Why???

[Nefertiti]

I'm so irritated with my photography skills these days...almost most of the time my pics appear out of focus...and how could that be possible with a viewfinder to actually see what I'm taking!!!!! What's wrong with me? Why the hell I couldn't see the focus problem when I was taking the snap?

In last couple of weeks I took pics of a few of my friends and relatives in different occassions and with a few of them actually I was meeting after a long time. When I took the pics I thought those came fine but later when I saw those on PC, almost all of them was slightly out of focus.

I'm just so angry and upset at the moment. Why couldn't I take a single snap right?

 

[LaFoto]

Do you maybe have two persons in your photos, one sitting on the left and the other on the right? And your camera spot focuses automatically in the middle? Then it will focus on the wall behind the persons which will come out sharp and the persons will be blurred. Could that be the reason?

If you spot focus in the very centre of your frame, point the camera at the person, keep the shutter button half pushed, then move the camera to your intended framing and only shoot then.

 

[Philip Weir]

I don't know if I can help, but I have noticed when shooting my friends during the xmas period, they often appear out of focus, so I usually stop drinking. Secondly, and maybe more importantly, some people are out of focus and no matter what you do, they are always blurry. Seriously though, if your camera has automatic focus, unless it is camera movement from too slow a shutter speed, then there's something wrong with your camera. Good luck

 

[Nefertiti]

Not really, I'm having this problem even with the persons sitting in the center of the frame or a single person in the center. And the focusing mode is selected 'evaluative' in my camera, that was the default setting btw. Another major problem that I have with this digicam is, it doesn't have any fixed focusing point shown on the screen like the manual ones I used before. One or more green boxes keep coming on the screen when I half press the button and they just keep shifting their places. And the number of boxes also differ, donno based on what! I'm confused if they are the focusing points or are the points from where the exposure is being taken? UGH....:x

 

[LaFoto]

Oh... well ... I always think that the green squares (and the beep!) tell me that the camera has focused all right and I can now take the photo, and what has been covered by the square will definitely be in focus. Depending on the aperture (or programme mode) I choose, the rest will not. Like when I push the flower icon (for close-ups), the camera would - if I have it on Programme Mode) - automatically go for a wide open lens to give me shallow DOF...

Did you take those people shots indoors with the given light?
Maybe the persons moved, or you got camera shake?

Would you like to show us an example photo so we can see what your problem is? Or are you too embarrassed to show what went wrong? But maybe if we could see just one of those photos we could say better what went wrong?

 

[Groupcaptainbonzo]

And the focusing mode is selected 'evaluative' in my camera, that was the default setting btw


Evaluative is the light metering not the focusing


One or more green boxes keep coming on the screen when I half press the button

These are the focus points. When green THAT part of the image is in focus. See if you can get a green box between someones eyes. That way the important part of them will be focused. If the green box is on a part which prints out of focus then you may have to look at slow exposure (Camera Shake) Bad eyesight... or a broken camera..

 

[Digital Matt]

It would help if you told us what camera you are using. Evaluative is not a focus mode, it's a metering mode. There are different focusing modes, depending on your camera, and possibly different focus points. There are a lot of issues. You could have a very shallow depth of field and the camera is focusing on something just in front or behind the subject.

 

[Nefertiti]

Here's a pic that I took day before yeserday...

 

[Nefertiti]

It would help if you told us what camera you are using.

I use a Canon Powershot A630 these days.

And I took the above pic in Program mode.

 

[Nefertiti]

These are the focus points. When green THAT part of the image is in focus. See if you can get a green box between someones eyes. That way the important part of them will be focused. If the green box is on a part which prints out of focus then you may have to look at slow exposure (Camera Shake) Bad eyesight... or a broken camera..

How can I control those green boxes? I try to keep the subject in the middle initially for focusing and then move the camera for composition, but these green boxes just come and go on their own will, I guess , and most of the time at the wrong places!!

 

[Digital Matt]

This is motion blur. You are indoors, and your flash did not fire. Your shutter speed was 1/4 of a second. There is no way you can hand hold that. For a small point and shoot indoors, it's going to be tough to get a good image with available light. You'll have to use your flash. Your other option is to boost your ISO speed, but typically, point and shoot cameras don't handle noise very well in higher ISOs.

 

[Groupcaptainbonzo]

How can I control those green boxes? I try to keep the subject in the middle initially for focusing and then move the camera for composition, but these green boxes just come and go on their own will, I guess , and most of the time at the wrong places!!

You will have to have a look in the menu. It appears that after you focus and then move the camera it is refocusing (A predictive auto focus mode) it would be helpful if you can find a Single shot mode.. Also as Matt said, Check that the flash is firing. If the shutter speed is too low your hand will move while the shutter is open. You need a faster shutter speed or more light. (Wide aperture, Higher ISO, Flash. Or a tripod).

 

[Nefertiti]

Thanks everyone...I guess I have to change my habit of not using flash in night shots.

 

[LaFoto]

Or get yourself a tripod, maybe only just a little table tripod ... those support the Powershots well!

 

[Jeremy Z]

Another thing to watch for, though it is probably not the culprit in this picture is to make sure the lens is clean. One fingerprint can really screw up a lot of photos.

I don't know if your camera has an OIS (Optical Image Stabilizer) but if it does, you can generally only count on it for two stops slower shutter speed than you would use otherwise.

If you look closely at the LCD display before you press the shutter release, there is usually a symbol that look like something shaking that will come up if the shutter speed is going to be too slow to hand hold. Pay attention to that!

Using on camera flash will often make your shots look kind of flat, but at least they won't be motion blurred. Looking at the photo above, since everything is out of focus, it means the camera was moving, not the subject. "Operator Error" in other words.

If you like the lighting of those no flash pictures and just want them sharper, mount the camera on a tripod and use the self-timer so that the camera is not still shaking when the shutter opens. Many cameras these days have a two second self timer just for this purpose.

In candid photography, a tripod is not realistic, so you will have to so something else. You could try holding the camera very steadily and crank up the ISO in the camera menu, (as someone else mentioned) or just use the flash. (last resort)

At any rate, buy a table top tripod as LaFoto recommended. Bring it with you whenever you bring the camera. You will be surprised what good low light pictures that humble camera can make with proper support. Also, you can get yourself in the picture for those group shots if you use the tripod and the self timer.

A nice one is the Bogen, for about $40. (there's a couple shots of mine in this thread: http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68326 )

Cheaper, but still decent ones can be found for $10-15.

Let us know how it works out, and maybe post some more pix!