How do I go about fixing some of the issues with my photos? The first picture is the original photo I took straight from the camera to here. The second photo is the original that I edited, but I'm not sure if I made it any better (just brighter). I'd also like to know why most of the pen is in focus, but the very bottom, near the nib, is blurry.
Thanks in advance!
You're using a single light almost directly over the pen without modification. If all you have is the single light, put a light modifier between the light and the subject. You can use a thin piece of silk or cotton, or a sheet of plastic difusion material (like the stuff you see on a florescent light). You can even use a large piece of tracing paper (in the art supplies section.)
Although the angle of your pen affects what's in focus and what's not, it's really a factor of something called "depth of field" which is determined by your lens.
In your case, you have a "short" depth of field.
Some of the factors that affect depth of field are: a. the focal length of the lens, i.e., telephoto lenses have naturally shorter depth of fields than wide-angle lenses; b. you're aperture setting, i.e., a wider aperture (f2 to f5.6 has a much shorter depth of field than smaller apertures (f16 - f32). In order to get to the smaller apertures, you need to light your subject more, or shoot at a slower speed - and then you'll need a tripod; and c. the distance from the front of your lens to your subject (focusing distance), i.e., the closer you are to your subject, the shorter your depth of field.
In order to solve all those problems you need a camera than enables you to manually control all of the above parameters.
I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear, but those are the facts.
Regards,
t.
