K

I was taking pictures of hummingbirds on an overcast day, which was great for bringing out the colors and contrast but made it hard to get action shots. I have one shot that I really like, with one hummer flying up behind a second that is perched. The problem is that the flying hummer is out of focus. Partly because it was moving, but mostly because it was out of my DOF. Unsharp mask helped bring the sitting hummer into focus, but didn't help much with the one that was closer to me.

There's probably nothing I can do about this shot, but I'd like to be able to avoid this problem in the future. Is there a way to increase DOF in these conditions?

Here is the original picture I submitted and the one with Unsharp Mask applied. The original discussion can be found here:

http://www.betterphoto.com/forms/discussionDetail.php?threadID=150439

Thanks for any suggestions.

Pam

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August 02, 2004