Portraits in Manual Mode= Help!

[Goldie Green]

Having trouble with manual portrait shots on my Nikon D40.

Currently I am using the Kit 18-55mm Lens on the D40. It does great for clear autofocus shots and basically very good for general photography. When shooting manually I generally use a bracketing method (auto focus first, then I switch over to manual mode...kinda feel like I'm cheating doing it this way!?) Any tips on better ways to shoot manually?

When shooting a still object manually (without bracketing) I can get the object to look clear on the LCD, however when uploaded onto my iMac they are not crisp at all, slightly blurry even. When shooting portraits (manual without bracketing) they are 9 out of 10x completely blurred. (The one will look pretty decent.) What am I doing wrong? How can I improve this?

One more thing: I know I've read that when shooting manually I should be approx 15 feet from the model, is this always true or depending on the lens?

My distant portrait shots turn out great, but the closer I get the more blurry they turn out. (usually when I am trying to get a face shot with a slight bokeh. This is only true for my portraits, because I can get crystal clear shots of a still object standing a few inches away)

[sybren]

Originally Posted by Goldie Green

Currently I am using the Kit 18-55mm Lens on the D40. It does great for clear autofocus shots and basically very good for general photography. When shooting manually I generally use a bracketing method (auto focus first, then I switch over to manual mode...kinda feel like I'm cheating doing it this way!?) Any tips on better ways to shoot manually?

First of all: why would you want to use manual focus, when the auto focus gives you good results? Modern lenses are built for AF performance in mind, not MF accuracy. The view finder's focusing screen also is built for viewing comfort, not manually focussing. It's very difficult to get a proper focus.

When shooting a still object manually (without bracketing) I can get the object to look clear on the LCD, however when uploaded onto my iMac they are not crisp at all, slightly blurry even. When shooting portraits (manual without bracketing) they are 9 out of 10x completely blurred. (The one will look pretty decent.)

Can you give some example images, with EXIF?

One more thing: I know I've read that when shooting manually I should be approx 15 feet from the model, is this always true or depending on the lens?

Nonsense. You take the photo from whatever distance and angle you want - you're the photographer. AFAIK it doesn't matter anything whether any process in your camera is automatic or manual. After all, focussing at 3 meters is focussing at 3 meters, no matter who turned the focusing ring.

[i speak in math]

Firstly, what you are doing isn't bracketing. Secondly, I do a similar thing for many shoots. My auto focus is controlled by a button on the back that I press with my thumb. I auto focus and then I can shoot away without having to wait for the camera to confirm auto focus every time I half-press the shutter. Its a good process that many of the pros recommend. That being said, I mostly use my manual focus lens. I don't find getting perfect focus very hard, but it has an amazing dampened focus ring with a huge focus throw. Modern lenses from nikon and canon assume you won't use manual focus and don't have dampened focusing rings and have very shot focus throws to increase the auto focus speed. This might be why you have trouble manually focusing with it. One tiny movement of the ring moves the focus point several feet. You can't be precise. That only way to improve manual focus skills is practice. I would help to get a nice older manual focus lens too.

[Benji]

When shooting portraits set the auto focus brackets to the singular brackets that are dead center in the viewfinder only. Aim the center of the lens at one eye of the subject, then half press the shutter button. When the a/f light appears and locks the focus on the eue continue holding the button 1/2 way down and recompose the shot the way you want it. When you get the composition you want, press the button all the way down to make the capture. PRESS the button, do not jab at it.

Benji

[Goldie Green]

Originally Posted by i speak in math

Firstly, what you are doing isn't bracketing. Secondly, I do a similar thing for many shoots. My auto focus is controlled by a button on the back that I press with my thumb. I auto focus and then I can shoot away without having to wait for the camera to confirm auto focus every time I half-press the shutter. Its a good process that many of the pros recommend. That being said, I mostly use my manual focus lens. I don't find getting perfect focus very hard, but it has an amazing dampened focus ring with a huge focus throw. Modern lenses from nikon and canon assume you won't use manual focus and don't have dampened focusing rings and have very shot focus throws to increase the auto focus speed. This might be why you have trouble manually focusing with it. One tiny movement of the ring moves the focus point several feet. You can't be precise. That only way to improve manual focus skills is practice. I would help to get a nice older manual focus lens too.

Sorry, I read somewhere once that it was how to "bracket" for manual shots and somewhat the same for silhouettes. Whatever it's called, it seems to work. What is it called?

Thank you for all your comments. I have also been reading that it may very well be the D40 that is all around pretty bad for manual, b/c it wasn't meant for manual. Even though M- Mode is available as a function and primarily what I use, it does not work well at all for starting out in manual focus. It must be started in AutoFocus and then switch to Manual Focus.

I bought this camera one year ago to learn the basics (on a budget) of how to use a DSLR (have always used a film point and shoot) and it has served it purpose well. Now I am ready to upgrade to the D90 for better quality and use of accessories. I wanted the Nifty 50 manual lens to go with the D90 b/c of the fantastic reviews it gets, beautiful bokeh, and of course the lowest price tag! But was worried about the transition... by that I mean using it on the D40 before I can afford to purchase the D90.

Should I just wait it out.... or test the waters with strictly manual focus on the D40? Problem is I would still have to use my kit lens on portrait assignments, simply to make sure I don't miss the shots. Any advice?

[sybren]

I think the most important question is: why do you want to use manual focus? And do you want that badly enough to try another camera for it?

[inkista]

First question--when you get blurry pics, are you shooting indoors without using the flash?

In order to eliminate camera-shake blur with an unstabilized lens, the rule of thumb is to use a shutter speed of 1/focal_length or faster. For a 50mm lens, that means 1/50s or faster. And there will be a lower bound, no matter how short the focal length. My personal limit is 1/30s. Anything lower than that, I need a stabilized lens or a tripod to not have blur showing up in my pics.

My guess is that your shutter speed is probably too slow. The 18-55 kit lens has a maximum aperture of f/3.5 when used at 18mm (zoomed all the way out), but when zoomed all the way in, your maximum aperture is even smaller: f/5.6. Indoors, at f/5.6, you're going to need a very high ISO setting to get a good shutter speed for handholding.

Second question--do you know how to hold your camera? If you're not doing it right, you may need an even faster shutter speed.

[Goldie Green]

Originally Posted by inkista

First question--when you get blurry pics, are you shooting indoors without using the flash?

In order to eliminate camera-shake blur with an unstabilized lens, the rule of thumb is to use a shutter speed of 1/focal_length or faster. For a 50mm lens, that means 1/50s or faster. And there will be a lower bound, no matter how short the focal length. My personal limit is 1/30s. Anything lower than that, I need a stabilized lens or a tripod to not have blur showing up in my pics.

My guess is that your shutter speed is probably too slow. The 18-55 kit lens has a maximum aperture of f/3.5 when used at 18mm (zoomed all the way out), but when zoomed all the way in, your maximum aperture is even smaller: f/5.6. Indoors, at f/5.6, you're going to need a very high ISO setting to get a good shutter speed for handholding.

Second question--do you know how to hold your camera? If you're not doing it right, you may need an even faster shutter speed.

First: No it varies, indoor to outdoor... I know the basics. I understand focal lengths, ISO, aperture, shutter speeds, and the use of tripods.

Second: I do believe hold my camera properly. As far as camera shake I generally need about 1/60 to get a clear shot. If I am down low I can stabilize my elbow on my knee, ground or wall, etc. If I am standing upright, I keep my elbows in toward the body and it helps. But 1/30 is pushing it for me unless there is lots of light to work with.
No VR image stabilization on my camera. I think the main issue is movement, because I am wanting to take pictures of my kids and friends on the playground, and or running through the house!

After another weekend of shooting completely manual I have decided it must be a focal length issue. I need to get used to moving my feet more quickly, and be able to stop & click in a split second! The reason I think this:

I can set my focal length anywhere between 18 - 55mm and the only way I can get in focus is moving my feet closer or farther away. (obviously, right?) However here's the bigger issue, it looks perfect and crystal clear on the LCD & once it's on my desktop screen I see how blurry it actually is.

If I bought a manual lens like the Nifty 50 AF 1.8 that will not focus on the D40, would that be even worse? I am thinking about the AFS 35mm 1.8, but cannot decide between the two.

Thanks for the advice... I will try to upload some example shots.

[Goldie Green]

I posted 3 pics, but would love for you guys to look at the whole set & get an idea of what I'm talking about. I really appreciate the advice. Thank you all. Just wanting to know if I'm on the right track shooting manual & what I can do to improve the blurred shots, as well as what I'm doing right. Honestly the best ones were pure luck. Thank God for the digital era!
Manual Experiments - a set on Flickr

The Best Portrait I achieved on manual:



Was standing literally inches away from her face
Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 55 mm
Focal Length: 55.0 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: -4/3 EV
Flash: Auto, Fired, Return not detected

One of the blurriest portraits on manual:


Was laying on ground about 2-3 ft away while son scoots backwards
Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 18 mm
Focal Length: 18.3 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: -4/3 EV
Flash: Auto, Fired, Return not detected

One of the shots that looked great on LCD & blurry when uploaded, horrible on 100%:


Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 18 mm
Focal Length: 18.3 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Auto, Fired, Return not detected

[Goldie Green]

Originally Posted by sybren

I think the most important question is: why do you want to use manual focus? And do you want that badly enough to try another camera for it?

What camera would you recommend? I see you an extensive list of gear!

I have been looking at lenses compatible with the Nikon D90 so I may eventually upgrade. As I see it, it's a great Prosumer camera that would suit my needs & work with most lenses I can use on my D40 until I can afford the upgrade.

As of now I use mostly manual modes (P, S, A, M) with only the lens switched to A instead of M...if I start out on M that's when the blur happens. If I focus on A then switch to M it's perfect but what's the point? I don't think it changes anything once it's focused. I never use complete auto modes unless it's an emergency & am not ready for the shot.