My baby boy!

[mom2eight]

My five year old! Practicing my portraits. Let me know what you think.

 

[TJ K]

Looks like the focus in the shot was on the rope above his head and not on him and his eyes in particular. It might have some camera shake but that might just be the focus not sure. Nice way to frame him but i would like to see what it looked like with the whole tire as well. GL
TJ

 

[mom2eight]

TJ,
I used a tri pod so it shouldn't be camera shake. I can't figure out what im doing wrong. I put the center dot right in between his eyes for focusing, but dang it if every time its blurry!

 

[florenceinitaly]

the picture does look a bit soft, and the inner circle frame of the tire around him is cut off at the right side, but still a nice picture ^^

 

[Natalie]

It's possible that it initially focused correctly, but then between that time and when the shutter was released, the tire moved slightly closer to the camera... If your son was putting a lot weight on the tire, it might have been swinging slightly, which would be why his sweater is in focus instead of his face. One other thing I can think of is if your camera is using multiple autofocus points (instead of just the center one), it might have focused on the wrong part of the subject despite you putting the center dot on his face. Besides the focusing issue, I think it's a nice shot!

 

[mom2eight]

So the bracets should look like this { - } to just focus on his face?

 

[Natalie]

I believe it varies from camera to camera... On my Rebel T1i, I have the autofocus set only on the point in the center of the frame, which blinks red when it's focused properly. It could be different on your camera, though.

 

[mom2eight]

I believe it varies from camera to camera... On my Rebel T1i, I have the autofocus set only on the point in the center of the frame, which blinks red when it's focused properly. It could be different on your camera, though.

I'll keep trying. It really frustrates me that I just can't seem to get that sharp crisp focus.

 

[gsgary]

Check your settings they are way off what they should be
Shot 1= 1/25 @209mm F10 that's why it's blurred
If it had been 1/400 F2.8 (same exposure) it would not be blurred if focused correct

You say you used a tripod, but what if your son moves ?

 

[dhilberg]

I agree with Gary. I think a faster shutter would solve the problem. Open up your aperture more, bump up the ISO a stop or two and you will be able to use a much faster shutter speed.

Keep in mind with a tripod you can get what's called mirror shock, where the mirror flapping around in the camera can actually produce a visibly blurry image, especially on longer focal lengths like you have. Generally speaking to avoid this keep the shutter speed slower than about 1/8 or faster than about 1/60 (depending on focal length), or use mirror lockup.

 

[mom2eight]

I believe my appature will only stop down to a 3.5. Maybe that is why im having trouble with this?

 

[gsgary]

I believe my appature will only stop down to a 3.5. Maybe that is why im having trouble with this?

And up your ISO to get a faster shutter speed at least to focal length ie. 100mm 1/125 shutter speed

 

[mom2eight]

So I can off set the appature by increasing the ISO and upping the shutter speed. That probably sounds like im an idiot, but I really feel like I need photography for dummies!lol

 

[dhilberg]

Honestly you don't need your tripod for these shots. Ditch the tripod and use a standard shutter speed closest to 1 over focal length, like Gary suggested. So if you are shooting at 200mm try to keep your shutter speed at 1/250 or higher. Shooting at 100mm, keep your shutter at 1/125 or higher, etc. The point of this is to minimize (or eliminate) the possibility of camera shake. If you try and follow this rule as much as possible you should end up with crisp shots.

To achieve the higher shutter speeds open up your aperture more and up your ISO. For example, if the best you can get at ISO 100 and f/8 is 1/15 shutter, then set aperture to f/4 (2 stops more light) and bump up your ISO to 400 or so (another 2 stops). You should be able to get 1/250 shutter speed under the same lighting.

Standard shutter speeds are as follows:

1/1000 sec.
1/500 sec.
1/250 sec.
1/125 sec.
1/60 sec.
1/30 sec.
1/15 sec.
1/8 sec.
1/4 sec.
1/2 sec.
1 sec.

 

[mom2eight]

Thanks Dennis