HELP!

[christen2484]

I can not get good crisp clear focus on my pictures. I use a Nikon D60 with a kit lens. I took these pictures on Aperture priority wiith f4.6, white balance set to cloudy, and 800 ISO. Would a 50mm 1.8 lens help me to get more crisp portraits? I'm just a self taught beginner. I made sure the focus meter was on the baby's face/eyes every time and the face is still fuzzy!!

 

[jowensphoto]

Judging from the settings you provided, it seems you did not have adequate light. A high ISO is going to give you grain, which will reduce the sharp-ness of a photo. You could also stand to use a smaller aperture to gain greater DOF, but without light you're kind of limited.

If the baby is being reasonably still, use a slower shutter speed in combo with a tripod and wireless remote (I found one on amazon awhile back for about $2).

ETA: the second one appears to be the most in focus/sharp. I don't know about the sepia toning, but I'm sure the parents were happy!

 

[tirediron]

Notice however that the hat in #1 appears fairly sharp. This appears to be a case of missed focus; under these conditions, your DoF was probably something less than 4", so it's critical that you know where the camera is focusing and because the hat was a bright, high-contrast item, it chose that. Set your camera for single-servo AF and single-point focus (refer to your manual if you're unsure of these settings) and then ensure that the active focusing point is placed over the eye. Using flash is almost a must in these conditions, and if you diffuse it, the on-camera pop-up flash will do an okay job.