Why are my photos not coming out 100% clear? Mark ll EOS 6D

[ivesandhoney]

 

I am a new photographer, I just purchased a Mark ll 6D and an using an 85 mm lens. I have been trying to learn manual mode, and I just am struggling. I get the concepts of what to adjust, but when I practiced tonight, my pictures are just slightly blurry almost. And it’s not noticeable until you zoom way in, but I am a perfectionist, and I want to get it right, not just “half right”. I had watched videos on how to do manual mode, and people would say to keep your ISO low or your photos will get grainy.... I did just that, but when I went to edit it in Lightroom and bump up the exposure, it was very grainy. So I tried instead to do a higher ISO, which I think turned out better, but I still feel like my photo is not exactly crystal clear and I want it to be crystal clear. My aperture was set at f/4 I believe, Shutter speed at 1000 I believe, and iso maybe around 1000 also. This was while the sun was pretty much set, so could this time of night just cause less crisp? Should I bump my aperture up for a higher depth of field? Is it possible my autofocus just isn’t capturing the right spot? Please help 😅

[ivesandhoney]

I absolutely will be. Tired mom brain tonight, but I will definitely be coming back tomorrow when I can think with a fresh mind to get better insight from your original comments. I really do appreciate you taking the time to help me, I am confident with your in depth explanation, I hopefully should be able to get it figured out. 🙂

[Tronhard]

Are you able to use Skype?  I live in NZ, but would be happy to share some knowledge with you.  I have a couple of courses I can present to you via Skype that I normally teach in person.  We can take them in bite-sized chunks so that we are both awake and you are not overloaded.  Let me know and if you wish to try, then send me a personal message and I will give you my contact details and we can find a mutually workable time.

[ivesandhoney]

Oh I really appreciate that offer!!! Thank you so much- let me get back to you and will send you a message, that would be very helpful 🙂

[Tronhard]

To send / receive private messages, look on the top right of this screen and you will see an envelope on the far right.  You just create a message to Tronhard.