Blurriness... Help!

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I have a Canon T3, and I would like to think I'm okay at using it... I just got it within this past year and I'm still learning.

The problem is, when I want to take quick snapsots of my child, I put it to Auto or another preset mode with auto focus, but they ALWAYS, without fail, turn out blurry!! His face is blurry or his arms are blurry or half of him is blurry. The thing is, on the camera screen they look GREAT, but then when I get them uploaded onto my computer, they are ALL blurry and I get so upset.

I don't risk taking pictures on Manual when I'm not practicing (I'll get there eventually), or when we are somewhere for a short period because I don't want to risk ruining a good picture, but the Auto isn't working either.

Can anyone help me? I can send a pic if needed.
 
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Try using shutter priority and setting your shutter to about 1/250 and see if that fixes your problem. I am guessing that your camera isn't able to get enough light and is compensating by dropping the shutter too slow. It's an educated guess, but also a blind one not being able to see one of the images to truly diagnose.
If your settings are blinking at you it means that the camera is not getting exposure and you will need to raise your ISO in order for it to get enough light.
 
Thanks for the feed back... I went into the settings of one of the pictures I took, and I think it explains it all. It was set to Auto but it was giving me terrible "Auto" settings... I kind of figured that on Auto it would act like a point and shoot..

Here's the settings of one of the pictures that was set on Auto:

f-stop f/4.5
shutter 1/25
ISO-3200
No flash

I still don't understand why the pictures looked fantastic on the screen - maybe because the screen is way smaller than the computer screen?
 
I'm going to try the shutter priority next time and see what happens!
 
Thanks for the feed back... I went into the settings of one of the pictures I took, and I think it explains it all. It was set to Auto but it was giving me terrible "Auto" settings... I kind of figured that on Auto it would act like a point and shoot..

Here's the settings of one of the pictures that was set on Auto:

f-stop f/4.5
shutter 1/25
ISO-3200
No flash

I still don't understand why the pictures looked fantastic on the screen - maybe because the screen is way smaller than the computer screen?
The screen is very small with low resolution. It looks great in a tiny form. Make it equally as small on your computer and it will look the same, but blow it up where you see the full resolution and then you begin to see every imperfection. Kind of like looking at someone from a distance. You can't see their freckles and frown lines from across the room but up close you can see all kinds of things.

The only fix in that situation would have been to add light. You need to be at about 1/125 which is 2 1/3 stops. I am guessing your lens wouldn't allow you to go any lower in Aperture, which would have meant an ISO somewhere around 25600. You don't have it.
 
If you post a picture, indicate which lens you were using and the settings (e.g. the EXIF data) and you'll probably get more specific advice.

Also... be aware of how the Canon auto-focus system works. There are several possible focus points that the camera can use. The camera will choose the focus point which is able to get a focus lock at the CLOSEST focusing distance. E.g. if your subject is, say, 15' away, but there's something 10' away and one of the focus sensors gets a lock on it, then it'll focus at 10'.

Make sure the camera is actually locking focus on your intended subject.

In full "auto" mode you have no control over which point it chooses. But if you're not comfortable shooting in Manual, consider usuing "Program" mode instead. "Program" starts out like full-auto in that the camera picks the exposure... but then you can override it. You can over-ride which focus point it chooses, you can find other "equivalent" exposures (e.g. if you want a faster shutter, etc.)
 
The problem is that it's shooting 1/25! How old is your child? I ask because if it's a toddler like my 2 year old - they DO NOT sit still! So you need a faster shutter speed. Without knowing your shooting environment, I'd at least use a 1/200 at minimum.. With an iso of - well whatever needed in your lighting conditions. The 4.5 arp is probably ok..

If your cam is on auto and it's selecting an shutter of 1/25 and an iso of 3200 that means you have very little lighting. Remember, cameras work off of light..

Let us know how this works out for you.
 
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TCampbell said:
In full "auto" mode you have no control over which point it chooses.

Am I wrong or - isn't the Rebel line provided with just one AF point? I know the t2i was.. Not sure about the 3 though...
 
TCampbell said:
In full "auto" mode you have no control over which point it chooses.

Am I wrong or - isn't the Rebel line provided with just one AF point? I know the t2i was.. Not sure about the 3 though...
There were 9 on the T2i and T3i. Only one of which is cross type
 
Since it hasn't been mentioned yet, here goes; the rule of thumb for shutter speed is 1/focal length. If you're shooting with a focal length of, say, 50mm, you need a minimum shutter speed of 1/50. At 100mm, you need 1/100, etc. Every time you press the shutter button, you jiggle the camera a little bit. This is known as "camera shake". A fast enough shutter speed will negate this. As already mentioned, to negate subject motion​, you need an even faster shutter speed.
 
I have said, literally for YEARS, "I am the world's greatest photographer on my camera's LCD screen...ALL my pictures look AWESOME there!!!!" It's a joke I made up, and tell quite often when people tell me the same,exact story as your post talks about...pics look good on the camera, "but when I get 'em back to the computer, they don't look so good."

My bit of advice is this: NORMALLY, people make the fatal mistake of setting the ISO to the lowest setting available, because legions of internet knuckleheads have stated, "The lowest ISO makes the best pictures," so don't listen to those people, and instead, set your camera to ISO 400. Judging from the EXIOF information provided for this one particular shot, it seems to me like you might have been shooting in a coal mine???? Anyway...use the camera's ISO setting as a tool, to HELP you. For kid pics, use the built-in flash as on-camera fill light when the light is low, and poor.
 
Since it hasn't been mentioned yet, here goes; the rule of thumb for shutter speed is 1/focal length. If you're shooting with a focal length of, say, 50mm, you need a minimum shutter speed of 1/50. At 100mm, you need 1/100, etc. Every time you press the shutter button, you jiggle the camera a little bit. This is known as "camera shake". A fast enough shutter speed will negate this. As already mentioned, to negate subject motion​, you need an even faster shutter speed.

I've heard shutter speed rule of thumb before and your description matches what I have read elsewhere. My question is, does that same rule of thumb apply equally to FF and crop camera? I think I read somewhere that to compensate in addition for the crop factor, you should use 1/(focal length x 1.6) as a guideline. Of course you should also account for IS (if available) and subject motion.
 
Even when kids are holding still for camera, a lot of times they are in some type of oscillating motion (up/down, side to side, rocking back/forth etc.). I think you must keep that in mind when you are adjusting for shutter speed. Shutter speed rule of thumb may not be enough and you may have ~50% keeper ratio or worse. This is usually no problem outside but indoors... It's probably good to invest in a flash.
 
Derrel said:
I Judging from the EXIOF information provided for this one particular shot, it seems to me like you might have been shooting in a coal mine???? Anyway...use the camera's ISO setting as a tool, to HELP you. For kid pics, use the built-in flash as on-camera fill light when the light is low, and poor.

lol couldn't agree more on this. 1/25 and 3200iso..also if the cam was on auto it should've popped the flash?
 
Thanks everyone for your responses! The lighting wasn't terrible which is why I was so surprised at the bluriness and the camera's auto settings... It was indoors, but it was inside an arena type thing where a children's event was being held (face painting, magic shows etc.) Since the flash didn't pop up I assumed the lighting was enough... it definitely wasn't dark.
My son is 18 months old, so yes he moves ALOT.
Lol @ Derrel - I should have known better than to trust that screen!! haha

I'll try out the Shutter Priority setting until I get comfortable with M and see how that works out - thanks again everyone! I'm sure I'll be back with more beginner questions :) Hope yas don't mind!!!
 

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