A Sharp look

[wburke]

I wish to obtain a very sharp look to a few shots in my next short, which will be shot on DV, probley the Canon XL1.
(i dont mean just a standard shot in focus)
i studied that photographers who are shooting macro Close up shots , needing very sharp pictures, (for example wet fruit!) they will flood the subject with light and then stop down to a very high Apperature around F32 and so create a very large Depth of Field.

is it possible to do this in my film, to flood my location with light and then close the apperature as much as possible?
this is kinda expensive i know but i'm using cheapo flood lights in a small room..
if i do this will i get a huge Depth of field , especially as i'm using the digital camera and not film..

or should i bother and leave it to Post..

will

 

[David Mullen ASC]

The reason macro photographers stop down is not really due to sharpness (most lenses just need to be stopped down a little to be effectively sharp) but depth of field, which can be quite low when focusing that close.

But since DV has much more depth of field compared to 35mm, it becomes less necessary to use that much light and stop down the lens. On the other hand, for shooting inserts that tight, it's not a bad idea to be stopped down a little -- and it's not that hard to do. Even a 1K will give you quite a deep stop when it is close to an object for a macro shot.

But I'm just talking about holding focus, not sharpness. Sharpness is a perception more than anything, the feeling that textures pop out at you with fine detail. Lighting to emphasize texture will help make things look sharper. Higher contrast in lighting tends to enhance the feeling of sharpness, because a black edge against a white edge LOOKS sharper than a dark gray edge against a light gray edge. So low-contrast images tend to feel softer.

You'll notice that objects in inserts -- like food -- tend to be softly backlit as the key light to bring out the surface textures. A harder light would even create more sharp textures but it may start to look less flattering.

Sure, lenses tend to be their optical best when stopped down a little, usually two stops down from wide-open.

Plus DV uses artificial sharpening -- edge enhancement -- to make up for a lack of resolution in the format and the lenses used. But there are limits to how much you can get away with before it looks obvious.

Shallow-focus shots can look sharp too -- only what's in focus is the only thing that looks sharp. But it can give the impression of better sharpness because you have a frame of reference, a sharp object against a soft background.

If you are talking about lighting people and rooms, not close shots of objects, you don't need to stop down to look sharper. You really need to light for more contrast, not flatly, more from the back and side with less fill.