crisp and clear pictures

[aprilmcpeak]

Hi I have Canon Rebel 5- I love taking my kids pictures but I cannot ever get my pictures clear. Any suggestions? I am new to all the camera settings so any information would be greatly appreciated. 

[jrhoffman75]

Rebel T5?

Are you shooting with camera in Green Square A+ mode?

[Waddizzle]

I think the shots of the kids are pretty good.  [Cute, too., BTW.].  The exposure on both shots are close to excellent.  If you do not know the exposure settings, go into the camera, recall the photo on the displays, and the press <DISP> until you can view the exposure settings.  Make a mental note of them, or right them down.  I suggest using <P> mode in the camera, with ISO set to AUTO.    

If you are concerned about the OOF, out of focus, backgrounds, then don't.  That is normal, and many photographers look for ways to enhance the effect in their photos.  The reason for the difference in focus between foreground and background is called Depth Of Field, DOF, which describes some basic physics of lens performance.

The kids show a little softness, but I think that it may be due to subject movement.  The shot of the young man seems to show it the most.  Using a higher shutter speed can reduce the negative efffects of subject movement.  Use something on the order of at least 1/800 of a second, even if it means raising the ISO to as high as 400.

In <P> mode, the camera will set all three of the exposure values for you.  The camera will behave as if it were in automatic "no flash" mode, except you can more easily view the exposure settings BEFORE you take the shot.  You will not have to wait until afterwards to see what exposure the camera is using.

[ScottyP]

Looks like a bit of motion blur.  A shutter like 1/400th should be plenty fast if they aren't running. 

The other thing that can rob detail is too high an ISO setting or cropping too much in post processing. These don't look heavily cropped so I would ask about your ISO.  A Rebel/crop sensor starts showing loss of detail by ISO 400 and it is noticeably reducing some of the detail in your shots by ISO 800. Eyelashes are not sharp. Edges of teeth are not distinct, etc.  

Finally, I'd suggest selecting just the one center AF point and position it right on one of the subject's eyes.  If you just let the camera choose what point or points to use from the whole array of AF points it can flub focusing on the exact thing you intended to be in focus. That could be your problem here. 

[ScottyP]

One more thing. Don't hold the camera out away from you and shoot with the LCD like a cell phone or a point and shoot. Look with one eye through the viewfinder. You will hold the camera much more steady that way and lessen camera shame. Our. You are also using the primary focus mechanism using the mirror. Shooting through the LCD is in Live View movie shooting style focus, which is slower and less precise when handholding. 

[ebiggs1]

What Scott said!  

The first picture is blur caused by not holding the camera still.  The second is very nice.  She is a doll !