Picture sharpness still an issue

[nathanmuirhead]

Good evening all

I was at a friends wedding a few weeks back and I was really conscious of camera settings having researched quite a bit, but after the big day, I found that nearly all my shots were OK, but not crystal sharp. I have spent quite a bit of time on the forum looking at various reasons behind it but despite reviewing shutter speed and aperture, nothing seems to work - please tell me what I am doing wrong!? Thanks very much

Canon 7D with 24-105
f/4
1/125
ISO 400



f/4
1/250
ISO 320

 

[amolitor]

In the first one the focus appears to be slightly off. His near lapel is sharp. The second one is sharp.

The makeup on the women looks appalling, it's so sharp, in fact. Not entirely sure WTF is going on there. It might be fluorescing under the flash or something, not sure.

 

[The_Traveler]

How about 1) posting a link to a fullsize image so we can see what it is like before reduction and 2) allowing editing.

It is sometimes exquisitely difficult to make a point in words that can be easily made in pictures.

 

[hirejn]

Sharpness is usually a problem of skill. You're using too much continuous focus, focusing without enough light, not placing the focus point correctly, changing the focus plane after focusing. A lot of things could cause soft images, and not many are equipment. If you test in controlled environments, focus manually and still have the problem, you could send in the equipment. The white balance in image 2 is bad, not even close. Her dress is almost a light cotton candy blue, and in image 1 it's clearly more white. My monitor is calibrated to read accurately.

 

[robbins.photo]

A couple of thoughts on sharpness - first you've got a lot of elements here in these pictures that are not on the same horizontal plane. As a result the lower aperture setting of F/4 is going to make whatever your focus point is set on sharp, and as you move away from whatever horizontal plane that is on things will begin to get less sharp. I realize your dealing with some challenging lighting situations here but if possible stopping down the lens will make a big difference here.

Second recommendation would be to set your camera for single point focus and use your focus points - your best results will be if you choose the subjects face as your point of focus, if at all possible the eye since it's really the eyes that should be the sharpest portion of the image whenever possible. If you find yourself shooting quickly you can always recompose on the fly, to do this select the center focal point and leave it there - put this focal point over the area you want to focus on and press the shutter halfway down and hold it there, move the camera to frame the shot they way you want it and then press the shutter all the way down and the camera will keep your focal point on the original area you focused on for your shot.

 

[Derrel]

Just an outside shot here: Does the 24-105-L have a cheap UV filter on it??? And, is the REAR element of the lens spotlessly clean? The front element can be cracked, and not affect things much...a thumbprint on the rear element OTOH, can ruin shot after shot.

 

[mrbadwrench]

Do you add any sharpness in post?