Focus problems, need help!

[AmericanJesus]

Im told im not takaing tack sharp photos, and id like to figure out why. This is the sharpest thing I've shot to date.

and

 

[fatsheep]

I'm not sure what your problem is. If you want a diagnosis maybe post some of the out of focus pics? And when you say "I'm told...", do you mean that you don't think that the pics are out of focus yourself?

On a side note, I like that shot of the cat. You can see the ripples in the water where it was lapping.

 

[AmericanJesus]

I'm not sure what your problem is. If you want a diagnosis maybe post some of the out of focus pics? And when you say "I'm told...", do you mean that you don't think that the pics are out of focus yourself?

On a side note, I like that shot of the cat. You can see the ripples in the water where it was lapping.

Im looking for general tips to start getting consistent results, my only trick now that i know of is that shutter speed should be about 2x focal length.

And thank you, that was the first picture i sold. has made me 120 dollars so far!

 

[Sideburns]

Im looking for general tips to start getting consistent results, my only trick now that i know of is that shutter speed should be about 2x focal length.

And thank you, that was the first picture i sold. has made me 120 dollars so far!

If you don't mind me asking...how do you sell? Stock sites or gallery showings?

Also, the shutter speed is a good thing to keep in mind...usually 1/focal length...or a little more. Depending on motion of the subject, distance, etc...
But one thing is if you have a really wide aperture and your focus is off a little bit, you can lose all your detail in the subject.

 

[Mav]

Generally a shutter speed of 1/focal length is ok. For 300mm, you'd want to use at least a 1/320s shutter speed. That could have been an issue in the second shot.

The first thing I noticed with both of these photos is that they were both shot wide open. The first at 75mm and f/4.5 and the second at 300mm and f/5.6. I'm not familiar with this particular lens (or any Sony lens for that matter), but telephoto zooms like this generally need to be stopped down at least one stop for optimal sharpness, especially past 200mm. If this was a $200 or less lens that's probably the case. The pricier lenses like this tend to be sharp wide-open. So for the first photo, try f/5.6 or f/7 instead, and for the second photo try shooting at f/8 instead of f/5.6. Looks like you would have run out of light on the 2nd one so it was probably best left as-is. Actually on the first one, it just seems to be lacking a little contrast.

Gimme a sec...

 

[Mav]

I have no idea why, but Fotki completely screwed with the white balance and contrast on my uploaded images. This looks nothing like my local file, but...

Original:

DxO post-processed:

- Unsharp Mask 150% @ 0.3px radius, 0 threshold
- Fuji Velvia Film profile (cranks up colors and contrast)
- "slight" lighting adjustment setting
- cooled off white balance (velvia profile warmed it up too much)
- and then Fotki completely crapped on it after I uploaded :thumbdown:

I think the sharpening made the biggest difference. Are you doing any post-processing?

 

[AmericanJesus]

I have no idea why, but Fotki completely screwed with the white balance and contrast on my uploaded images. This looks nothing like my local file, but...

Original:

DxO post-processed:

- Unsharp Mask 150% @ 0.3px radius, 0 threshold
- Fuji Velvia Film profile (cranks up colors and contrast)
- "slight" lighting adjustment setting
- cooled off white balance (velvia profile warmed it up too much)
- and then Fotki completely crapped on it after I uploaded :thumbdown:

I think the sharpening made the biggest difference. Are you doing any post-processing?

Just some skin cleanup and white balance, was shot in RAW.


And to answer the other question, I got some prints made and stole a corner of my uncles booth in Pike Place.