The Ever Hated Grainy Photo

[samkusterbeck]

To begin I have a CANON REBEL T7 with a 24-70 mm CANON lens. 
I have taken quite a bit of time scouring the internet for the do's and don't of photography. All my images are RAW files and I shoot in Manual mode and use the auto focus mode (which I feel like is what the issue is) 
ISO is 100 f/28 1/320 I think I was set at AL SERVO 
I point the red dot on the face and then I open the files and some/most of the pictures come out "annoyling" grainy. I don't know what to do!
Is the AF Point Selection just no good? I heard the center one is the best to use, but the face or subject I want in focus isn't always smack dab in the center.

Is it the distance I am shooting from? If so could someone explain to me in simple terms what and how the best  shooting distance is determined?

Is my camera no bueno and its just not capable sometimes of getting crisp shots?

Do I need to use manual focus and if so HOW> it seems like it would make photo taking take forever trying to make sure you get the right focus? 

[samkusterbeck]

EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM is my lens

[ebiggs1]

Sam this shot is great. I did a bit of exposure editing and unsharp mask in PS. I also did a WB adjustment.

It would be even better if you had u/l the Raw file. A jpg gets compressed and data discarded that can never be used to help edit. This probably means there isn't anything wrong with the camera/lens so you need check your technique.

[Tronhard]

Personally, I thought that just getting Samantha to come out of everything manual was a good first step.  Things like Servo or not, # of focus or metering points might be a good step in the future, but I'm going small steps here and trying not to overcomplicate the issue.

[Waddizzle]

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@Tronhard wrote:

Personally, I thought that just getting the OP to come out of everything manual was a good first step.  Things like Servo or not, # of focus or metering points might be a good step in the future, but I'm going small steps here and trying not to overcomplicate the issue.

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I totally agree you.  Keep it simple.  Switching from AI Servo to One Shot reduces the number of AF points to worry about.  On this type of Rebel, I would recommend only using the Center AF point for One Shot AF.

The Rebel T5/6/7 models are the real entry level Rebels.  Outside of the US they have 4 digit, ####D, model numbers compared to what I call “Intelligent Rebels”, which are slightly more advanced.  The Intelligent Rebels have the lower case letter “i” at the end of the model numbers, and use 3 digit, ###D, model numbers outside of the US.

Using M mode on a ####D Rebel body is far more challenging that using M mode on a midrange or professional body because you are locked into setting exposure in full stop increments.  You have to really understand the photography and the camera in order to work around that limitation, in order to be able to set exposure in 1/3 stop increments.

I would always encourage people to venture into using M mode.  But, I will not on the ####D models with beginners.  Using Av or Tv mode, and One Shot AF, is what works best on these models.  

[ebiggs1]

Not that any of the advice above is wrong but I am going to suggest a different method. Your shot is a simple snap shot. Let the camera do its thing and leave it in P mode. Sometimes the camera is smarter than we think. Let the simple stuff be, well, simple! Try P mode. One shot, and ISO 200.  ISO 200 tends to be less grainy than all the other numbers.

As to focus you can put just the center focus point on the babies eye and while half-holding down the shutter button recompost the shot to your liking. It will hold focus on the eye for you.

You are shooting Raw. Good. This means you can do a lot of enhancements in post edit. If you do not have DPP4 you can d/l it for free from Canon. Almost anything can be made better in post except focus. That you must nail. However even focus can be enhanced to make a so-so shot more enjoyable.

[samkusterbeck]

see above added screenshots. Maybe I am being to picky. But there is definitely a difference. 

[Tronhard]

To me, the bottom one is better exposed and is sharper.  Samantha, it would be helpful if for each shot  you post you indicated the EXIF data: lens, Focal length, f/stop, S/speed and ISO.   We can then see exactly how the image was taken.

[samkusterbeck]

It shows it on the top right I  thought....Under the histogram?

[Tronhard]

Sorry Samantha, I confused your images with those in Ernie's posting! 😬 There have been so many responses and with the new interface that keeps hiding some posts I get lost sometimes. 

The images that look best to me are the ones that are not as bright.  Yet, the puzzle is that looking at the setting according to what's on your screen, they are essentially identical. 

[ebiggs1]

The worst, hardest, critic is yourself. In your example, 0722 is OOF plain and simple. It is also underexposed. Underexposed shots make everything else look even worse. Add OFF to underexpose and, yeah, it probably has all the bad going for it. Like several of us have said keep it simple. Let a simple thing be simple. It is easy to over think something when it isn't necessary. You should be using One shot 90% of the time. It is that much more accurate for most shots. Also, ISO 200 whenever possible and for this type of photos, P mode is good.

I took a pretty compressed jpg that you u/l of the baby and look how much better it is. That is a simple levels adjustment to correct underexposure. I added a bit of saturation to the reds too. If I had the Raw it would look even better.

Way back a few posts ago i think I saw you had aT7 and a 24-70mm Canon lens? Understand the lens makes the shot. Not the camera as it is basically a storage device.  Let that very good lens do its thing in AF with the cameras in One shot. Also one stop down from wide open is sharper so use it when you can. If you were at f2.8 and 1/320, a better choice would be f4 and 1/160.