Sexiest model ever...

[RauschPhotography]

You really need to learn how to focus and know about the exposure triangle before you start playing with flash and lighting!

I know both.
If any focus in that picture is off, it's not my fault. I set the focus on the bunny's eyes every time, then composed the shot. I also know the exposure triangle..as I said earlier, I just totally didn't think about increasing the shutter speed, lowering the ISO, raising the aperture, in order to brigten my flash..
.

If you know both, I don't think the shot would have turned out this way, honestly. If the focus is off, it really is your fault--you can control your focus on the camera, or re-shoot if these shots didn't work out. It's just user error. I'm not trying to be rude, but I've seen your other shots and it looks like you still have a lot to learn before throwing lighting into the mix. Just my two cents.

 

[KevinPutman]

I was just saying, since I focused correctly on the bunny's eyes each time, there shouldn't be any focus issues.

 

[FranDaMan]

Well, there obviously still is, now isn't there ?
First get your basics down before you start adding extra's to the mix.

 

[KevinPutman]

Such as?
No one's pointed out any problems with the focus on these pictures.
Soooo

 

[FranDaMan]

Well, I am pointing it out, so did Sabrina and Rauschphotography. You're focus is off, and you can keep telling us that you focussed on the eyes till you are blue in the face.......but the focus is still off.

 

[RedWylder]

You keep saying that you know your exposure triangle and all I have to say to that is a clarification: you need to know it so well that it becomes automatic. The very fact that you didn't think of something until someone suggested it means you don't know it as well as you should. So quit defending yourself and go practice more.

 

[SabrinaO]

You really need to learn how to focus and know about the exposure triangle before you start playing with flash and lighting!

I know both.
If any focus in that picture is off, it's not my fault. I set the focus on the bunny's eyes every time, then composed the shot. I also know the exposure triangle..as I said earlier, I just totally didn't think about increasing the shutter speed, lowering the ISO, raising the aperture, in order to brigten my flash..

I don't think you do because someone had to explain it to you. And you said that you have a "wiggly bunny so you couldn't up your shutter speed". That statement right there is saying you don't know much about shutter speeds. You are supposed to use a high shutter speed if your subject is moving or..."wiggly". And also you shoot landscapes at 1/10 handheld. WOW.
I'm not trying to be rude im just trying to be helpful. Once you know the exposure triangle and know how to focus, working with lighting should come easier. Just at least learn how to shoot. How are you focusing? What do you do.. step by step?

 

[KevinPutman]

You really need to learn how to focus and know about the exposure triangle before you start playing with flash and lighting!

I know both.
If any focus in that picture is off, it's not my fault. I set the focus on the bunny's eyes every time, then composed the shot. I also know the exposure triangle..as I said earlier, I just totally didn't think about increasing the shutter speed, lowering the ISO, raising the aperture, in order to brigten my flash..

I don't think you do because someone had to explain it to you. And you said that you have a "wiggly bunny so you couldn't up your shutter speed". That statement right there is saying you don't know much about shutter speeds. You are supposed to use a high shutter speed if your subject is moving or..."wiggly". And also you shoot landscapes at 1/10 handheld. WOW.
I'm not trying to be rude im just trying to be helpful. Once you know the exposure triangle and know how to focus, working with lighting should come easier. Just at least learn how to shoot. How are you focusing? What do you do.. step by step?

I meant I couldn't up the speed as in lenghten the exposure, to let more light into the picture because he was wiggly. I used a high shutter speed.
How am I focusing? I put the little box that's in my viewfinder on the bunny's eye, halfpress my shutter button, then compose the picture and shoot.

 

[Overread36]

How am I focusing? I put the little box that's in my viewfinder on the bunny's eye, halfpress my shutter button, then compose the picture and shoot.

Focus and recompose can work, but you have to understand its limitations and how its working.
First off lets understand focusing. When you point the viewfinder at the subject and get the focus lock on (I'm assuming with the middle focusing point) the camera has then locked on the focus. It has however no idea what it is looking at, it just focuses the lens onto the closest point to the camera (at the AF point of course) which shows a contrast difference it can lock onto. It has no idea its looking at a face/eye or anything else.
Once set imagine you focus as a single flat sheet of paper held out parallel to the front of your lens. When you move the lens side to side (to recompose) the sheet of paper remains in the same position relative to the front of the lens, not to the subject at all. The result is that you can move the composition and as a result the sheet of paper will end up no longer covering the part of the photo you want in focus.

This is why with focus and recompose you also have to re-adjust the focus after recomposing the shot to ensure that it is still correct (focus and recompose works best with USM lenses that have all the time manual focusing - otherwise you have to remember to turn AF on and off between stages). Once done you can then take the shot knowing that you've adjusted the focus to remain correct.

The other options is to use a smaller aperture (bigger f number) so that you have a greater depth of field (your sheet of paper is thicker) so that even when it moves as you recompose the depth of field is still covering your original focus point.

 

[SabrinaO]

I know both.
If any focus in that picture is off, it's not my fault. I set the focus on the bunny's eyes every time, then composed the shot. I also know the exposure triangle..as I said earlier, I just totally didn't think about increasing the shutter speed, lowering the ISO, raising the aperture, in order to brigten my flash..

I don't think you do because someone had to explain it to you. And you said that you have a "wiggly bunny so you couldn't up your shutter speed". That statement right there is saying you don't know much about shutter speeds. You are supposed to use a high shutter speed if your subject is moving or..."wiggly". And also you shoot landscapes at 1/10 handheld. WOW.
I'm not trying to be rude im just trying to be helpful. Once you know the exposure triangle and know how to focus, working with lighting should come easier. Just at least learn how to shoot. How are you focusing? What do you do.. step by step?

I meant I couldn't up the speed as in lenghten the exposure, to let more light into the picture because he was wiggly. I used a high shutter speed.
How am I focusing? I put the little box that's in my viewfinder on the bunny's eye, halfpress my shutter button, then compose the picture and shoot.

OK great! When you recompose... are you moving away or moving closer at all? You can move the camera around side to side to compose the pic, but stay on the same plane and don't move forward or back. Once you hit that shutter halfway... you (the camera) and the bunny/the subject have to stay on the same plane. If the bunny moves forward or back... you have to refocus. If you compose a shot and move closer to the subject you have to refocus.

 

[KevinPutman]

Yeah, I just move the camera a tad bit to get into the rule of thirds.
As for Overread, I understand that, but how do I need to recompose it, if all I did was move it slightly to the side?

And again, are any of these picture actually out of focus?

 

[Overread36]

Yeah, I just move the camera a tad bit to get into the rule of thirds.
As for Overread, I understand that, but how do I need to recompose it, if all I did was move it slightly to the side?

And again, are any of these picture actually out of focus?

It is hard to say - as far as I can see shots 1 and 4 of your original set look soft on the eye - however they also look soft overall which lends me to think that they are suffering from motion shake from your hands holding the setup. Furthermore in some cases the bunnies nose looks a little sharper than the eye itself - this might just be local contrast differences, but might well also be the result of the fast moving rabbit shifting as you are recomposing the photo and moving slightly out of focus from the original focus position.

When it comes to animals many people with lower end DSLRs in more tricky situations will only use the middle focusing point and will then crop the photo to get the composition = or they will use manual focusing and compose the photo. Higher end DSLRs have better edge AF sensors and so users of them can more reliably compose the photo and use the edge AF sensors to get the lock onto a shifting living subject.

 

[SabrinaO]

Yeah, I just move the camera a tad bit to get into the rule of thirds.
As for Overread, I understand that, but how do I need to recompose it, if all I did was move it slightly to the side?

And again, are any of these picture actually out of focus?

Its hard to tell because they are so underexposed. But the eyes and the fur around the mouth do look soft. What was your aperture at? your shutter? If you had a shallow DOF that will do it too, or a slow shutter speed.

 

[KevinPutman]

I would go off the last picture I took, I used smhne's advice and reshot, that was the best of the set.
That one was shot on F8, 1/500.

And @overread, keep in mind, I don't quite have a DSLR, =p
but thanks for that, I see what you're saying now..
The manual focus on my camera is practically impossible to use, and doesn't really work as well as the manual, especially for a fast moving bunny.

 

[gsgary]

Your doing my ****ing head in but i still want to help you