topic What did I do wrong? in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

What did I do wrong?

MrsWolfman — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 15:28:04 GMT

Still portrait of my son. Using my canon 80d with my canon 50mm lens. Golden hour and settings were 180 / 4.0 /250 and my image is blurry when blown up.

Shutter speed to slow?

Help!

Re: What did I do wrong?

RobertTheFat — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 12:08:50 GMT

We'd have to see it to even venture an intelligent guess. It makes a big difference, for example, whether all or part of the picture is blurry. How much you tried to blow it up also matters, obviously.

Re: What did I do wrong?

kvbarkley — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 13:40:23 GMT

What was the size of the image? Were you shooting "L" or RAW?

Re: What did I do wrong?

MrsWolfman — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 15:28:42 GMT

I added the pic to the original post.

Thanks!

Re: What did I do wrong?

kvbarkley — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 15:35:06 GMT

Looks like it focused on the tree since it was closer. If you open the pic in DPP it will tell you where the focus points were.

Re: What did I do wrong?

MrsWolfman — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 15:53:55 GMT

I will do that. Thank you.

Re: What did I do wrong?

Waddizzle — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:13:56 GMT

I'm pretty sure that the reason the focus may not be as sharp as you'd hoped is two-fold.

One, the shutter speed is fairly low, only about 1/80 of a second. Camera shake may be an issue. The shutter speed isn't really fast enough to freeze any motion that your son may have made when the shutter fired, either.

Two, if you used the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens, it lacks Image Stabilization to remove camera shake. That is a pretty good lens, once you learn what it can and cannot do. Just use a fast shutter with it. I like f/2.8 aperture for that shot, too.

Re: What did I do wrong?

TTMartin — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:14:44 GMT

@MrsWolfman wrote:
Still portrait of my son. Using my canon 80d with my canon 50mm lens. Golden hour and settings were 180 / 4.0 /250 and my image is blurry when blown up.

Shutter speed to slow?

Help!

What did you do wrong.

You had the car in the background.

You have a backlit subject with no fill flash so the background is blown out.

And you pixel peeped the photo zooming into 100%, which is like watching as 70" TV from 18" away and worried that it is soft.

The biggest issues with that photo are not whether it is sharp or not.

Re: What did I do wrong?

MrsWolfman — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:20:56 GMT

Wow...that was a little harsh. Thank you for your input though. As someone who has just started trying to take better pictures and is slowly learning that was a little rough but I put it out there.

Re: What did I do wrong?

MrsWolfman — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:21:18 GMT

Thank you so much for your reply! I greatly appreciate your kind input.

Re: What did I do wrong?

ScottyP — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:31:06 GMT

Using flash in sun is actually great. It would let you equalize your shaded subject with his bright background.

I would set the center autofocus point only, and of course put that point on the subject's face. If you let the camera choose which of the focus points to use it may choose the wrong thing to focus on.

Yes, a faster shutter would be good for avoiding hand shake blur.

Re: What did I do wrong?

TTMartin — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:42:28 GMT

@MrsWolfman wrote:
Wow...that was a little harsh. Thank you for your input though. As someone who has just started trying to take better pictures and is slowly learning that was a little rough but I put it out there.

Yes, it is harsh.

But, the reality is that long before you worry if the photo is sharp enough or not, there are other things that impact the photo much more than the sharpness.

By the way the photo is plenty sharp, get an 8 X 10 print done for $3 at Walmart and you'll see that it isn't sharpness you need to worry about.

If you posted the photo and simply asked how to make it better, no one would have mentioned the sharpness.

They would have mentioned the things I did.

Another thing you might try a larger aperture (smaller f/number) to help blur out the background even more.

Re: What did I do wrong?

RobertTheFat — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 17:37:18 GMT

@MrsWolfman wrote:
Wow...that was a little harsh. Thank you for your input though. As someone who has just started trying to take better pictures and is slowly learning that was a little rough but I put it out there.

"Harsh" isn't the right word. It was critical, but that's what you asked for. Look at the title you gave this thread; it isn't "How great a photographer am I?" You'd be wasting your time here if all you were looking for was praise. We're all in this together, and we're all trying to make each other better. Those who have to be stroked are off somewhere talking to their headshrinkers.

Re: What did I do wrong?

fatcat — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 18:39:15 GMT

Wad, I thought the new 50mmSTM lens has the stabiliers in it,(STM) I thought meant stabiliation motor????I thought theOLD 50mm 1.8 11 is the one w/o stabilization. Is my interp wrong? L.

Re: What did I do wrong?

kvbarkley — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 18:46:02 GMT

No, it would have an IS in the name if it had stabilization. STM is a type of focus motor that is quiet and smooth for real-time video focus.

Re: What did I do wrong?

fatcat — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 02:03:16 GMT

Okay. thats where I was confused, thanks. Also to Mrs Wolfman, Wasn't your question What did I do wrong? If you Don't want to know, don't ask the question. Everyone on here is VERY helpful. I have learned so much in very little time, if you don't want to improve, then take it as criticism and walk away [Mod Note: Comment removed for language, per forum guidelines]. If you can take CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, then you will learn, and your photos will improve. It's your investment, you have to decide if you are going to invest in learning. Most of the ppl that answered you are professionals, take it or leave it.