Blurry Photos

[MirandaJo]

First time on this forum! Anyways, Ive been taking photos for over 2 years now. I have a problem with the people in my photos ending up blurry when I zoom in (in photoshop) on them. Im am getting VERY fustrated with this! I see others photos where the people in their photos look very clear and crisp! Anyone have any pointers? Thanks.

 

[480sparky]

Upgrade from your kit lens.

 

[MirandaJo]

Upgrade from your kit lens.

Well I only have two lens at the moment. Im basically taking photos for friends and family at the moment. Im trying to practice right now because I just finished College and Im broke. No lens buying going on here anytime soon! lol. Anyways, Would there be any other reason my photos would end up like that? I am just wondering if for any reason when I give my friends and family their photos if they will notice? I know when I started taking photos I didnt notice the photos being blurry much, but now I notice it alot and It makes me want to SCREAM! I just dont want them to get bigger prints of their photos and think "Wow those are blurry" lol.

 

[enzodm]

I looked at the picture at max resolution, and I'm unsure how much better you could do.
Do you shoot RAW or JPEG? If you shoot RAW, you could (you must) increase sharpness in post at least a little (even selectively). If you shoot JPEG, go RAW.
However, if pictures are to be looked at the computer, you do not see lack of sharpness because you see them resized (only pixel peepers will go 100% - no normal people). Try to print it, and will not be such a problem up to some size.

 

[Hobbytog]

Find out what is the 'sweetspot' range of your lens. Most lenses are sharpest between f10 and f16. Use the lowest ISO setting you can. For a shot like this if possible use a tripod and the shutter speed at about 1/125. I see you were on Manual setting, but try aperture priority, also in the ambient lighting you shot in maybe your onboard flash was not powerful enough. Most digital images will need a PP sharpen, and as the guy above said shoot RAW and get more control.

 

[enzodm]

Find out what is the 'sweetspot' range of your lens. Most lenses are sharpest between f10 and f16.

this might be perhaps true in general terms, but unfortunately on a crop sensor, over f/8 diffraction kicks in, so you loose resolution. Definitely, avoid to go below f/11 (if you want sharpness).

The posted picture is at 1/160, ISO200, f/8. So nothing to complain about the triad.

 

[amolitor]

There are basically no lenses that are sharpest between f/10 and f/16. It would have to be a completely terrible lens to not be completely diffraction limited at those apertures. If you're in this range, you're trading depth of field for sharpness. There's nothing wrong with that, but that's what's going on.

As enzodm suggests, you mostly don't need to worry about diffraction when you're more open than f/8, but these things aren't actually completely separable. Things that add fuzziness add up. If your lens is diffraction limited and losing maximum sharpness at f/4.5, say, that BY ITSELF is not visible at the sensor. Added on to other factors, though, it will exacerbate the situation. Combine "not visible" camera shake with "not visible" diffraction, and you may wind up with "visible unsharpness"

If you want a rule of thumb, "most lenses" are sharpest 1 to 2 stops down from wide open, but your mileage may vary. There are many fine review sites that will cheerfully show you endless graphs that show you where your lens is sharpest, and where the lens/camera system is sharpest, and so on.

All this aside:

a) the original photograph looks fine
b) worrying about sharpness is a fool's game. sharpness does not make the photograph, and a little unsharpness almost never ruins one.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Upgrade from your kit lens.

what???

 

[KmH]

Part of the problem is the lighting you used, to make the photograph.

It needed more fill lighting. Note the dark eye sockets (raccoon eyes).

Having your subjects in open shade was the right choice. Unfortunately, they are apparently not facing towards the open sky, which becomes your key light. You would then use another light source, either reflected light, or strobed light, to carefully add some shadow highlights, preferably not on the same axis as the lens.

Another possibility is the post processing others have done to their photos.

View attachment 15291

I have done a quick edit to the photo. I corrected the white balance, color, increased the mid-tone contrast & subject exposure, did some dodging, and tried to help the little boys grimace look a bit more like a smile.

 

[Groupcaptainbonzo]

in spite of "Price tag junkies" a lot of kit lenses do a creditable job. An expensive lens will often out perform a cheaper one. but you will empty your wallet before you know it.

Try to shoot in good light.
try to shoot at about f8 or f11 (about 2 stops in from the Max and Min appertures of the lens.
try to shoot with a low ISO (100 ish)
try to shoot with a tripod (Even a cheap one is better than none at all).
try to shoot with as fast an exposure as possible (At least the same fraction of a second, as the lenght of focus in mm of the lens, so a 50mm lens at least 1/50th sec or a 200mm lens , at least 1/200th sec etc)
in photoshop finish with "Unsharp mask", try with 100% to start with and work up or down as suits, Always save the original un re-touched. and save the altered image as something else (eg if you are re-touching IMG-XXXX then save the re-touched result as something like AIMG-XXXX just in case) . Don't over sharpen as it shows in large prints.


to pinch AMOLITORS advice
All this aside:

a) the original photograph looks fine
b) worrying about sharpness is a fool's game. sharpness does not make the photograph, and a little unsharpness almost never ruins one.

Some of the best advice I've seen posted on this or any other forum...

 

[Stradawhovious]

How are you focusing?

I made the change from the "focus then recompose" method to the "move your focal point in the viewfinder" method, and it made a world of difference in my photos.

Warning.... the following may, or may not apply to your situation......

If you are using single point focus, and you are using the "focus then recompose" method of focusing, it is possible that you are slightly changing what is in the DOF of your picture by recomposing, and not getting the sharpest possible image. In most of the bodies I have seen, there is a way to move the focal point in your viewfinder without having to recompose, allowing for sharper focus where you want it.

Remember what you paid for the above advice, expecially with me being terminally amateur and all.

Wow.... I just re-read that. Sorry it sounds like a badly translated instruction manual.

 

[MirandaJo]

Thank you all, but Im more confused that I was! :/ Im still learning manual mode. I think I move my camera settings the wrong way each time. Im getting really discouraged about photography at all. I took a class last summer that taught about ISO, fstop, and shutter speed, but it just didnt seem to help me much. The day I took this photo I tried to keep it at F8 or f11 and a faster shutter speed and ISO 100-200. My photo ended up dark! It drives me crazy how I can not get this down! What Drives me crazy is there is this girl who started taking photographs the same time I did and her photos are amazing and mine arnt! :/ She has other photography friends that help her though. I have no one! :/
Ok, let me stop gripping and ask- so when Im photographing someone in the shade- where should the sun be? Over them, behind them, or in front of them? Where would the best light be that comes in? By the way I do not have refelectors neither! I try to turn people where they will not have sun spots on there face from the light coming thru the leaves.
Also, I guess since I am zooming in on my computer that means Im being a pixel Peeper? lol. I guess I should STOP that! huh? lol.

 

[MirandaJo]

How are you focusing?

I made the change from the "focus then recompose" method to the "move your focal point in the viewfinder" method, and it made a world of difference in my photos.

Warning.... the following may, or may not apply to your situation......

If you are using single point focus, and you are using the "focus then recompose" method of focusing, it is possible that you are slightly changing what is in the DOF of your picture by recomposing, and not getting the sharpest possible image. In most of the bodies I have seen, there is a way to move the focal point in your viewfinder without having to recompose, allowing for sharper focus where you want it.

Remember what you paid for the above advice, expecially with me being terminally amateur and all.

Wow.... I just re-read that. Sorry it sounds like a badly translated instruction manual.

Lol... Yes a instruction manual that just confused me more! lol.

 

[MTVision]

Thank you all, but Im more confused that I was! :/ Im still learning manual mode. I think I move my camera settings the wrong way each time. Im getting really discouraged about photography at all. I took a class last summer that taught about ISO, fstop, and shutter speed, but it just didnt seem to help me much. The day I took this photo I tried to keep it at F8 or f11 and a faster shutter speed and ISO 100-200. My photo ended up dark! It drives me crazy how I can not get this down! What Drives me crazy is there is this girl who started taking photographs the same time I did and her photos are amazing and mine arnt! :/ She has other photography friends that help her though. I have no one! :/
Ok, let me stop gripping and ask- so when Im photographing someone in the shade- where should the sun be? Over them, behind them, or in front of them? Where would the best light be that comes in? By the way I do not have refelectors neither! I try to turn people where they will not have sun spots on there face from the light coming thru the leaves.
Also, I guess since I am zooming in on my computer that means Im being a pixel Peeper? lol. I guess I should STOP that! huh? lol.

Your photos were dark because you probably didn't have enough light for those settings. You have a little in camera light meter that can help you determine your settings

+......0.......- <----- usually looks something like this. Then it will have little lines underneath. Under the - means underexposed/under the + side means overexposed for the most part. Metering to 0 is a good starting point but won't always give you the best exposure.

Buy Bryan Petersons Understanding Exposure book. It will help

 

[MirandaJo]

Thank you all, but Im more confused that I was! :/ Im still learning manual mode. I think I move my camera settings the wrong way each time. Im getting really discouraged about photography at all. I took a class last summer that taught about ISO, fstop, and shutter speed, but it just didnt seem to help me much. The day I took this photo I tried to keep it at F8 or f11 and a faster shutter speed and ISO 100-200. My photo ended up dark! It drives me crazy how I can not get this down! What Drives me crazy is there is this girl who started taking photographs the same time I did and her photos are amazing and mine arnt! :/ She has other photography friends that help her though. I have no one! :/
Ok, let me stop gripping and ask- so when Im photographing someone in the shade- where should the sun be? Over them, behind them, or in front of them? Where would the best light be that comes in? By the way I do not have refelectors neither! I try to turn people where they will not have sun spots on there face from the light coming thru the leaves.
Also, I guess since I am zooming in on my computer that means Im being a pixel Peeper? lol. I guess I should STOP that! huh? lol.

Your photos were dark because you probably didn't have enough light for those settings. You have a little in camera light meter that can help you determine your settings

+......0.......- <----- usually looks something like this. Then it will have little lines underneath. Under the - means underexposed/under the + side means overexposed for the most part. Metering to 0 is a good starting point but won't always give you the best exposure.

Buy Bryan Petersons Understanding Exposure book. It will help

Thank you. Yes I know what the light meter is and I go by that alot, but my photos still end up dark or blurry. :/
I will be buying books and going to the library alot after I take my NCLEX (Big LPN Exam- I just graduated college and cant afford much right now). Right now Im just trying to get some pointers. :/