Focus - need help with sharp pictures

[Amanda0102]

I'm struggling to learn photography and am ridiculously frustrated at the lack of sharpness in my images.

I feel like I've tried everything and nothing seems to fix the issue. Tips/ideas/help? I'm currently shooting a Nikon D5000 with the Nikkor 35m F1.8 lens. I had one lucky shot with a newborn baby, otherwise I'm finding the focal point is very small and the rest of the photo just not clear no matter what aperture I use. I've also played with ISO and shutter speed and they're all awful.

Help.

[RLucas]

Hi there Amanda! Sorry you are having such a hard time. Why not post a couple of images with EXIF, so we can have a look, and maybe someone can help.

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by RLucas

Hi there Amanda! Sorry you are having such a hard time. Why not post a couple of images with EXIF, so we can have a look, and maybe someone can help.

Yup....this. We do need to see examples with EXIF if we are going to be able to offer you some help. We're a pretty friendly bunch and would love to help.

[inkista]

How to Take Sharp Digital Images. It's probably not just the focus that's an issue.

And secondly, Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure may help you figure out iso/aperture/shutter speed and how they interact with each other.

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by inkista

How to Take Sharp Digital Images. It's probably not just the focus that's an issue.

Good call, Oh Goddess of All Things Photographically Technical (or is it Technically Photographic?).

That's one article I hadn't seen, and I thought I'd read pretty much everything on the blog. Bookmarked to share in the future.

[Amanda0102]

Thank you for the encouraging replies! I'm a little gun-shy after a bad experience on another forum; hoping the "friendly group" comment rings true!

Will check out that article, thank you. In the meantime, I wanted to throw some examples up (forgive the idiocy of the blind initial post - I was typing one-handed w/my baby and couldn't manage much more). All of these are shot with the 35mm f1.8.

Here's the newborn shot I really like (and know others won't):


ISO500, 1/60, f 1.8

Here are a bunch of frustrating lost shots:

Mouth in focus - eyes dull and not:

ISO1000, 1/800, f 1.8

Just not at all crisp:

ISO1000, 1/80, f 4.5

Not crisp; dull eyes:

ISO800, 1/25, f 5

Continued...

[Amanda0102]

...more -

Dull:

ISO1000, 1/50, f 4

Eyes dull and only part of face in focus:

ISO3200, 1/200, f 1.8

Am dying to learn how to both take sharp, clean pictures and to really show luminosity in the eyes. HELP!

[inkista]

Originally Posted by Amanda0102

#2 Mouth in focus - eyes dull and not:
ISO1000, 1/800, f 1.8

Ok, this one is a focus issue--with portraits, they'll feel more in focus if the eyes are in focus. And you were shooting wide open. Given that you had a shutter speed of 1/800s, you had a little latitude there to stop down the lens to a smaller aperture for more DoF. You could have taken the shutter speed down to 1/100s, and given yourself three extra stops (a stop is a doubling of the light. 1/800 -> 1/400 -> 1/200 -> 1/100 is increasing by three stops). So, that you could have closed down the aperture to f/5 and still had the same exposure.

#3 Just not at all crisp:
ISO1000, 1/80, f 4.5

Actually, it is. Look at the shirt. You just front-focused this one. Again. Keep the focus on the eyes. But yes, the background will be out of focus like this.

#4 Not crisp; dull eyes:
ISO800, 1/25, f 5

Ok, here we're getting into possibly too slow a shutter speed. When handholding, the rule of thumb is to shoot with a shutter speed of 1/focal_length or faster to eliminate camera shake while handholding. With a 35mm lens, that means 1/35s or faster. But 1/30s is also close to some folks' absolute bottom shutter speed. I'd actually say aim for something closer to 1/60s for safety. As for the eyes--there's no light to reflect, so detail is lost in shadow. This is where using a flash may come in handy. You're really straining for more light. You could make things easier on yourself simply waiting for a sunnier time of day.

Also, the "dull" part? Could be the fact that you probably haven't post-processed anything here. By default dSLRs tend to be as neutral and hands-off on post-processing as possible. P&S cameras tweak sharpness and saturation in a one-size-fits-all manner. If you don't want to go through post-processing to get the best out of every image individually, you may want to consider messing with the in-camera processing settings.

Originally Posted by Amanda0102

Dull:
ISO1000, 1/50, f 4

Note again, no catchlight in the eyes. You have to place a light source somewhere that it can be reflected in the eyes, or with dark eyes, detail will be lost in shadow. But note, too, that using a smaller aperture (f/4 vs. f/1.8), you have more DoF, and your background isn't as blurred as it is the other shots.

Eyes dull and only part of face in focus:
ISO3200, 1/200, f 1.8

Yes, well, you're working in close, and you're shooting wide open. That means thin DoF. You're working in bad light. Pay attention to the light. Just because you have a fast lens still doesn't mean you can shoot in the dark. In this situation, turn on another light, or add a flash. A camera needs more light to see by than the human eye. If you'd had an external flash unit, like an SB-600, you could have bounced the flash off the wall behind you, and gotten catchlights in the eyes.

[Amanda0102]

Thank you so much for the thoughtful reply. I really appreciate everything you suggest.

Questions:

1-Re: PP (in terms of eye luminosity). How is this best achieved? I'm taking a PS course in March (and am very impatient!) and in the meantime, putter around with my iPhoto (I don't even have PS at this point). Can I do anything before taking the class in terms of learning how to enhance/process?

2-The high ISOs were all because of lighting, you're right. It was just circumstance over and over that I was shooting in poorly-lit areas (bathtub at night - outside at dusk). So say you want to shoot the kids in the bath. What do you do in terms of lighting? I do have an SB-600! Tomorrow night is bath night...maybe I'll take notes here and bounce and report back . I'm just gun-shy on a lot of artificial lighting as I learn since I know so many purists and am basically winging it here.

A lot of the photography I admire is shot in natural light - assuming that's the case, how do you structure the setting to make sure there are catchlights?

Thanks again!

[Amanda0102]

Oh and one more question - re: focusing on the eyes. This sounds ridiculously stupid, but WHERE exactly to focus? I've tried one eye, which leaves the other soft. I've tried between the eyes which makes neither sharp. ????

Things like this make up for my continued frustration...