Blurry Photos Rebel T7

[Lsamson]

Picture is very blurry when zoomed in. What setting would I need to put it on if I am taking photos of people in a well lit office? Also, how to I make the background blurry when I'm taking a headshot?

[jrhoffman75 · Accepted solution]

Manual will give you the most control, but it also requires the most direct input.

I think you could try Program and see how that works. It will ensure that your shutter speed is high enough to avoid motion blur. Since you are just using that one lens, setting the camera at Tv and 1/125 shutter speed would be an option as well. Camera will give you a wide aperture and as low an ISO as possible to get a correct exposure.

At close distances you want to try and have your subjects all in a row and all pretty much the same distance from the camera. 

[jrhoffman75]

A well lit office isn’t necessarily very bright, like outdoors. What are the camera settings and lens focal length for the image (if a zoom lens)? Looks like motion blur from a low shutter speed. Depending on distance between the subjects and the background it may not be possible to have sufficient depth of field to have subjects in focus and background out of focus. 

[Lsamson]

Thanks for the reply! I have a 18-55mm lens. I don't remember what I had the camera setting on, but I think moving forward it's best if I just leave it in M (Manual), would you agree?- All I use the camera for is taking pictures of people in the office, and occasionally interior office photos and exterior building photos.

[jrhoffman75 · Accepted solution]

Manual will give you the most control, but it also requires the most direct input.

I think you could try Program and see how that works. It will ensure that your shutter speed is high enough to avoid motion blur. Since you are just using that one lens, setting the camera at Tv and 1/125 shutter speed would be an option as well. Camera will give you a wide aperture and as low an ISO as possible to get a correct exposure.

At close distances you want to try and have your subjects all in a row and all pretty much the same distance from the camera. 

[rs-eos · Accepted solution]

To blur the background, you need one or more of the following (each of which have cons; listed below):

1. A wide-aperture lens (e.g 85mm f/1.2, 50mm f/1.4).  Depth of field will be very shallow; more on that below.

2. A long telephoto lens (e.g. something capable of say 200mm f/2.8).   Prob wouldn't work since the minimum focus distance is too great for the small room.

3. Distance from the camera to the subjects is much shorter than the distance from the subjects to the background.  Extremely difficult if not impossible to do in this case.

When capturing multiple subjects, unless you have a specialized tilt-shift lens, to ensure all will be in focus, they will need to be along a plane parallel to the camera's sensor.  You can get creative with head placement, but if all subjects' eyes are on the same focal plane, that will be best.  This is especially crucial the shallower the depth-of-field is.

[ebiggs1]

How blurry do you want it?

Photoshop, layer, mask, blur background. Simple.  

[ebiggs1]

"...  I think moving forward it's best if I just leave it in M (Manual), would you agree?"

No I don't.

Either Tv or Av is the better way to go if P doesn't work for you. Consider which is most  important. Is aperture more important than SS? Yes, then choose Av mode and set your aperture in this case to a more wide open setting. On the other hand, if SS is the main most thing choose Tv. Best of all is to use Raw format and a good post editor like Photoshop. DPP4 is free form Canon, BTW. Not nearly as capable as PS but it is free.

In photography you will always have limits to what your gear can do. Yours may  be at the limit and the only way to make better is with better gear. But even this best equipment will reach a limit to what it can do also. The very best option for you and this type of shooting would be to buy the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens. It is a top of the line zoom for the Rebel. It has a fast and fixed aperture, a huge improvement over your present lens. Remember the lens makes the shot. The camera is simply a storage device.