HELP! Canon T4i taking Blurry Photos example inside

[lorry_hill]

Hello everyone,

this is my first post. Thank you in advance for your help. My camera is a Canon Rebel T4i, Lens is a nifty 50mm 1.8. Lens is set to AF and the setting was on AV around golden hour. That is me in the photo and I'm taking them for my new fashion blog. Photo looks good if you don't zoom in, please zoom in and see the blurry-ness. I need crisp high quality images

[ScottyP]

Is someone taking the picture, or did you set it on a tripod and use the timer and ran back into position?  If the latter it may be you are not standing exactly where it is focusing. 

What were the other settings?  Shutter speed?  ISO?  F/stop?

[lorry_hill]

Someone is taking it of me, I'm trying to find the other info now. I'm a complete novice so I'm looking up how to find out those things. Thank you for replying

[lorry_hill]

I'm sorry I don't know how to find those settings; even after googling

[Waddizzle]

The [best] source of information is the FULL instruction manual.  Use this link to find your camera's product support page.

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support

There is a <Q> button on the rear of the camera.  It opens a Quick Menu of major camera settings.  The exposure settings can be seen across the top row.  If an exposure setting is not visible in a given camera shooting mode [Av, Tv, P], then that means the setting is not user adjustable because the camera is automatically setting that parameter for you.

As you zoom into a photo, you are increasing the magnification.  Most photo software can display magnification as a percentage.  By the time you reach 100%, you're at "life size", which can expose the flaws of inexpensive lenses.

[jrhoffman75]

1/80 shutter speed might be too slow. Does this always happen or only certain shots?

[lorry_hill]

This doesn't always happen : in the same set of photos there are some that are more clear but still not "crisp"
I think I have some settings now, although there was no <Q> button that I could find.
F/Stop is 1.8
ISO is on auto
Shutter speed 1/125

[ScottyP]

The lens is nearly at its sharpest around f/5.6 on your camera, which was the f/stop (aperture) setting in your sample. Opening the lens up to f/1.8, its maximum aperture size, not only takes the lens into an area where it is less sharp, but also gives you a very tiny depth of field in focus so only a few inches of the shot are in focus and it is very easy to get focus wrong.   Outside on a sunny day you should stick to the sharpest apertures, between f/5.6 and f/8 if there is plenty of light. Those apertures also put a large depth of field in focus so nailing focus precisely isn't as critical, and so your whole outfit will be in focus. 

[ScottyP]

I also suggest selecting the center AF point (the center red dot) rather than letting the camera choose from among all the red dots.  There's a button on the back that looks like a checkerboard or tictactoe board which lets you select which red dots are active by turning the main dial.  You select just the center dot and then you put that center dot over your subject and the camera focuses on that.  You know what you want to be in focus, the camera doesn't, and so it might think you want a shrub or something instead of your outfit. 

Also, don't shoot it holding the camera away from you, looking at the back LCD screen like a cell phone photo; put the camera viewfinder up to your eye. That is a much much steadier shooting position so you will have less camera shake.