Why are my pictures not sharp? Part III and Confession

[snik75]

<p>Here's the same treatment on the first shot. I admit it may not be quite what you want, but I like being able to see the brown of his eyes. I know you said no PhotoShop, but this is just with FastStone, a free download.</p>

<p>They are great shots, by the way.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[matthew miller]

<p>How are you processing the images now? Increased sharpening <em>is</em> part of the answer, either in camera, in Photoshop, or in some other image-editing program. Here's the original with USM added — maybe actually a bit too much, but you get the idea.</p><div></div>

[mcmanamey]

<p>Dan, I'm sorry, I hadn't been following & just now noticed your question. If I'm repeating an answer from above, I apologize. Frankly my eyes are too tired to read all the (excellent, I'm sure) advice up there & process it.</p>

<p>I usually use fill flash instead of bounce, because when I'm shooting during business hours I don't have any extra hands. BUT I refuse to use the on camera flash. I also very much loathe the direct flash look. We use the 540FGZ, either on the hot shoe or on the Stroboframe, which is preferred.</p>

<p>With the reflector I use the gold side. My smaller one has a gold/silver zig zag side which is actually my favorite.</p>