Need tips for achieving sharper photos.

[Alex_B]

You need to work on exposure more than focus

+1

 

[gsgary]

Ignore the hideous background in the first photo. ugh!

When taking portraits the first thing you should look at is the background without your subject, then place them in the best position

 

[MTVision]

It's sad, but i actually don't even know what back button focus is. I am trying to absorb as much as I can but I still got a ways to go.

I'll post a link in a second but....do you have an ae-l/af-l or an af-on button???

Back button focus is when you separate the 2 functions from the shutter button. Instead of half pressing the shutter button you would use a back button to focus and only press the shutter button to actually take the picture. It can feel a little wonky at first but I like it better. It's supposedly better for focus and recompose - I don't know for sure since I don't usually recompose.

Are you having issues with smaller apertures? F/4 is still a fairly large aperture so it could be due to a shallow depth of field - especially if you are noticing one persons face is OOF but the others aren't.

 

[MTVision]

It's sad, but i actually don't even know what back button focus is. I am trying to absorb as much as I can but I still got a ways to go.

http://mansurovs.com/nikon-ae-l-af-l-button

I'm not sure where you need to go in the camera menu but you want to assign the ae-l/af-l button to af-on for back button focus. Once you do this the shutter button will no longer focus - it will still "wake" the camera up and take the picture though. If you do decide to try it out - just be aware that it does take some getting use to it.

 

[The_Traveler]

These images are marked 'private' on Flickr so I can't look at full-size images.

 

[MrsLittle]

I fixed the issue with privacy and yes I know I have to work on exposure. This was my first time trying out the aperture priority mode and I did not like the feeling of not having full control.

 

[cgipson1]

I fixed the issue with privacy and yes I know I have to work on exposure. This was my first time trying out the aperture priority mode and I did not like the feeling of not having full control.

You do have full control.... you set the aperture, and the camera METERS the correct exposure and sets the shutter for that exposure! Where is the lack of control? EV controls the exposure variation you want... no big deal!

 

[MrsLittle]

It doesn't feel the same to me I guess. When I am in manual and changing angles, I can change my shutter speed easily in situations that require a 1/3 stop more or less.
I understand the pros shoot spectacular photos using AP mode, but I haven't got used to it and keep forgetting to use my +- controls.

 

[cgipson1]

It doesn't feel the same to me I guess. When I am in manual and changing angles, I can change my shutter speed easily in situations that require a 1/3 stop more or less.
I understand the pros shoot spectacular photos using AP mode, but I haven't got used to it and keep forgetting to use my +- controls.

I am not seeing any major softness issues in your shots on Flickr. (btw.. you know when you share those... you can put them here LARGER just by grabbing the HTML/BBC code and setting it to 1024xX, right?)

Are you sharpening in post? Shooting Raw, or Jpeg?

 

[gsgary]

It doesn't feel the same to me I guess. When I am in manual and changing angles, I can change my shutter speed easily in situations that require a 1/3 stop more or less.
I understand the pros shoot spectacular photos using AP mode, but I haven't got used to it and keep forgetting to use my +- controls.

Why didn't you shoot in manual then ?

 

[MrsLittle]

It doesn't feel the same to me I guess. When I am in manual and changing angles, I can change my shutter speed easily in situations that require a 1/3 stop more or less.
I understand the pros shoot spectacular photos using AP mode, but I haven't got used to it and keep forgetting to use my +- controls.

Why didn't you shoot in manual then ?

Because I wanted to rush through the photo session and not fiddle with my settings.

Gipson- I shoot in RAW and I do some post sharpening as well.

 

[gsgary]

It doesn't feel the same to me I guess. When I am in manual and changing angles, I can change my shutter speed easily in situations that require a 1/3 stop more or less.
I understand the pros shoot spectacular photos using AP mode, but I haven't got used to it and keep forgetting to use my +- controls.

Why didn't you shoot in manual then ?

Because I wanted to rush through the photo session and not fiddle with my settings.

Gipson- I shoot in RAW and I do some post sharpening as well.

And look what happens when you rush

 

[MrsLittle]

gaw.....I am frustrated with myself at the moment. I sat there for about a good hour eyeing the photos, just to decide how I should edit them.

 

[MrsLittle]

Honestly, aside from the obvious issues. Do you think they are good enough to hand over? I just am running out of ideas on how to edit and correct my mistakes.

 

[gsgary]

Honestly, aside from the obvious issues. Do you think they are good enough to hand over? I just am running out of ideas on how to edit and correct my mistakes.

Right click delete and reshoot at F8 and don't rush