Need advice on focusing

[mullyman]

This is a shot I took of my wife. I've done quite a few of these types of shots and more often than not they are slightly out of focus. I'm finding that the shot that comes out sharp is the exception for me.

Anyway, here it is....



Information:

Camera: Canon EOS Kiss X3 (Rebel T1i)
Exposure: 0.05 sec (1/20)
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

Any tips you guys or gals could give would be greatly appreciated.
MULLY
If you click on this photo and check the bigger size on Flickr you'll see how really bad it is

[btafly]

Hi There

Try increasing your exposure 1/20 is quite a slow shutter speed and leads to camera shake

[inkista]

Increase the iso and stop down. More DoF makes focus accuracy less critical, and the rule of thumb for not getting camera shake blur in the shot is to shoot at a shutter speed of 1/focal_length or faster. In this case, a 50mm lens, that means 1/50s or faster. And this is assuming you know how to hold your camera. You have a dSLR. You can use iso 800 without fear. Honest and truly.

The sharpness sweet spot on the 50/1.8 II, btw, is around f/4-f/5.6.

Also, with focusing, sometimes it helps to turn off all but one of the AF points, so that you can tell the camera exactly what it is you want in focus, rather than letting the camera guess. When the apertures get wide and the DoF gets thin, you need to be able to place your focus much more accurately. Aiming for high-contrast targets (ideally, where black-meets-white) will help. In low-light the 50/1.8 can get wonky in AF accuracy because there might not be enough contrast.

[mullyman]

Thanks for the tips. I'll give them a try and see what happens.
MULLY

[mullyman]

Thanks again for the tips. I'm a little more satisfied this time around. BTW, she was cat napping on the sofa and I pointed and said "SMILE" she looked up and I snapped it. hehe!!
MULLY



Camera: Canon EOS Kiss X3
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 1600
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire


I'm still very early in the learning process here so forgive me if the F stop and the ISO are not normal. I took several photos using different settings before I snapped this one and those were the settings that made the photos look the way I was wanting them to. I'm really looking forward to my books getting here so I can study some of this stuff. Right now it's pretty much a crap shoot.
MULLY

[leonaashlee]

Your wife is a pretty lady Mully.

[mullyman]

Originally Posted by leonaashlee

Your wife is a pretty lady Mully.

Thank you, Leona. Yeah, I like her pretty much.

Hey, I know I'm new around here and you guys don't know me at all but I'd like to get a little personal for a second.

Last May we found that my wife had cervical cancer. Luckily they caught it in time and a hysterectomy got rid of everything, but we were really lucky. We were told that once the symptoms show it's pretty much too late.We got lucky that she was still at stage 1B. God only knows what another 6 months would have done to her. Anyway, a few of the ladies around here have befriended me, virtually, so I would just like to say... Please, make sure you get regular checkups. I can't imagine what my life would have been like had something happened to this wonderful woman that was stupid enough to marry me. It thrills me to the teeth to be able to take her photograph like this.

I guess that's another reason why my wife has been my main subject so far.

Sorry for going off topic here so to keep it worthy....

Does the info on my shot look better this time or am I still way off the mark? Does it matter what f-stops, ISO's etc... are used if you are personally happy with the outcome?

I'm a serious beginner here so any advice/information is appreciated. And yes, I'm slowly going through the tutorials on this site when I have the time. The photo I entered in the "Centered" assignment was my attempt at following the DOF tutorial.
MULLY
so I'm not just asking Q's without at least looking through tutorials and FAQ's

[idb]

Yup, second shot is MUCH better. Well done! You learn quickly. All the best to you and your wife.

[SoxAddict]

Awesome "before" and "after" shots Mully. And I'm happy to hear that your wife was so lucky with her condition being caught so early. Glad that everything worked out on that front especially. Nice to meet you!

[JustJim]

Please, make sure you get regular checkups.
Guys as well. Obviously not for the very same thing, but you know what I mean.

That aside, the improvement between #1 and #2 is great. You might have let her wake up and open her eyes just a fraction more in the second! The focus, which was your main concern, is much sharper in the second and I like the lighting on her hair as well.

All the best to both of you.