Need some clarity tips

[emmaandnate]

Ok so this is family talk and you already know I'm doing babies and families. My issue is I aspire to magazine cover levels of sharpness and clarity, but feel like as much as I like other elements of my work, my pictures aren't crisp enough and any actions/filters/editing I do tends to muddy things up further and add to the noise. So while I like some of those "hazy" actions, mine look like fog where others look ethereal. I've tried a few things to work those problems out and while I feel I've improved a lot, its just not good enough for where I ultimately want to be. I have a new website launching soon and I want these upcoming shoots to sparkle. Any suggestions?

Oh- and difficultly- I have not had the best luck shooting manual so I often go auto on my 7d (I also have a detachable flash (but stick to natural light) and a few lenses but just using the 28-135mm for my current stuff) I'm sure that's half the problem but when I try manual on a toddler (or dads!) its a nightmare and rarely comes out.

I can post a couple of my most recent images if that will help, just let me know and thanks for any help!

[Accessoire]

I would try a prime lens and see if that helps, and def. not on auto mode, unfortunately.
That lets the camera choose the settings and frankly it hardly ever chooses well.
Are you shooting RAW?
Because if you're shooting JPG and doing extensive post processing, it will muddy up the image because JPGs can't handle it, it will degrade the file more and more.

[emmaandnate]

That was one great thing I've learned here- to shoot in RAW. So I'm doing that now and getting much better shots. Do you have any suggestions for shooting children in manual? Meaning moving subjects?

[Scatterbrained]

Lighting and processing are going to be as much a part of a crisp image as the lens you use. Why not post up an example of something that you are having issues with and maybe we can offer advise.

Personally, I'm not a fan of canned actions. I prefer to learn how to achieve the end result outright, as it gives me more control and a better understanding of what different things do.

[tlzimmerman]

Shoot in full manual, stay steady, if you don't have flash to help freeze the image you need to keep your shutter speeds high, especially with moving kiddos. (and by flash, I mean OCF through a modifier of some kind preferably) Use a sharp lens in its sweet spot, make sure you get your focus dead on the eyes, use a small enough aperture your DOF doesn't go out when the kiddo moves a little bit. Only shoot on ISO 100.

Hmm.....thats all the tips I can think of.

[pixidance]

a prime lens will definitely be sharpest. Once I got my prime, I rarely take it off my camera and when I do, I don't like how soft my other photos are lol

Practice shooting in manual too. Once you get the hang of it, you'll never go back to auto

[moon_hare]

Use a prime lens, my 50mm hardly ever leaves my camera,and I do 90% children's portraits. Good lighting, low ISO and working in manual made the difference for me. I always shoot in manual now.x