How to take clear photo

Prmishania · Sep 11, 2017

Hello everybody. I am new here and 5 months in photography.
I use 6d and 24-105 f4L. I did photo shoot somewhere around 10.30 am and put my subject in the shadow but it was still good light. I used f7.1 and 320-500 shutter, iso 160 and distance was about 7-10 meters. When I looked close to the photo on computer screen it looks very good. So I close up to 50% - still sharp, then I close up to 100% and found that image kind of soft. So the question is why? What did I do wrong?

jcdeboever · Sep 11, 2017

Prmishania said:
Hello everybody. I am new here and 5 months in photography.
I use 6d and 24-105 f4L. I did photo shoot somewhere around 10.30 am and put my subject in the shadow but it was still good light. I used f7.1 and 320-500 shutter, iso 160 and distance was about 7-10 meters. When I looked close to the photo on computer screen it looks very good. So I close up to 50% - still sharp, then I close up to 100% and found that image kind of soft. So the question is why? What did I do wrong?

You pixel peeped....

480sparky · Sep 11, 2017

No matter how sharp an image is, if you enlarge it enough it will look 'soft'.

photo1x1.com · Sep 11, 2017

Hi and welcome to the forum.
Can you post an example of an image so that we can see wheter it is really soft, or it is just your personal perception?

tecboy · Sep 11, 2017

Could be a cheap lens filter. Or, you are using all auto focus points.

Designer · Sep 12, 2017

Or the lens/focus/sensor combination just isn't up to the task. Please post a sample image.

Besides; sharpness is only one part of the entire image-capture/output equation. If the overall performance is acceptable, then don't worry about sharpness.

benhasajeep · Sep 12, 2017

Prmishania said:
Hello everybody. I am new here and 5 months in photography.
I use 6d and 24-105 f4L. I did photo shoot somewhere around 10.30 am and put my subject in the shadow but it was still good light. I used f7.1 and 320-500 shutter, iso 160 and distance was about 7-10 meters. When I looked close to the photo on computer screen it looks very good. So I close up to 50% - still sharp, then I close up to 100% and found that image kind of soft. So the question is why? What did I do wrong?

Welcome to the forum.

The entire image soft? Or portions of the image soft? Does the 6D show you what focus point was used when you view the picture on camera (or have an option too). Might double check what AF point(s) were used.

Also if you have some front or back focus with the lens your subjects may have been close the front or rear zone of sharp focus. There are tutorials online on how to check for front and back focus on your lenses. Free targets can be printed, or even a ruler can be used to check. I check all my lenses new / used for focus.

KmH · Sep 12, 2017

Prmishania said:
How to take clear photo

There is no way to take a 'clear' photo.
I suspect what you are really wanting is information regarding photo 'sharpness'.
You may also benefit from gaining a better understanding regarding how auto focus works and when auto focus cannot work well.

Prmishania · Sep 12, 2017

Hi again. I tried to post a photo but the "Security error occurred. Please press back, refresh the page, and try again."

Prmishania · Sep 12, 2017

Ok the file was to big. So here is the part of the photo.

tecboy · Sep 12, 2017

The sharpness is pretty good.

photo1x1.com · Sep 12, 2017

Same here, the sharpness is good.
What software are you using to view the file? I remember long ago tried a software that had other increments. 50 for this software has already been a 2x magnification. I don´t remember which one it was though.
What monitor are you using?

mikkg · Sep 13, 2017

480sparky said:
No matter how sharp an image is, if you enlarge it enough it will look 'soft'.

amen to that!

Prmishania · Sep 13, 2017

Thank you for respond. I figured it out. I just need lighter exposure and softness goes away. I fixed it in raw adjustments.

Frank F. · Sep 13, 2017

Prmishania said:
Ok the file was to big. So here is the part of the photo.

The light seems soft to me. Soft light means not a lot of contrast, means " not clear". You can easily see that in your example on the shirts. The stitchin on white has a high contrast and is very "clear". I guess the camera focus and exposure system concentrated on not blowing the lights on the shirts so the heads appear a tad "bland", also focus is not spot on and resolution seems a tad low. There is no visible camera shake though.

I am not sure if the lens is up to the task, I am not a Canon expert, yet I guess you can take a control shot with a 1.4/50 EF, which is a pretty cool lens for (environmental on FF) portraits and fashion and it is cheap for the quality.

... or you could replace the clothing with more 18% grey