Gag

[DramaDork626]

Olympus Digital. Indoor. Lamp light.
No, it isn't a gag ball. It's the ball I use for sphere play, little hobby of mine. (If you dont know its when you roll a ball all over your hand appearing to defy gravity).
Anyway, decided to have a little fun with it....
It's a little soft. Can anyone tell me how to fix that? Also how are shadows on this one?

 

[Alpha]

shadows are alright. go for a wide aperture to drop the DOF and even out the focus.

 

[DramaDork626]

explain wide aperture and DOF please?

 

[Rob]

The softness is usually either due to camera/subject shake or the lens/lighting combination. It's pretty obvious that you used a desk lamp to light the scene, so the best way to repeat and improve results would be to lower the f-number which is the same thing as widening the aperture. Depth of field is the amount of the picture which is in acceptable focus - the higher the f-number, the greater the amount of the picture which is in focus, also expressed as "greater DOF". The higher the f-number, the slower the exposure and the greater the risk of fuzziness.

To get the whole scene in focus, you'll need an adequately high f-number. I would tentatively suggest about f4 or greater. Ideally mount the camera on a tripod and use a remote shutter release. Sit very still, as this will soften the image as well.

Good luck, hope this helps?

Rob