Test Portraits...

[Holly]

Ok Corinna yours came out A LOT better then mine..
NOT sure what is going on here..

These were taking with a window on EACH side...

F3.6 (lowest it went) and Shutter 1/6 ISO 100 and STILL very very BLOTCHY..

What am I doing wrong?

 

[bigfatbadger]

Turn your ISO up to 400, zoom out (this will let you use a wider aperture), get close (to compensate for the loss of zoom).

This should get your shutter speed up a bit

 

[LaFoto]

1/6 for a child's photo is way too slow. You can't do that.
A) it is hard for anyone to keep the camera still at that slow speed and
B) it is hardest for children to sit still during "so long".
Yes, it is only a fraction of a second, but a long fraction.
So I would think the blur in the first is from the moving child and the blur in the second is camera shake.

If you want to take indoor photos, you must push the ISO, then you better not zoom (a long focus requires a lot more light than a shorter one), and you should not go any much lower than 1/60. I think........

 

[Holly]

OK... Ill give those a try to see.. ILL Try this NEW Tripod too!! Mothers day gift WOO HOO

 

[Holly]

Ok.. So here is the thing.. I Tried it *with out the pod* at the moment on a shutter speed of 1/60 and tried 1/100 and then 1/125..

The higher I go the Darker my images are...

 

[LaFoto]

:scratch: ???

 

[bigfatbadger]

Because you're not adjusting your aperture inline with your shutter speed.

The amount of light that has to hit the sensor is the same no matter what shutter speed you use. But increasing the shutter speed decreases the mount of light, so you have to compensate for this by putting the aperture wider (lower number). Vice versa, if you close down the aperture (higher number) then you need to lengthen the shutter speed.

Does your camera have aperture priority? If so, set it to this mode, select the smallest number you can and the camera will select the shutter speed for you. See if this shutter speed is any good or not

 

[bigfatbadger]

Try reading these for more explanation on the aperture shutter speed thing: -
http://www.digicamguides.com/learn/exposure.html
http://www.photography.ca/phototips/phototips1.htm
and
http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/image/41450051

 

[Holly]

K... I tried the app thing.. It works better kind of.. I Guess.. Its more BRIGHT, but with it even set on 400 ISO its still a bit blurry.. I am guessing this is just one of those point and shoots...

 

[LaFoto]

But you take the clearest of stair-steps of flower pics with this same point and shoot. So why would your portraits NOT become as crisp and clear? THAT cannot be the reason. How near do you get to your son? Do you still use the zoom?

 

[Holly]

My flowers and steps are outdoors.. and they are usually done on Automatic.. I have been doing my portraits on Manual settings to learn those..

 

[Digital Matt]

You need more light. I can't tell how close you are to the window, but you need to be right next to it, when lots of sunlight is coming in

 

[Big Mike]

That's right, you need more light.

With every lens, there is a maximum aperture that you can open up to. Looks like yours is F3.6 So if you are at that aperture and your shutter speed is too slow, there are two things you can do. Turn up the ISO or add more light. If you already have turned up the ISO, then you must add more light.