Need help with focus. CC please

[Montanamyst]

Hey guys! Went out yesterday afternoon and shot a family, problem is that I'm having trouble focusing on family shots. They all appear soft or even a little blur and its driving me crazy! The single shots of the kids seem to be tack sharp. I used single point focus, tried to focus on a person towards the middle, and used a small aperture to get everyone in focus, but still....This was my first family shoot. Please give advice. I did use a small softbox camera left. Could it be my lense? 35 1.8 lense, d3100

1. Meta: f 5.6 , 200sec, iso 800 too high? even though this was afternoon, it was heavily shaded.



2. f 2.5 , 250sec

 

[AaronLLockhart]

You're never going to see near perfect sharpness unless your shooting ISO 400 or below. I would drop the ISO down to where you could get a 1/80 - 1/125 shutter speed. 1/250 is something you would need to capture a motion shot.

Also some of the sharpness in the stand alone portrait is lost in using such a large aperture.

 

[amolitor]

The first one appears to have missed focus. The focus looks like it's on the greenery behind.

Do you know about focus lock, and is your AE-L button on the back of the camera set up to actually lock the focus, and not (just) the focus?

These also look overexposed, which isn't helping the appearance of sharpness.

 

[zcar21]

did you apply noise reduction in post?

 

[MLeeK]

Well, I sure wouldn't drop to shutter of 1/80 or 1/125. You run the chance of picking up some motion from the subjects and if you aren't steady your hands. If all is steady and you KNOW it, then I'd go 1/125, MAYBE.
Considering I don't see a noise problem at 100% zoom I would assume that noise is not a problem here.
Looking at the whole images at 100% I would guess you have a front focusing lens. Where are you locking your focus in these? The family one it appears to be the front edge of the greenery. The boy appears to be on a fold in his shirt that would fall about an inch or so in front of his eyes allowing for him to be reasonably sharp, but not tack sharp.
Are you shooting these in raw and are you applying a raw sharpen? Are you applying a final sharpen when you are done?

 

[Montanamyst]

The first one appears to have missed focus. The focus looks like it's on the greenery behind.

Do you know about focus lock, and is your AE-L button on the back of the camera set up to actually lock the focus, and not (just) the focus?

These also look overexposed, which isn't helping the appearance of sharpness.

I'm been testing out the AF-L button since you mentioned it, but I was actually just holding down the shutter over one of the subects, then recomposing for my shot without releasing shutter. I thought that acheived the same, but since looking at it I'm wrong. I;m trying to figure out my settings. Seems like it will only lock exposure, and I can't lock the focus without holding the AF-L button while pressing the shutter, which is kinda annoying. I'm trying to fiqure out if there is a way that I can have it lock with the shutter pressed halfway, then recompose.


Is that the way it is with most cameras? Have to find focus, hold the button, then press shutter?

 

[MLeeK]

It is in the focus modes. AI-Servo focuses all the time and tracks focus as you move. One shot focuses one time and doesn't change when you move to recompose.