A sweet little summer PEACH =)

[Beaner96]

I really like number 5 I think it has potential it's just a bit off on the white balance. I hope you don't mind that I tried a quick edit.


4-62 by JadedFantasy, on Flickr

 

[rokvi]

Also, these shots seem a little constricting on the cute little girl. Maybe a little less crop?

 

[pgriz]

Image 5 is the best of the five that you posted, mainly because you got her eyes in focus.

Looking at the EXIF data for that shot...
1/60 sec at f/4 with 2/3 stop exposure compensation bias, ISO 200
Metering was "spot", exposure mode was Auto, white balance was Auto.
Orientation was portrait.

Looking at the image, I see your daughter playing in the yard with the background showing splotches of bright sunlight mixed with shade. Your daughter was in the shade for this shot. It's tough to get good exposure when your light is so variable. So I would suggest choosing a shooting location (or shooting time) when the light is more even, and there is less constrast between bright areas and shadows.

Regarding the white balance, you should set it based on the predominant light. If you are shooting in the sun, set it to the sun setting. If you are shooting under overcast skies, set it to the "Cloud" setting. If you are shooting under clear blue skies, but in the shade, set it to the "Shade" setting. Of course, if you are shooting in RAW, then the color balance can be easily adjusted at the PP stage.

With exposure setting on auto, you'll get images, but you won't be learning how the various variable interact. Yes, I know you've tried manual before and it got just too complicated, but take the advice of the other posters and shoot in either Aperture priority mode or Shutter priority mode - that way you control one variable, and the camera controls the other. Also, unless you have a very specific reason for playing with exposure compensation, I'd suggest leaving it at 0.

The choice of spot-metering was good, given how variable you light was. But at the same time, if you have it pointed in the wrong spot, then the exposure will be off. So it's very good when used right, and can be very bad when used wrong.

As for your issues with sharpness, there are two aspects to look at - where your focus is located, and the amount of blur due to slow shutter speed.

Let's address the shutter speed issue first. As you've been already told, the usual cut-off in terms of "safe" shutter speed is the reciprocal of the focal length (35mm equivalent). So in your case, shooting at 50mm, gives a 75mm equivalent at 35mm film size, and 1/75sec would be the minimum shutter speed. In your case, the camera selected 1/60 sec, which was fast enough. If you zoomed in to say 100mm, your 35mm-equivalent is 150mm, and your shutter speed would need to be 1/150sec. So the 1/60 sec would be 1 stop too slow. To determine YOUR handholding limit, put your camera into shutter priority mode, set your zoom to your favorite focal length and start with 1/10 sec. Shoot a few at that setting, then up the speed to 1/15 sec. Shoot a few more, and then again incrase your shutter speed to the next setting. Keep doing this until you get to about 1/500sec or so. Now download these into the computer and start examining them to see where the hand-held blur disappears. THAT is YOUR handheld-shutter speed setting that will allow blur-free images. Of course, this does not address subject motion.

Now, there's no free lunch. As you increase the shutter speed, the camera (or you) increases the aperture to compensate. Larger apertures mean less depth-of-field. Less depth-of-field means that the zone of acceptable sharpness is thinner. And this means that your focusing ability becomes more important. Since you are letting the camera take care of the focus through the AF mechanism, you need to give it some executive direction. If you enable all the focus points, the camera will generally select the closest subject, on the assumption that you are shooting a person in the foreground. If your subject is, however in the middle ground, with something in the foreground, the camera will put that something in focus and miss the important subject in the middle ground (because it doesn't know what is important in the image). You could, however select only a specific point, and tell the camera to use that point to set the focus. That gives you more control, but tends to be impractical for fast moving subjects. So you need to find which AF focus mode gives you the most reliable, consistent focus accuracy.

To summarize:

Find a shooting location with even light.
Set your white balance based on the predominant light.
Use either Shutter-priority or Aperture priority program modes - that way you will learn how the variables interact.
Leave the ISO at 200 unless you have to change it to get a decent exposure.
Use spot metering on the subject to get the "correct" exposure. If the light is more even, then you can go to the evaluative or average exposure-measureing mode.
Set you shutter speed so that it is equal to or above the YOUR hand-holding limit.
Keep an eye on the aperture - if it is below f/5.6 then the depth-of-field is very narrow and your focus HAS to be bang-on.
Find your most reliable method of setting the focus and use it to put the critical portions (usually the eyes) in focus.

 

[cgipson1]

To summarize:

Find a shooting location with even light.
Set your white balance based on the predominant light.
Use either Shutter-priority or Aperture priority program modes - that way you will learn how the variables interact.
Leave the ISO at 200 unless you have to change it to get a decent exposure.
Use spot metering on the subject to get the "correct" exposure. If the light is more even, then you can go to the evaluative or average exposure-measureing mode.
Set you shutter speed so that it is equal to or above the YOUR hand-holding limit.
Keep an eye on the aperture - if it is below f/5.6 then the depth-of-field is very narrow and your focus HAS to be bang-on.
Find your most reliable method of setting the focus and use it to put the critical portions (usually the eyes) in focus.

Nicely written!