People and Pets

[Baaaark]

Yeah, so you should probably not be shooting 1/8 sec with f8. The reason is, you get cow blur.

If you take that down to f/4 or f/5.6, then you could get 1/16 or 1/32, and get that much less blur.

Things like IS only keep your camera from moving. Anxious little cows still move just as much with IS as they do without.

Maybe take it out of aperture priority, and try shutter priority or program mode. You can still adjust aperture and shutter in program, so its not like it doesn't let you be creative.

 

[Chris of Arabia]

It mainly seems to be the polariser that's not helping you out here. There aren't any significant reflections or miles of sky where it might help improve what you have in front of you, so leave it off the lens. I think I've used mine on one occasion in the 4 or 5 years I've been using a DSLR and I can't say I've really thought I needed that sort of help.

To echo the others then, leave the polariser off, open up the aperture to around f4 and get the shutter speed up. As to where to aim your point of focus, always target the eyes of your subject - for the first two I'd suggest the cow, for the other two, the young girl rather than the Gremlin she's holding (is that safe?)

 

[marcpro]

I hadn't noticed that a polarizer was used. Yeah, you lose at least one stop of light when that filter is on, so don't use it for candid portraits unless there's lots of light. Removing this filter will let in more light thru the lens, which means you'll be able to shoot at faster speeds, which means less blurr.

As for focusing, the trick is to focus on the eyes of the subject, and then recompose while making sure the focus is locked on the eyes.

Cheers,
Marc

 

[mooimeisie]

Thanks for the advise on the polarizer. I think I thought it was a case of more is better.