I SO SO SO want this! CC? I've been studying and practicing

[Tee]

AMOMENT: the one constant I'm seeing is your lack of appropriate shutter speed. On a lot of images you post, your shutter speed is way too slow. This is greatly affecting the image quality of your photos. Quite honestly, after all this analyzing, I really think your focus issues are coming down to you not paying attention to your shutter speed, trying to shoot every picture at f/1.8 and tossing every piece of advice given to you out the proverbial window. I mean, comparitively speaking, the members on here are being very helpful to you. I wish you could answer why you refuse to listen? Learning literally starts photographing a box of tissues, sock puppets and candles. Yet, you're convinced shooting squirming kids is the best way to start. I want to root for you. I do. But your inability to listen and take advice is wearing thin. Why are you in such a hurry? Can you at least answer that one question?

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

You put that better than I ever could. LOL

 

[LightSpeed]

AMOMENT: the one constant I'm seeing is your lack of appropriate shutter speed. On a lot of images you post, your shutter speed is way too slow. This is greatly affecting the image quality of your photos. Quite honestly, after all this analyzing, I really think your focus issues are coming down to you not paying attention to your shutter speed, trying to shoot every picture at f/1.8 and tossing every piece of advice given to you out the proverbial window. I mean, comparitively speaking, the members on here are being very helpful to you. I wish you could answer why you refuse to listen? Learning literally starts photographing a box of tissues, sock puppets and candles. Yet, you're convinced shooting squirming kids is the best way to start. I want to root for you. I do. But your inability to listen and take advice is wearing thin. Why are you in such a hurry? Can you at least answer that one question?

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HAHAHAHAHA
Oh man..................PERFECT.

 

[Kerbouchard]

This thread is funny. Very little advice was actually given in this thread. It was pretty much all, 'slow down, you're not worthy'. Give me a flippin' break.

Since this thread was about focus, and not lighting, just having the flash mounted and turned on should improve her focus considerably because of the focus assist.

From there, all she has to do is put her camera in manual, use a shutter speed around 1/200th, ISO 400 or so, Aperture around 3.5, negative exposure compensation set on the flash and point the flash behind her and to the left.

This isn't that freaking complicated. Then she should get in the mindset of looking for appropriate sources to bounce off, where she wants the light coming from, how to mix in ambient, etc, etc. I also posted the link to the planet neil blog which is, IMO, the best resource on the net for bouncing flash.

Just because it will take some time to refine her technique, doesn't mean she can't start getting better results today.

 

[ababysean]

I've read about two books, watched a dozen tutorials, and taken about 1,000 photos in the past week. I'm really trying to nail my focus and work on my exposure. I purchased a speedlight and used it with the following photos. I know these are far from perfect, but in terms of focus, do you guys see any improvement? I actually adjusted my settings within my camera to sharpen my photos and I think the reason many of my photos were so noisy was because my default ISO was too high. Anyway, here is my latest.....(a few with a creative flare in terms of coloring)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

They all look very very flashy... what sets these apart from just a normal point and shoot camera using auto?

Did you add fake blur to them?

try this....

Set your camera to 1/40, iso 400, and F4

Tell your little sweet girl to dance, jump, play some music get her into it, and then put your flash, point it about 75 degrees behind you, you can use TTL. This will have it bounce off the wall behind you and fall nice onto her.

 

[ababysean]

I'm on the fence about the shutter speed, the flash should be the main exposure yes? so it should "freeze" the motion.... I am still a bit confused on this myself, so I tested it one day a few months ago.

These were shot with a bounced flash at 1/40 of a second.... iso 400 and F4

 

[ababysean]

and I also think you need to back up some and give her some space.

 

[TamiAz]

I'm on the fence about the shutter speed, the flash should be the main exposure yes? so it should "freeze" the motion.... I am still a bit confused on this myself, so I tested it one day a few months ago.

These were shot with a bounced flash at 1/40 of a second.... iso 400 and F4

Cute pics! I bet your daughter loved that. The look on her face says...."Weeeeeeee, mommy is letting me jump on the bed"....LOL!!

 

[fjrabon]

Your focus is good enough that you can start working on other things. Like proper exposure. Then when you get that, work on controlling depth of field. Then when you get that, work on lighting.

Also remember that the whole point of a speedlight is so that your flash isn't blowing your subject's head off. All you've done with adding the SB700 is made your on camera flash even brighter, which in many ways just exacerbates the problem.

 

[ababysean]

what lens are you using?

Does it autofocus on your camera body?

I see you have the D3100 and I'm assuming the 50mm? I know they did start making a 50mm that autofocus on that body but it is pretty pricy. Do you have a 50 or the 35?

 

[Kerbouchard]

AMOMENT: the one constant I'm seeing is your lack of appropriate shutter speed. On a lot of images you post, your shutter speed is way too slow. This is greatly affecting the image quality of your photos. Quite honestly, after all this analyzing, I really think your focus issues are coming down to you not paying attention to your shutter speed, trying to shoot every picture at f/1.8 and tossing every piece of advice given to you out the proverbial window. I mean, comparitively speaking, the members on here are being very helpful to you. I wish you could answer why you refuse to listen? Learning literally starts photographing a box of tissues, sock puppets and candles. Yet, you're convinced shooting squirming kids is the best way to start. I want to root for you. I do. But your inability to listen and take advice is wearing thin. Why are you in such a hurry? Can you at least answer that one question?

Focus has nothing to do with shutter speed. Absolutely zero. Nada. Maybe the OP should be ignoring the advice of about 90% of the shooters on here...including the ones that liked your post.

Again, focus has nothing to do with shutter speed. That you think it does makes you unqualified to offer an opinion.

Now, if you had said, "Your lack of apparent sharpness may be due to shutter speed and not focus", I might have agreed. But that isn't what you said.

This entire thread is a joke. Again, on TPF, mob mentality rules and a few 'established' members direct the way a thread goes, and that direction is usually downhill.

 

[Dominantly]

I am sorry, but you are NOT going to get this by using that flash. You are just making it harder and harder. The flash is great for snapshots for now, but you HAVE to learn how to manage ISO, shutter and aperture WITHOUT flash first. You are f*cking yourself over doing this.
Put your nifty fifty on, turn on every light in the house and bring them all into the room you are working in, pump up the ISO while you LEARN. those images aren't supposed to be the cherished ones of a lifetime. They are supposed to be LEARNING images. You have to learn one step before the other. That's how it works.

I agree 100%. I am always taking picture of my daughter indoors with no flash. I have a flash but I don't use it with her yet. I raise my ISO way above 800 if I have to. I live in this tiny ass condo and I have to windows in my downstairs and 1 in each bedroom - my place is DARK.

In the daytime I open the curtain and I can keep my ISO around 400 and still have a fast enough shutter speed. At night I've taken pictures at ISO 3200 and 6400. I'm still learning so I don't care if a lot of photos end up in the trash.

If its a birthday Or something important then I'll use the flash if I have to.

I couldn't disagree more, but then again maybe you have a D3X and this works for you.

But really, capturing light is one of those things photographers generally put a lot of emphasis on. The idea of not caring about learning how to use your flash (which is absurdly easy to get the basics of) is silly. Most people who eventually pick up their first off camera flash and take a few shots, gasp with surprise at what their photos gain.

 

[Dominantly]

AMOMENT: the one constant I'm seeing is your lack of appropriate shutter speed. On a lot of images you post, your shutter speed is way too slow. This is greatly affecting the image quality of your photos. Quite honestly, after all this analyzing, I really think your focus issues are coming down to you not paying attention to your shutter speed, trying to shoot every picture at f/1.8 and tossing every piece of advice given to you out the proverbial window. I mean, comparitively speaking, the members on here are being very helpful to you. I wish you could answer why you refuse to listen? Learning literally starts photographing a box of tissues, sock puppets and candles. Yet, you're convinced shooting squirming kids is the best way to start. I want to root for you. I do. But your inability to listen and take advice is wearing thin. Why are you in such a hurry? Can you at least answer that one question?

Focus has nothing to do with shutter speed. Absolutely zero. Nada. Maybe the OP should be ignoring the advice of about 90% of the shooters on here...including the ones that liked your post.

Again, focus has nothing to do with shutter speed. That you think it does makes you unqualified to offer an opinion.

Now, if you had said, "Your lack of apparent sharpness may be due to shutter speed and not focus", I might have agreed. But that isn't what you said.

This entire thread is a joke. Again, on TPF, mob mentality rules and a few 'established' members direct the way a thread goes, and that direction is usually downhill.

Maybe the wrong word was used there, but I would have read it as the poster was saying that the image was soft due to an inappropriate choice of shutter speed for the situation.

 

[MTVision]

I couldn't disagree more, but then again maybe you have a D3X and this works for you.

But really, capturing light is one of those things photographers generally put a lot of emphasis on. The idea of not caring about learning how to use your flash (which is absurdly easy to get the basics of) is silly. Most people who eventually pick up their first off camera flash and take a few shots, gasp with surprise at what their photos gain.

Did I ever say that I didn't care about learning flash? Its absurdly silly to assume. I know how to use my flash, I know how to focus and I know how to expose my pictures thank you. The OP's issues have been focus, metering, composition and exposure. Focus issues not necessarily due to lack of light since she was having issues in the daytime /outside and she had been shooting wide open. So yeah flash isn't going to help her if she is still shooting wide open and way to close. I don't know but I think that it's better to learn the basics first. People can get great pictures with and without a flash. Flash does make a world of difference but it's nice if you actually know what your doing first. I wasn't aware that getting an external flash suddenly made your pictures perfectly exposed, focused and composed - maybe I should of just popped a flash on and then gone pro

 

[Dominantly]

"Blah Blah Blah, I take photos of my daughter in a dark with with an ISO of 6400, because I'm learning what noisy photos look like, and my trash bin is limitless. But when I have to actually try and get a decent photo in, like at a birthday party, I guess I'll throw that pesky flash on".

That's what I read. MWAC.