Why aren't my photos crisp and sharp?

[randy_cooprider1]

<p>Ms. Moreland, because of my suspect vision, autofocus has been a great help however from 15 feet it is hard to just focus on an eye. I would suggest the following; first make sure that your lens has not fogged when going from warm room to chilly outside, second open up the focus area to head size, on dull days or open shade use a fill flash, as already mentioned stop down to at least F3.5 shutter speed no slower than flash sync speed, lastly shoot a series of test shots before the customers are ready and critically examine them on the camera LCD zooming way in to see the sharpness. My Rebel 2ti is almost noiseless up to ISO 1600 so your 6D should be much better.<br>

Good Luck<br>

Randy <br>

Ancient amatuer</p>

[karenmorelandphotography]

<p>Thanks for all the great responses. @Sabastian, I do have the Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens. It is not an L lens, so it is the cheaper model. Perhaps I just need to calibrate the focus at 1.4 for far away. I don't usually have too many issues with focusing it when I'm close up except perhaps in lower light, but when farther away, that is when I have issues wide open trying to focus on eyes. So I will definitely bump up my aperture to at least f/4 when shooting groups of 2 rows. @Randy, I appreciate your suggestion to do test shots before clients show up to determine my best distance with the widest aperture. I think that would be wise. Funny enough, the client I just delivered these images to (in the original post) could not tell that anything was off although I offered to reshoot at no charge. Luckily she loved all the photos and couldn't tell anything was off. But I appreciate the critique here in this forum. You all have helped me learn a great lesson in focusing! :)</p>

[mike_earussi1]

<p>Micro focus adjustment is what's needed for your lens (there should be instructions in your manual). Put your camera on a tripod and focus on something with fine detail at your desired distance, then make a series of fine adjustments until you achieve maximum sharpness.</p>

<p>But as others have mentioned, don't expect too much from that lens as it's not very sharp anyway wide open:</p>

<p>http://www.lenstip.com/216.4-Lens_review-Canon_EF_50_mm_f_1.4_USM_Image_resolution.html</p>

<p>For comparison look at the new Sigma 50 f1.4 A lens:</p>

<p>http://www.lenstip.com/400.4-Lens_review-Sigma_A_50_mm_f_1.4_DG_HSM_Image_resolution.html</p>

<p>At $950 you get what you pay for. But even the older Sigma 50 f1.4 at $500 is sharper than your Canon:</p>

<p>http://www.lenstip.com/177.4-Lens_review-Sigma_50_mm_f_1.4_EX_DG_HSM_Image_resolution.html</p>

<p>So having good equipment does help, but the micro focus adjustment will maximize what you already have.</p>

 

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>Emil,</p>

<p>I was being sarcastic. Manipulation is the name of the game, whether in the darkroom or in LightRoom.</p>

[sebastianmoran]

<p>Karen, I just cannot believe that the lens quality difference vs the "L" lens is responsible for what you are seeing. I've never seen a "50" that didn't give good images at f/4 or f/5.6, most of them at f/2.8. Maybe it is really soft at f/1.4, but that's something you can easily test.</p>

<p>Here's the easiest focus test I know, a row of cans or a running fence. Lots of ways to do it. Purpose: make sure your lens is focusing where you want it. Or, if nothing is sharp, then maybe the lens is bad.</p>

<p><img src="http://2under.net/images/141204-FocusTest-DSC3169-Scr.JPG" alt="" /></p>

[karenmorelandphotography]

<p>Wow! Thanks, Mike. I have always been afraid to buy outside the brand for compatibility reasons, but clearly I need to do more research before buying my next lenses! </p>

[karenmorelandphotography]

<p>@Sabastian, I don't usually have any issues in close range (within 5-7 feet), it's usually 10+ feet away that I start experiencing focus problems. </p>

[sebastianmoran]

<p>Karen, OK, I understand, then try a similar focus test from a longer distance. </p>

[Robin Smith]

<p>Increase the ISO to 400 and increase the shutter speed to at least 1/250th. Take care to hold it still. If you still have focus problems then the AF body-lens calibration needs adjustment (it's in the camera instructions how to do this). The Canon 50/1.4 is not blistering sharp wide open, but it is better than your examples suggest. It is much better at f2 or f2.8.</p>

[alan_cox3]

<p>Karen,</p>

<p>Problems are always best solved by starting with something that is WORKING rather than jumping around blindly trying random suggestions to see if anything works. That's why Bill, and others of us suggested at the beginning that you FIRST do the live-view test at 5.6, (and on a tripod please). Your 1.4 lens should be VERY sharp at f/4 - 5.6 , so that's your best shot at quickly getting the a known starting point. (In the very center of the frame it's best at f/4.) THEN you can gradually change things more the way you prefer to work and apply some of the many suggestions. Along the way you will discover where you are picking up the softness.</p>

<p>(Live View focusing bypasses the normal "ought-to-focus" mechanism, and uses the actual imagery from the sensor to EXACTLY focus where you've chosen. It is always your best method of focusing!)</p>

[karenmorelandphotography]

<p>That's great, Alan! I will try that. And thank you to everyone in case I didn't get to respond to each of you directly. </p>

[Ian Taylor]

<p>technique issue, not gear</p>

[karenmorelandphotography]

<p>That's great, Alan! I will try that. And thank you to everyone in case I didn't get to respond to each of you directly. </p>

[kim_johnson1]

Do you have a uv or some other filter over your lens? The whole image is blurry. Something is off.