I got a Canon Rebel T2i a couple of months ago and for the most part love it! It is my first dslr camera and I am slowly getting out of auto mode. My problem is that alot of my pictures of people are not as clear as I think they should be. I dont seem to notice much blur with my other photo's. I am really confused on what I am doing wrong. I don't know if it is the ISO settings or what. The pic that I am posting has an ISO of 400 and it looks pretty much like myother blurry pics...just not crisp and clear. Can an ISO of 400 make that much of a difference compared to an ISO of 100? Is that my problem? I appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks!
An ISO of 400 is unlikely the problem - what are your aperture and shutter settings? It's hard to tell when blowing up these photos because they are in a lower resolution. Is your camera set to its highest quality jpeg setting?
Not sure what you expect. These pics looks fine. ISO 400 on the t2i won't look noticeably different than 100 is most conditions. What lenses are you using?
Hi Julie. Yes It is set at the highest quality jpeg setting. My shutter is at 1/25
Aperture: f/4.5 on this one. Alot of the time I am using the "Av" mode while I am learning to set my own fstops but I also seem to have some problems when I even use the auto mode. My other pictures (of objects or such) seem to be crisp and clear. I am not sure if it is a Auto Focus problem or what. I have tried setting my auto focus to one shot AF and making double sure that my subject is the one in focus......
@mikew pretty much nailed it. 1/25 and 1/30 is way too slow of a shutter speed. You should be at LEAST 1/125, preferably 1/250 in order to prevent motion blur.
I shoot AV most of the time as well, which is the best program mode to use to manage your shutter speed. If it's fairly light out, keep the ISO under 400 and tinker with your f-stop (closing it up as much as possible while still maintaining AT LEAST 1/125 sec).
If it is darker out, set your f-stop to something reasonable that will keep the subject in the focal plane and tinker with the ISO, increasing it until you once again reach the desired minimum shutter speed.
In a nutshell, I would definitely say your blur is due to your slow shutter speed.
Hi Brad- I am using the lens that came with the camera, 18/55 (not sure how you write it)..Maybe these arent the worst out of the bunch but there is a noticeable blur in my people photos...I will pick another and put it up. @Michael- Yes they were shot in the park at about 6 pm (an hour and half before sunset) Its possible that I had the ISO still set at 400 after playing with it. I am trying to learn but getting a little overwhelmed, but it also happens alot when I use the Auto setting....I never used to have a shake problem...LOL. I am taking some classes next month to better learn my settings but I thought I would try to figure this out. Thanks for all of your help guys :)
Hi Tanja :) I think everything I am doing is too slow...LOL...There is so much to learn but I am trickling away with it. I guess my biggest problem is learning what is a fast shutter speed and what is a slow one. Was never good at math. So that makes sense...if my shutter speed is too slow, then I am probably moving just enough to cause a blur. Hmmmm...I am so thankful for such helpful people on here :)
@cortens, @bradleynovak@mikew@beautifulthing@grizzlysghost Thank you all so much...I guess my horrible math skills have been part to blame... Not understanding the fractions with the shutter speed. I will keep learning and hopefully someday get it down. I appreciate your guys help so much! THANK YOU!!
Read, shoot, shoot, shoot some more. Read and shoot a lot again. Nothing compares to getting out there and challenging the old "trial and error". This is a wonderful learning site. Best of luck!
In these two examples, are you focusing on the black t-shirt? Because if you have say spot weighted index going on, then the camera may think it is darker then it is. This guys bald pate especially in the first shot is a little overblown. Try the same settings but aim it at the shiny part of his head.
@bobfoto...I have been trying to master the auto focus and I set it to one shot because I thought I would have more control but maybe I don't. I try to focus on the eyes but I dont know if its better to use manual selection and set my focus point myself or let the camera pic the focus point (I just notice that it really picks the wrong thing alot LOL) Any tips on Al focus, al servo or one shot? Which one would you use? Thanks!!
@pocketmouse Thanks so much...There is so much to learn and learning when and why is the most confusing but all of these tips are definitely helping! Thank You!
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It's rare you'd have to shoot at ISO 400 outdoors in sunshine.
But any blur is more likely due to incorrect focus or camera shake (at 1/25th and 1/30th it's almost surely the latter)
Aperture: f/4.5 on this one. Alot of the time I am using the "Av" mode while I am learning to set my own fstops but I also seem to have some problems when I even use the auto mode. My other pictures (of objects or such) seem to be crisp and clear. I am not sure if it is a Auto Focus problem or what. I have tried setting my auto focus to one shot AF and making double sure that my subject is the one in focus......
I shoot AV most of the time as well, which is the best program mode to use to manage your shutter speed. If it's fairly light out, keep the ISO under 400 and tinker with your f-stop (closing it up as much as possible while still maintaining AT LEAST 1/125 sec).
If it is darker out, set your f-stop to something reasonable that will keep the subject in the focal plane and tinker with the ISO, increasing it until you once again reach the desired minimum shutter speed.
In a nutshell, I would definitely say your blur is due to your slow shutter speed.
Just noticed your in Omaha as well =)
As a rule of thumb I avoid hand holding anything slower than 1/60 as the risk for blur is likely.
Try this.
Change to TV mode, wind it up to around 1/200 of a second and then take a portrait shot.
Now having said all that I own a Rebel and it has always been soft but a lens will have a sweet spot.
Put your camera on a tripod and take photos along the range of the lens. i.e. start zoomed out, zoom in a bit, take another photo,
Then have a look at your images, You will see that at some point in the zoom, your image will be clearer than other parts.
I am actually in Bellevue but that practically just down the street form Omaha LOL
This will darken the rest of the shot eh?