Beginner sometimes my photos come out not very sharp and i do not know why (example inc)

[topcat07]

Hello,

In this example the baby monkey has come out not sharp and i dont know why can anyone help please?

P1010770 by

appreciate any advice

Many Thanks

 

[dean messenger]

could be several reason.. camera settings, quality of lens, difficult light etc etc. in this example it looks like your AF has picked up on the grass instead of the monkey which makes me think your using average or evaluative focusing rather than spot focus

 

[Nick_1981]

It looks like there may have been some camera shake and the focus was in front of the monkey. Can you provide some of the exposure info (focal length, shutter speed etc).

 

[topcat07]

It looks like there may have been some camera shake and the focus was in front of the monkey. Can you provide some of the exposure info (focal length, shutter speed etc).

thanks for your reply:

• ƒ/6.4
• 129.0 mm
• 1/125
• 100

 

[topcat07]

thank yo

could be several reason.. camera settings, quality of lens, difficult light etc etc. in this example it looks like your AF has picked up on the grass instead of the monkey which makes me think your using average or evaluative focusing rather than spot focus

thank you for the info i was using auto focusing points as the animals move so fast so i guess this could have caused it?

I have some landscapes to which i have a soft look to them would you guys mind having a look if i post them please?

 

[Phil V]

You've focussed on the grass, that's a common mistake with AF, the monkey doesn't really contain an area of high contrast.
I don't know what your current technique is, so forgive me if I'm teaching my Granny to suck eggs:

You need to take control of the focussing, start with choosing the focus point which is closest to the monkey's face (there may be a need for a little focus - recompose). Once you've got the hang of focussing on a static subject like that, you can move to more complex techniques. But for now you need to take control and understand how it works.

 

[Phil V]

thank yo

thank you for the info i was using auto focusing points as the animals move so fast so i guess this could have caused it?
I have some landscapes to which i have a soft look to them would you guys mind having a look if i post them please?

Sorry this won't help...

could be several reason.. camera settings, quality of lens, difficult light etc etc. in this example it looks like your AF has picked up on the grass instead of the monkey which makes me think your using average or evaluative focusing rather than spot focus

Unfortunately Dean's got his metering modes mixed up with your focus issues, please ignore this as it's bad enough you getting yourself confused without someone trying to help and giving you totally the wrong idea.

 

[petersmart]

If you had focussed on the monkeys eye on part of the bottom lid and part of the eye the autofocus could have coped much better.
.

 

[gad-westy]

thanks for your reply:

• ƒ/6.4
• 129.0 mm
• 1/125
• 100

As others have said, it does look like your focus is a touch off. That aside I would suggest that 1/125 at 129mm is right on the limit and would require a relatively still subject and very good technique or image stabilisation. Personally I'd probably be looking at more like 1/250 if not faster but I don't have an especially steady hand.

 

[topcat07]

You've focussed on the grass, that's a common mistake with AF, the monkey doesn't really contain an area of high contrast.
I don't know what your current technique is, so forgive me if I'm teaching my Granny to suck eggs:

You need to take control of the focussing, start with choosing the focus point which is closest to the monkey's face (there may be a need for a little focus - recompose). Once you've got the hang of focussing on a static subject like that, you can move to more complex techniques. But for now you need to take control and understand how it works.

cheers Phil! I have played around with spot focusing before and realized its effects for some reason i though auto focus would sort me out , school boy error !

lesson learn t always manually plant the focus

 

[topcat07]

As others have said, it does look like your focus is a touch off. That aside I would suggest that 1/125 at 129mm is right on the limit and would require a relatively still subject and very good technique or image stabilisation. Personally I'd probably be looking at more like 1/250 if not faster but I don't have an especially steady hand.

Thank you


I spotted this photo in your signature which is very sharp can i ask how you get everything that sharp?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/56722309@N04/14711376552

for example i did this one in Scarborough and the background seems very soft , where would i put the spot focus or is it more to do with hardware (i am genuinely clueless) ?

P1010854

 

[gad-westy]

Thank you


I spotted this photo in your signature which is very sharp can i ask how you get everything that sharp?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/56722309@N04/14711376552

for example i did this one in Scarborough and the background seems very soft , where would i put the spot focus or is it more to do with hardware (i am genuinely clueless) ?

P1010854

Your shot doesn't look too bad to me in terms of front to back sharpness. Its problem really seems to be dull/uninteresting lighting.

On the shot of my own that you mentioned the sharpness comes from a combination of lots of things. That particular shot required a big depth of field because the sandy shoreline was only a couple of feet in front of the camera. I used a narrow aperture (f/11) and used a technique known as hyper focal to maximise depth of field. It was a long exposure so I used a sturdy tripod and, to minimise camera shake further, I used a remote release and locked the mirror up before shooting. Lastly and probably least important, that shot was taken using a decent 28mm prime lens and a full frame camera.

 

[Phil V]

The lighting in this image is flat.
Whilst good quality gear and solid technique will help with image contrast, and you can still tweak it in post, the fundamental part of photography is that you're making an image on the sensor with the light reflecting from the object you're pointing at.

I can see what you were hoping to achieve in this image, but in dull flat light, you have got exactly the scene you saw.

What gear are you using, I thought I'd seen the detail earlier and it's not there now.

 

[topcat07]

The lighting in this image is flat.
Whilst good quality gear and solid technique will help with image contrast, and you can still tweak it in post, the fundamental part of photography is that you're making an image on the sensor with the light reflecting from the object you're pointing at.

I can see what you were hoping to achieve in this image, but in dull flat light, you have got exactly the scene you saw.

What gear are you using, I thought I'd seen the detail earlier and it's not there now.

My initial thoughts were the sea is quite rough which help make a interesting photo but then as you say the sky lighting completely lets it down i did not realize how much so until i have viewed them on a larger screen (maybe i can sneakily put in a better sky when i figure out how to use photoshop)

Its a Panasonic tz60

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-DMC-TZ60EB-K-Compact-Digital-Camera/dp/B00HO37V4O

 

[Phil V]

My initial thoughts were the sea is quite rough which help make a interesting photo but then as you say the sky lighting completely lets it down i did not realize how much so until i have viewed them on a larger screen (maybe i can sneakily put in a better sky when i figure out how to use photoshop)

Its a Panasonic tz60

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-DMC-TZ60EB-K-Compact-Digital-Camera/dp/B00HO37V4O

No you can't!
Re-read what we said about the importance of the quality of the light. If you add the sky from a harsh sunny day, the rest of the picture isn't going to look up and change the nature of the light hitting it. It'll just look odd.

You need to learn to 'see' the light, it frequently changes from one minute to the next, and can be the difference in a picture between 'meh' and 'wow' in that space of time.

 

[Paul9619]

I found moving to centre focus point only helped with my composition. Multi point seemed to be erratic for me

 

[topcat07]

No you can't!
Re-read what we said about the importance of the quality of the light. If you add the sky from a harsh sunny day, the rest of the picture isn't going to look up and change the nature of the light hitting it. It'll just look odd.

You need to learn to 'see' the light, it frequently changes from one minute to the next, and can be the difference in a picture between 'meh' and 'wow' in that space of time.

Thank you! , i see exactly what you are saying now

 

[pwhysall]

I think you should edit this photo in any programms like photoshop. You can add sharpness and your photo will be ok. If you don't know how to use this programm you may use online photo editor, for example loonapix.com. There are many cool effects and beautiful frames. Good look!

OP, ignore this.

It's daft

 

[JennyGW]

cheers Phil! I have played around with spot focusing before and realized its effects for some reason i though auto focus would sort me out , school boy error !

lesson learn t always manually plant the focus

Absolutely! I use 1 focus point all of the time and have never needed more. Also, use back button focusing!