Exposure/Sharpness Right?

[rossim2i2]

I just got a 50mm 1.8 and used it for the first time at a birthday party yesterday. I like taking candid shots, so I figured I'd leave the flash off since my aperture is so wide open. I got some okay shots, but I'm not has happy as I was expecting.

Take the pic below of my father for example. With the flash off, I shot this at ISO 400, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/30. I think if I increased the shutter speed a stop, the picture would have been a little sharper. I also think I could have set the ISO at 800 or 1600. For some reason I have it in my head that the lower the ISO the better (although I'm not 100% sure if that is correct). The other option I had was to put my 430EX II flash on and bounce it off the ceiling. However, with candid shots, I thought it would be better not to use the flash.

Let me know what you think.

[WooD]

I think it came out pretty good.

If you shot it hand held, it's great.

[Digidave]

This shot doesn't look to awfully bad. It could be brightened up a tad bit but over all I like it. I tried looking at a larger view but don't have permission.

1/30th of a second is pretty slow so you may have a bit of camera shake. If you would have gone with ISO 800 you would have a shutter speed of 1/60th. That may have been better. Also, at f/1.8 your depth-of-field is very thin.

The next time I think you should try using your flash with a bounce card. Keep your ISO at 400 or 800. Take your f/stop up to 4.0 or 5.6 for a larger DoF & check your results. The higher ISO will keep your flash from having to work so hard & will be softer. The bounce card will fill in those dark eyes.

[AdrenoJunkie]

Stopping down your aperture a couple stops also will put you in your lens' sweet spot where it's the sharpest. And I don't think there's anything wrong with using flash in candids, as long as you bounce it and don't use it direct. I think your image looks good, it has a nice bokeh and is pretty sharp considering the slow shutter speed.

[ctcook]

I agree with all the previous statements, and I think that flash is ok in candids especially when you bounce it. I think that this image turned out great considering you shot it at 1/30 hand held with no flash. Don't be so hard on yourself.

[rossim2i2]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Yes, this was a hand held shot. I just made it public, so you should now be able to view the larger image on flicker.

I'll keep everyone's suggestions in mind next time. I'll use the flash and play with different ISO and aperture settings to see how they effect the outcome of the shot. I believe that I read the shutter speed should be at least the same as the focal length, so 1/60 probably would have been better.

Again, thanks for the feedback. Just getting started with photography and appreciate the help.