why do my photos not look as sharp as I like them?

[cynicaster]

Since you said “18mm lens” and your camera is the T3i, I’m assuming you’re using the 18-55 kit lens.

First thing’s first. To be blunt, f/10 makes no sense in this situation. At least, not to me. Not only does it increase the sharpness (and therefore the “prominence&#8221 of distracting background elements, it unnecessarily strangles the stream of light coming into the camera, forcing you to use a high (noisy) ISO setting in order to get a good exposure.

You’re probably already aware of this, but I think it merits an explicit statement just in case: numerically larger f-numbers make the aperture smaller, and let in less light.

If you could go back in time and redo this exact photo, I’d suggest the following:

• Open up the lens to f/5.6—this is not the widest available aperture, but the widest available aperture on cheap lenses is never the best choice if sharpness is paramount. This will get you two more stops (or 4x) the light that f/10 gets you with all else being equal, which, in turn, will allow you to drop your ISO by the same two stops to a much more T3i-friendly setting of 800. Shutter speed would remain unchanged.
• Move back with your feet, and zoom the lens part way—get roughly the 35mm marker dialed in on the barrel if space in the room permits. Using kit zooms at their extremes (i.e., 18mm and 55mm in this case) is bad for sharpness as well. Try to fill most of the frame with the cat, but don’t go overboard, because it will make for a cramped photo and it will limit your cropping options later.
• Focus on the cat’s eyes, and take the shot

If you take care to be as steady as possible, the 1/125 shutter speed you mentioned should be fast enough to allow hand-holding of the camera at these focal lengths, but for a shot like this, don’t discount using a tripod with remote shutter release or 2 second timer.

Throw in some subtle additional sharpening in post (if you like), and you should get you some pretty satisfying results.

 

[Gavjenks]

If you take care to be as steady as possible, the 1/125 shutter speed you mentioned should be fast enough to allow hand-holding of the camera at these focal lengths, but for a shot like this, don’t discount using a tripod with remote shutter release or 2 second timer.

At 35mm (your suggested FL) and that lens' image stabilization, you could probably shoot at 1/20th of a second fairly easily and get 75%+ photos of still subjects with no motion blur.

A tripod is NOT going to help the guy who is missing focus and who needs to work on composing on a wiggly subject. It slows you way down, and the cat will move away from a good composition, and then he'll have to move the tripod again, and quite likely not get a shot at all, or get desperate and end up with even less on target focusing in an attempt to get anything. OR he'll get the composition correct, but due to having a tripod, will be overconfident in how slowly he can shoot, and attempt to do 1/5th of a second or something, during which time the cat's breathing etc. will create fuzzy images again.

 

[cynicaster]

A tripod is NOT going to help the guy who is missing focus and who needs to work on composing on a wiggly subject. It slows you way down, and the cat will move away from a good composition, and then he'll have to move the tripod again, and quite likely not get a shot at all, or get desperate and end up with even less on target focusing in an attempt to get anything. OR he'll get the composition correct, but due to having a tripod, will be overconfident in how slowly he can shoot, and attempt to do 1/5th of a second or something, during which time the cat's breathing etc. will create fuzzy images again.

Yes, and maybe a T-Rex will smash his grille through the wall in the background and photobomb the shoot. We press on anyway, and learn what we can.

Seriously though, I think you’re grossly overstating the dynamics of a lazy cat that’s just lounging around the house. Sure, it’s bound to take a few tries to get a good photo just like any other scenario, but it’s hardly an exercise in quick-draw, pan-and-shoot photography.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d never use a tripod in that situation myself—mostly because I couldn’t be bothered setting it up just to take a picture of my cat—but it’s still another tool in the box, and definitely germane to any beginner’s discussion that involves photo sharpness in combination with limited available light.

 

[zcar21]

Those are not very good setting to shoot a cat. Try ISO 800, f5, 1/125 and at least 24mm focal length.
*provided the light hasn't changed.

 

[Centropolis]

Seriously, VR/IS is not going to help because the cat's the one moving (1/125 is more than enough for 18mm handheld). Tripod is not going to help except in the scenario where you want to take 500 pictures of your cat and you think your arms will get tired.

Open the aperture, use lower ISO like 800 or 1600, and make sure you have proper focus on the eyes. There is no way you can't get proper pictures of this cat.

 

[SnowOrchid]

Seriously, VR/IS is not going to help because the cat's the one moving (1/125 is more than enough for 18mm handheld). Tripod is not going to help except in the scenario where you want to take 500 pictures of your cat and you think your arms will get tired.

Open the aperture, use lower ISO like 800 or 1600, and make sure you have proper focus on the eyes. There is no way you can't get proper pictures of this cat.

I will just wait until he goes to the same spot and shoot again I need to shop for lenses...this is the kit lens, the only one i have..there are so many out there I just don't know where to start! Although it's not urgent, i think i can get plenty of practice with this lens too

Oh, and the reason why I am so close to him is because I had a wall to my back ..

 

[shicanebuzz]

I think you should go by instinct more often. Adjusting the brightness, contrast can make the difference.