T6 blurry images wedding photography

[Bbphoto]

I am a starting out photographer, using a t6 with kit lens 18-55. I have been getting a lot of work and everything is great. But I keep seeing some of the “far away” images are coming in blurry and I just can’t seem to figure it out. I thought that it may have been the md filter on the front of my camera but even when I took it off, they were still blurry even if I was only ten feet away. So I guess I have to start making all my shots up close? Please help me figure this out. I shoot in either creative auto or sport due to the fact that I just can’t seem to get crisp images in other settings. And I’m honestly scared to shoot in other modes because this works best for me. Please put in your input and help me solve this problem. Thanks.

[Bbphoto · Accepted solution]

Also - I have bought a pancake lens to help with my setup but I had to return it. It worked amazing, I could still see blurryness in the far away photos but i feel like it was better clarity than the kit lenses. I am trying to figure out what lens to get that won’t cost a fortune as I am on a tight budget. Also would love to buy a better camera but I am saving up. Any input on this would be great as well.

[kvbarkley]

Tight budget and wedding photography don't go together. If you came to shoot my wedding with the 75-300 I would fire you on the spot.

[Bbphoto]

Actually I’m doing just fine. Everyone starts somewhere. Thanks for your input. At least I’m not showing up to shoot a wedding with a point and shoot. I don’t typically use that lens by the way. It’s obviously not the best fit. I don’t understand why you have to be negative, I’m simply trying to improve and ask for suggestions.

[RobertTheFat]

---

@shadowsports wrote:

Wadizzle,

Right...  the difference being your Cine quality lens.

This is not the lens I'd chose for a wedding.  Landscape yes.  That photo is magnificent. Very dramatic.  Really like it.

---

I agree with Rick's opinion of Waddizzle's shot. But I'd try applying an additional 1° of counterclockwise rotation.

[Waddizzle]

“Also - I have bought a pancake lens to help with my setup but I had to return it. It worked amazing, I could still see blurryness in the far away photos but i feel like it was better clarity than the kit lenses. I am trying to figure out what lens to get that won’t cost a fortune as I am on a tight budget. Also would love to buy a better camera but I am saving up. Any input on this would be great as well.”

My advice is simple. “Buy it right the first time, and you will only buy it once.”

That means do not buy something to tide you over because you will wind up twice as much, if not more. I do not like most Nikkor lenses. The lenses cost too much and their image quality is noticeably worse than nearly every other major manufacturer. Stick with Canon.

I suggest that you take lots of photos and observe. Observe your results. Check out the Canon EOS 101 Video Series. It is quite good.

As for a camera upgrade, move up from the Rebel series of bodies. Familiarize yourself with Canon’s DSLR lineups. Most wedding photographers have wanted bodies with good low noise performance, and mostly use full frame image sensor bodies.

But lenses are where the rubber hits the road. Lenses are also where you can spend lots of money on mediocre gear. Your images will never be any better than the glass you put in front of the camera.

[Bbphoto]

Thank you! It was actually the 24mm canon lens that I got but I see why your saying. I just don’t have $3000-5000 at the moment to get new gear, but **bleep** I wish I did! That would make it a whole lot easier to upgrade to what I need

[Waddizzle]

---

@RobertTheFat wrote:

---

@shadowsports wrote:

Wadizzle,

Right...  the difference being your Cine quality lens.

This is not the lens I'd chose for a wedding.  Landscape yes.  That photo is magnificent. Very dramatic.  Really like it.

---

I agree with Rick's opinion of Waddizzle's shot. But I'd try applying an additional 1° of counterclockwise rotation.

---

Thanks, Bob!

I appreciate the critique, too.  Always do, always welcome.  Your observation is spot on with something I wrestled with in post. I could not decide how to level the horizon, because the original handheld shot was, while steady, not perfectly level.  LR has really good tools to correct for this sort of stuff.

The problem was barrel distortion.  I had to angle the lens upward to capture the whole house.  With a full frame sensor body, I could have angled upward far less than with an APS-C sensor body.  But this was a “training day” shoot, so I was forced to zoom with my feet and compose before I pressed the shutter.

The house is not in the exact center of the image.  When I rotated the image to where vertical lines would look vertical, the house would look a little distorted, just a little too distorted. I settled on a final rotation that “cancelled” out the barrel distortion on the house.  

I had to find a happy medium between making the house distortion look balanced, and the image looking level..  I decided  to put a priority on “balancing” the barrel distortion of the house.  

[ebiggs1]

"I just don’t have $3000-5000 at the moment to get new gear, but **bleep** I wish I did!"

Who does? You'er not alone in that. But, kido, are you ready for the cold hard truth?  If not stop reading this right now.

Plain and simple you gear is crap. You are actually getting good results with what you have. I have been in the wedding business for over 5 decades.  My very first rule is the offer the client something that Uncle Bob or a nerdie guy down the street can't do.  Everybody has a Rebel T6 or 7 or 5 or 4, etc. Why should they pay you when they can get the same thing for free or very cheap?

First advice is stop buying that stuff. When you can't afford the good stuff buying the wrong gear only makes getting the good stuff harder. Make sense?

OK the rude part out of the way let's try to get the most from what you have until you can upgrade it. Always, always shoot Raw file format. For the outdoor shoots like you displayed choose a 'fixed' ISO probably ISO 200. Set the Rebel to P mode or Av mode at f8.  WB can be set to auto it doesn't really matter in Raw just the very best exposure and focus. Have only the center focus point active and the Rebel in One Shot. Adjust your exposure if needed for a properly exposed shot. Indoors no one can offer you settings with out seeing the venue.

I rarely use a tripod. Usually only for the group shots but it needs to be a top quality one, too.

You need, it is mandatory, a good post editor like Photoshop or Lightroom, preferable PS. This is not option you have you have a good editor, period.  You need to learn PS thoroughly.  In PS you need to fix your composition, You can't have power poles or tickets here signs ot trucks in the background unless they are part of the scene.  believe me nobody wants a power pole or lines in their wedding shot! This also comes down to the thought, you are offering a product that the bride and groom can't get elsewhere. If you keep producing poor quality work the word will get out. Lastly, for now, don't over process your shots. In post editing less is more.

I wish you all the best but this is a tough business. I started two of my nieces in the wedding photography business, one made it and is very successful.  The other quit after a year or so, didn't have what it takes, do you?

BTW, if after reading this and you are still on speaking terms with me I will be glad to offer suggestions. Good luck.

[ebiggs1]

Cropped 8x10. Pole, crudely, removed. Did the girls really have flowers growing out of their heads?

[Waddizzle]

---

@Waddizzle wrote:.

.

---

Bob,

When I rotated the image to correct the distortion. Lightroom does not limit me to rotating around the center of the image.  You can pick any point in the image and rotate around that point.  In this case, I picked the electrical meter on the side of the house.  I rotated the image to bring the conduit leading out of the top of it to vertical.