Shooting Flowers with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

Ever since my last post form my Baguio vacation, I’ve been interested in shooting flowers. One weekend I decided to visit some horticulture and landscaping exhibit at the Quezon City Memorial Circle and shot lots of flowers and other gardening materials.

I tried shooting with the 18-55mm IS kit lens of my Canon EOS 1000d, but I wasn’t satisfied with my shots with the lack of sharpness and obvious traces of camera shake. I then opted to use my Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens to shoot the subjects.

I always used my Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens without turning on Live View, but the way the lens focuses without Live View is a little confusing, so when I shot the flowers I finally turned the Live View Option on and opted for some manual focusing. It was great, I was able to zoom and adjust the sharpness of the areas which I want to look sharp and see the depth of field of what will really come out as my shot. So up to the tiniest details such as the pistils of the flower, the texture of the petals…I was able to capture them handheld. Could have been better with a tripod though. I have to buy a new one soon since my old tripod got broken when I was shooting infrared at the University of the Philippines.

Well, I’m still new into this Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens shooting thing, but I do really enjoy this lens. I recommend all DSLR newbies to have it along with the kit lens from the start. As for me, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II was my first purchase even before my Canon EOS 1000d from shifting to Nikon. It’s pretty addicting to use the lens- it’s fast, it produces crisp pictures (if you use it right! ..yeah I’m still learning) and you will keep on looking for that thing called bokeh.

Similar Posts:

• Infrared Photography in Cebu City
• First Runway Shoot
• Impromptu Window Light Portraiture with the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens
• Infrared Shooting in a Japanese Garden
• Random Stills at Cebu City

10 Responses to “Shooting Flowers with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II”

1. Micamyx says:

   January 28, 2009 at 8:25 am

   Love the photos sis!

   I love the third pic. It somewhat made me smile hehe ang saya yellow na yellow tapos ang dami parang ininterpret ko nangyari nung saturday at sunday LOL

   yay. i love flowers. gimme one lol

   Reply
2. Maki Eduardo says:

   January 28, 2009 at 8:32 am

   Yeah! It was fun last saturday at GH

   Flowers? I can only give you pictures! hahahaha Hope you liked them

   Btw, I drew this for you hahaha:

   
   
   Learn how to draw cartoons, comics, and anime at Sketchfu!

   Reply
3. wabbie says:

   January 28, 2009 at 8:52 am

   maki! haha. ung last pic, meron din ako nyan. XD hahaha. gusto ko rin kuhanan mga flowers. cute eh.

   Reply
4. Maki Eduardo says:

   January 28, 2009 at 8:58 am

   Nice! It’s a mini water lily being sold at the stalls! LOL

   Reply
5. Jehzeel Laurente says:

   January 28, 2009 at 9:33 am

   may 2560×1600 ka na size nyan? maganda pang wallpaper! galing galing galing!!!

   Jehzeel Laurentes last blog post..How to Find a Lost Phone Inside a Very Small Room?

   Reply
6. Maki Eduardo says:

   January 28, 2009 at 9:59 am

   Yep I have the RAW files here with me also

   Reply
7. skiper says:

   February 17, 2009 at 2:11 am

   nice yung 2nd pic, ok yung depth of field
   nag shift ka na pala sa cannon?

   skipers last blog post..Fulfillment

   Reply
8. Maki Eduardo says:

   February 17, 2009 at 8:22 am

   yeah i shifted around October ‘08 to canon :p So far I’m satisfied with the performance and features of my 1000d for its price compared to my Nikon D60..but then haha sayang yung Nikon Club Philippines membership ko..hmm bili kaya ulit ako nikon?

   Reply
9. skiper says:

   February 17, 2009 at 8:47 pm

   sayang nga, buti ka pa Club member Ako walang club
   Photo shoot lang with friends, daming naka DSLR dito sa office canon/nikon pero sobrang newbie pa rin ako unlike you ang ganda na ng mga shots mo. Is it because of canon hmmm….

   Reply
10. Maki Eduardo says:

    February 17, 2009 at 9:32 pm

    Hmm.. I don’t have any club right now :p. Shoot with friends..that’s nice…I’m still new into this thing also But then it’s not because of canon hahaha…just shoot. Right now I’m still finding the field that I really like to be into.

    Reply