Tiny little fingers - advice needed

[kuul13]

I am still learning from the critiques I got on my previous posts.. and this is another shot that I tried to get of my little angel.. I am not sure if this picture is too soft or blurry? I would appreciate if you can critique on this shot on anything...

EXIF Information:
Camera: NIKON D80
Flash : Not Used
Exposure Time: 1/30 (0.033s)
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 200
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Shutter Priority

[lputman]

Please add exif if available.

[SusanH1970]

I see what you were going for, but yeah, it's definitely out of focus. Looks a bit underexposed, too.

[kuul13]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

I see what you were going for, but yeah, it's definitely out of focus. Looks a bit underexposed, too.

Hmm, how can I make it a perfect shot with same setup..? Please give some tips!

[SusanH1970]

You can try bumping your ISO up and using a faster shutter speed. 1/30 is really slow, especially if you're taking the shot hand-held.

[kuul13]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

You can try bumping your ISO up and using a faster shutter speed. 1/30 is really slow, especially if you're taking the shot hand-held.

Susan, thanks for the tip.. I will try this today and post for your expert comments..

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by kuul13

Susan, thanks for the tip.. I will try this today and post for your expert comments..

You're very welcome for the tip, but I'm far from an expert!

Looking forward to seeing more from you.

[kuul13]

I was not able to get the same composition again but I was managed to click this picture yesterday.. Please let me know your comments on the composition and if this looks better in focus or not?

EXIF Info:
Camera: Nikon D80
Flash: Not used
Exposure Time: 1/20
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure: Manual

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by kuul13

I was not able to get the same composition again but I was managed to click this picture yesterday.. Please let me know your comments on the composition and if this looks better in focus or not?

EXIF Info:
Camera: Nikon D80
Flash: Not used
Exposure Time: 1/20
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure: Manual

You used a slower shutter speed - what was your ISO? Still looks pretty soft.

[kornbread]

Try to get your shutter speed up to about 1/125. I have twin baby girls, and shots like this are really tough to get sharp because they are moving all over the place. You can get this by bumping up your ISO, opening your aperture, or bringing in more light. Here are some steps that I'd take:

1-Set your aperture to about 3.5, if your lens will allow. You probably won't want to go any wider than that because the depth of field is so shallow it might make it hard to get the focus that you want.
2-Set up right next to a window, you don't want direct sunlight coming in, but make sure you are getting a lot of light from the window. This alone might give you enough light to get your shutter speed up there.
3-Bring some lamps or other lights over, and set them next to the window (experiment with placement of these lights to get the desired shadows.)
4-Try the shot again, and keep an eye on the shutter speed.
5-Post your results here. Don't forget this step.