Portrait Help--Thanks!

So I have had my camera a couple of months now and am having fun learning; I have learned the most from these forums and value any critiques!

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Not too bad at all. Maybe slightly more light?

Both shots seem to be ever so slightly off of the eyes with AF. Are you manually selecting the AF point or letting the camera choose?

Overall seems pretty good. The first could use some fill-flash or fill light in post. I'm not the hugest fan of the cut-off shoulder in the first either.

Thanks for the input. I manually select the autofocus point this way: I use the center focus point only which I point at the eye and then I recompose the shot. Is this the best way to do it? I always get the comment that my focus seems off, and I can't figure out how to fix it. Here is the first shot with different PP; is it better?

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PP is not going to fix the focus issue....still the major problem. It doesn't look like movement because the hair behind the eyes is in focus.

Better, but now it's overexposed. You can raise the exposure as a whole, but what really needs to happen is the light levels on the front of the face need to be higher. As is, your background is noticeably (1/2 stop+) brighter than the subject. If you're using Lightroom it's called fill light, alternatively using a flash, reflector, or shooting with the subject facing the sun would fix that.

Don't expect wonders editing Jpegs though, realistically you'll have to use a raw file to add light in post. (Don't know if you shoot raw). Even better than shooting raw, doing it in camera by using a flash or moving the subject is even better.

Re: Focusing: Using the center point, then recomposing works OK, but it will typically throw your focus off at close subject distances. Your focus is a set distance from the front of the lens. When you angle your lens to recompose the picture, your focus plane no longer intersects the subject's eyes, which is why it's off. You can move the camera laterally (while still 100% parallel to the subject), use an off-center focus point, or manually focus to ensure more exact focus. The hair looks very sharp, so you are capable of getting good pictures.

Thank you! Yours was the most helpful post I have ever gotten on how to fix my focus problems. So are you saying I should learn how to toggle between focus points instead? I will be trying that this afternoon!

]Ok, so I changed from using the center focus point and recomposing. I went out today (at noon unfortunately) and composed the shot and then toggled to the nearest focus point which was not the center focus point. Are the eyes in focus on these? I am not very good at judging whether the eyes are in focus, but I am not sure about these either.

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Just one last question: compare the focus in the first picture in this thread with the focus in the last picture in the thread. Are the eyes in better focus in the second one? Thanks!

Brainstormin wrote in post #12478503
Just one last question: compare the focus in the first picture in this thread with the focus in the last picture in the thread. Are the eyes in better focus in the second one? Thanks!

Indeed they are...

Well, thanks a bunch! I have learned so much from this thread! I appreciate all of the feedback. Now I am off to take some "in focus" pics for a change

Get a monopod to avoid camera movement if you want the sharpest pics.
Also in the second pic her skin is very white, i would change to a warmer white balance.

No one has asked about exif? What was the shutter speed, ISO, and f-stop on these? Lenses have sweet spots - where they really shine. Find it for yours and then know what the DOF would look like at that f-stop/focal length.

While a monopod would give stability, portraits should be able to be shot at hight enough shutter speed that it's not necessary. Focus using the AF point closest to the eyes to minimize recompose and you should be set. But I would expect to use an f-stop that gave a substantial DOF.