Hi all. I've beens shooting for one year. I'm new to 365 and so far am loving this forum. I need your expertise please. When shooting, some photos are right on point in being focused, while others are blurred and not as sharp. I need at least 98% of whatever I shoot to be 100% in focus. I know to place the points on the eyes which I do but I'm still messing up. I do not want to rely on a mono/tripod especially since most photos I take it just isn't feasible. I am quite frustrated. I wonder if I'm shaking. I'm certain it isn't the camera because many photos are focused. I'm certain it's me. What can I do to maximize my focusing in photographs?? The pictures you see of mine here on 365 are just for the October daily challenge. I normally shoot people. Just yesterday I did photos of a friend's little girl at the pumpkin patch and later a sister's baby shower. Although some were fabulous shots, many were blurred. Please help!!! Thanks so much!!
what focusing method are you using? get away from allowing your camera to decide the focus point (even if the dots overlap your point of interest). use a manually chosen focal point instead. I notice that you shoot a lot of static (still) closeups, so a Single focal point should work for you. Alternately, explore the Dynamic focus point, which will follow your subject if they move slightly out of frame.
Manually deciding the point focuses on that point and only that point; the auto focus will likely focus on a general area, and not be as sharp.
Don't avoid auto altogether, just use it when appropriate, like shooting a flock of birds in flight, or kids running around eratically.
You have a real nice camera there, so explore its various Dynamic points, too... on my Nikon D600, I can go dynamic and choose my point, then it can run around the frame and my camera will track it. The results can make you feel like a sniper. (My favourite test is to try shooting birds in flight, just a few feet away from me.)
Also, when shooting real close up (*especially* macro), go super high on your f/stop numbers to maximize your depth of field... DOF disappears exponentially at close distances. That's why dedicated macro lenses can go as high as f/51, and *still* not be deep enough, forcing you to go with focus stacking in order to gain a deep DOF for bug and flower shots.
I would try a larger aperture but after looking at the photos you posted the shutter speed on most of them is fairly slow which will can result in blurry photos if the camera is handheld. I would try something of at least 1/100 or faster. Hope this will help =)
@cameronknowlton Wow, that was fast Cameron! Thanks for your response. The pictures you see here on 365 are merely photos for the daily challenge. I normally do not shoot still objects like this but mostly people. Just yesterday I shot a girlfriend's little girl at the pumpkin patch and later a sister's baby shower. I'm disappointed in many of the shots I took (a few were really nice though!). I will definitely try to do as you've suggested. TODAY! Thank you so much!!!
@tanja_1211 Tanja thanks for the prompt response, I appreciate it!! LIke I mentioned to Cameron the pictures you see here on 365 are merely photos for the October daily challenge. I normally do not shoot still objects like this, it's mostly people. Just yesterday I shot a girlfriend's little girl at the pumpkin patch and later a sister's baby shower. I'm disappointed in many of the shots I took (a few were really nice though!). I will definitely work on my shutter speed as you've suggested. TODAY! Thank you so much!!!
good eye, @tanja_1211... Shannon, again, you have a great camera, so feel free to experiment with some higher ISOs... 400 is a comfort zone on a cloudy day, 200 on a sunny one, but I've been pushing 2000+ with few issues, and even higher on brighter days. (I've found that I can get away with ISO 5000 on a cloudy day, but not at night... the low light emphasizes the noise.)
Definitely follow Tanja's advice; adjust ISO and aperture for 1/200th of a second, and see how that works for you. We all have our own 'steady speed', which changes for me based on which lens I have on which body, and how smooth the trigger is. When I got my tried a 70-200mm on my D90, it took me about an hour or 2 to go from 1/200th to 1/60th to maintain the same stability. My D600 is heavier, but it balances my heavier 105mm macro lens better, so I'm good up to about 1/100th with that combo.
It's amazing how steady you get when you go back to your lighter lens or body.
Another thought on that note... try setting your camera to allow Auto ISO, up to a max of, oh, say, 640. Your camera should allow more flexibility, while still hitting a nice steady shot, without moving into noisy territory. ISO 640 was pushing it on my old D90 (but great in daylight); I get the same latitutude on my D600 at 6400 (but lower is always cleaner). ISOs 12800 and 25600 are truly miserable, however.
@cameronknowlton Cameron, this is exactly why I became a member of 365 -- TO LEARN!! Thank you so much!! I'll be going out today to try all of what you and Tanja have suggested!! I was able to create another album and add photos that I've been taking...
I noticed this shot by Roz Greening @roz2012, taken at ISO 2000 on a Canon 7D: http://365project.org/roz2012/more-2012/2012-10-12
I thought you'd appreciate the similar rig as yours. The high ISO in daylight gave him a 1/2000th of a second shot to freeze the motion perfectly for the raptor. High ISO isn't just for night time :)
Hi thanks for mentioning my shot Cameron I struggled for 3 days to get decent shots of these birds in overcast light they move so fast! I was using a 70-200mm f/2,8 lens with a 2 x teleconvertor giving me a focal distance of 400mm on the 7D which gave me a lowest aperture of f/5.6 but even with this I struggled to get these incredibly fast birds in focus. In the end after a bit of reading I read that f/8 was probably a better aperture and I needed at least 1/1000 and to worry about the noise levels later so I went with this. Obviously I would have preferred a lower ISO but to get the focus right I had to compromise somewhere. I used Noiseware to get rid of the majority of noise and it made a decent job. Hope this helps .
@cameronknowlton God bless you Cameron! You have been such a great help. I'm desperately seeking to find why I'm not focusing well. Being too scared to raise the ISO is one. Another is using auto focus. I've never used manual until reading your suggestion. Increasing shutter speed I haven't been doing either. Guess I need to get out of AV/TV modes.. Thanks again!!
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Manually deciding the point focuses on that point and only that point; the auto focus will likely focus on a general area, and not be as sharp.
Don't avoid auto altogether, just use it when appropriate, like shooting a flock of birds in flight, or kids running around eratically.
You have a real nice camera there, so explore its various Dynamic points, too... on my Nikon D600, I can go dynamic and choose my point, then it can run around the frame and my camera will track it. The results can make you feel like a sniper. (My favourite test is to try shooting birds in flight, just a few feet away from me.)
Also, when shooting real close up (*especially* macro), go super high on your f/stop numbers to maximize your depth of field... DOF disappears exponentially at close distances. That's why dedicated macro lenses can go as high as f/51, and *still* not be deep enough, forcing you to go with focus stacking in order to gain a deep DOF for bug and flower shots.
Definitely follow Tanja's advice; adjust ISO and aperture for 1/200th of a second, and see how that works for you. We all have our own 'steady speed', which changes for me based on which lens I have on which body, and how smooth the trigger is. When I got my tried a 70-200mm on my D90, it took me about an hour or 2 to go from 1/200th to 1/60th to maintain the same stability. My D600 is heavier, but it balances my heavier 105mm macro lens better, so I'm good up to about 1/100th with that combo.
It's amazing how steady you get when you go back to your lighter lens or body.
http://365project.org/roz2012/more-2012/2012-10-12
I thought you'd appreciate the similar rig as yours. The high ISO in daylight gave him a 1/2000th of a second shot to freeze the motion perfectly for the raptor. High ISO isn't just for night time :)