newbie help

[lkrus]

please tell me whats wrong and how i can correct it this is my first attempt at taking pics outside of the auto function
camera is
Canon PowerShot sx20is
shooting mode= manual
shutter 1/10
aperture 4.0
iso 100
focal length 14.6 mm
white bal auto

[Surprised]

I'm not an expert by any means but two things strike me about this.

Firstly the shutter-speed is too slow; at 1/10 you're likely to get a bit of movement by the subject that will result in significant loss of sharpness in the image. I think you will need to have a quicker shutter speed; and to compensate you will need to increase your aperture (a lower F-number) or choose a faster ISO number (a higher ISO, that is). (I'm pretty sure I've got everything right there although I'm still learning myself).

However the second thought I have about this is that the light source seems oddly-placed. Is it below your model? It seems to be causing some strange shadows, particularly of the eye-lashes and around the nose. Am I also right in thinking there wasn't much light around anyway when you took the shot? That could explain some of your settings...

Nice model, by the way.

[wulf]

I think you have managed to hold the camera steady enough - there is some quite sharp detail from where you have focused on her jumper. The trouble is that you really want that focus to be on her face, particularly her eyes. I suspect that is a challenge with your camera - accurate focusing is a reason many people step up to a DSLR - but you can probably get there with a bit of perseverance (and being willing to make multiple attempts for each shot).

I think Surprised is spot on about the lighting. Just a small reflector held out of frame above the the left side of the model's head would probably make a big difference in evening things up.

Wulf