Blurry subject, clear background.

[RoffleWoffle]

On some of my pictures, the subject is very blurry, but the background is crystal clear. I've been using F8, around 1/600 shutter, and iso 50. Examples:

But then again, sometimes I get good pictures like this:

What would be the problem?

 

[Big Mike]

Either your focus is off...or you are so close that the foreground object is withing the lens's minimum focus distance.

 

[David A]

Roffle! I didn't know you were on here.

I think that it's a combination of two things:

The spot autofocus that you have is focusing for the objects in the background rather than the subject. You can choose where you want the lens to focus with the AF selector. Also, the lens you are using may also not be able to handle that focal length from the distance you are shooting at so it's focusing on the next best thing.

My suggestions for these two things - try stepping back and using the zoom a little bit more. You are already shooting, as you said, around f/8 so it's not going to affect your aperture stop. Ontop of that, you will get a more concentrated bokeh effect from the zoom. Another thing you may benefit from by moving back is the flash you are using is washing some of the subjec out...moving back will soften this and produce a nicer looking shot.


You should try using the manual focus just for fun and you'll find that it works pretty well in well lit conditions when you can actually see what you are photographing.

A suggestion - try a lower f/stop and play with it and you'll get some cool levels of DOF in each picture...

 

[Juan Coca]

youre a ****

 

[LaFoto]

Juan Coca, if you start your membership with insulting our other members who ask a serious question, we reserve ourselves the right to think about your membership twice. I edited your word out. Yours is not the way we support as reply to a serious answer.

 

[Torus34]

Go to manual focus on close-ups.