T3i portrait shots blurry.

New camera practice. Put the basic mode to portrait. On this camera the defaut is multiple shots. Thought I would give it a try. Focused and hit the trigger. All three photos came out blurry and out of focus. Had the lens set to AF and IS. What am I doing wrong? Also, how can I get the portrait mode out of the multiole default and set it to shoot just one photo at a time?

Please upload some sample pictures with EXIF data.

Sorry about the no samples. I have just joined the forum, which I am enjoying by the way. Once I get grounded in how to do it I will put some up here. Thank you for your response.

ask the question on the T3i thread as they know your controls and features

https://photography-on-the.net …ead.php?t=10209​76&page=14

Hi Larry and welcome to POTN. It's difficult to tell without samples but I understand your issues. What camera settings were you using?

Since you are quite new to the camera (and perhaps photography) my first "guess" is that you were using a shutter speed that was too low. Was this an AUTOMATIC mode? IS will work quite well up to a point. But if you were using too small an aperture and the lighting was low, the camera would have automatically chosen a very slow shutter speed. This would have caused the blur.

Also, were you using center point autofocus or spread of focus points? If you were using a really shallow depth of field - large aperture opening - and a slow shutter speed, this too would have contributed to poor OOF images. As you can see there are a number of possible causes. The more info you provide, the better we can help. In the meantime spend more time reading the manual and experimenting. - Stu

excellent reply on all counts

Another thing that just occured to me Larry: which lens were you using? If you were using a long lens at maximum zoom then the smallest shake or handheld motion will aggravate stability even more.

If for example you were using a 200mm lens, then your shutter speed should be at least 1/200 sec unless you are using a tripod or some other stabilizer. Now, IS will help depending upon how good it is. For example, I have the 24-105 IS which has an effective 2-stop ability to stabilize. This means that if my meter reading gives me 1/60 sec, I can expect the IS to give me the capability to shoot at 1/15.

I was useing a 55-250 turned all the way down to 55mm. At night in the backyard with a porch floodlight. Used a speedlight for flash. Tried the same photo on the green auto mode, af is, single shot and the picture came out great.

Sounds like you may have been in Av mode. That will expose the subject with flash, but leave the shutter open to expose the background by ambient light. There are a couple of ways around that. One is to set a custom bit to tell the camera to use the max sync speed in Av. Another is to shoot in M and set the speed yourself.

I am positive I was in portrait mode in the basic modes area.

OP wrote that they were using the highly automated Portrait Picture Style, probably selected on the mode dial. I don't have T3i and don't use any of the Picture Styles on the cameras I have, but am sure the best way to avoid the defaults of the Picture Styles would be to simply use Av or one of the other less automated modes, which I'm positive the camera offers.

For portraits you generally want to select a pretty large aperture (to blur down backgrounds) and end up with a moderate shutter speed that's adequate since with most portraits the subject is fairly static. You'll need to select an appropriate ISO for the lighting conditions, one that allows you to use a fast enough shutter speed to be held steady, in combination with the aperture you've selected, to get a sharp shot. I.S. helps prevent blurry images from camera shake (i.e., using slower shutter speeds), but it can't do anything if your subject moves. So you still might need a reasonable shutter speed.

I would strongly suggest getting the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. This is an easy read and can really help you learn what you need to know to get out of the highly automated modes and take control of the camera. It's not Canon-specific... Learn what Peterson covers in the book well and you can practically pick up any camera made in the past 50 or 100 years and in a relatively short time be taking good photos with it.

I'd also suggest go back to the camera manual, reading it thoroughly, and consider getting a copy of one of the guide books specifically for the camera model, such as the series of Magic Lantern books. Since the T3i is a relatively new model, the quide book for it might not be available yet. But in general these books pick up where the instruction manual leaves off, and expand upon it with real world examples and shortcuts to using the camera well.

When you are using the Picture Styles (Canon calls them the Basic Modes), you are essentially using the camera as a Point n Shoot. That's fine for some things, but really relies on all the automation, limits your choices and makes you dependent upon what the camera's designers have programmed it to do. The Green Box is even more simplified. It's a sign you are ready to move on, when you find these very limiting. Keep in mind that Av, Tv and P are also "automated" modes, but allow you a lot more of your own choices. Only M and B are fully manual, requiring you to set up most of the parameters of the camera.

It's impossible to say what went wrong with these first efforts without seeing them. It could be missed focus, I.S. hadn't completed doing it's job or you're expecting too much from it, or subject movement, or other factors.

There is always a learning curve with a new camera that's loaded up with unfamiliar features. The manual and books mentioned can help you get through the learning curve and start using the camera well and confidently a whole lot faster.

Thank you all for your kind and generous advice. I have alot to learn so I guess I better get busy. Spent too much dough to just throw it in the closet and forget about it. Besides, look at the fun I would miss, not to mention the memories that wouldn't be made.

So - what shutter speed does the T3i select when flash is used in portrait mode? Chances are it's either the max synch speed, or chosen to expose the background by ambient light, just as for Av mode.
Perhaps someone with a manual could look that one up.

Hello....I was wondering if you have found any defects with the T3i that I might not have been told about or made aware of ?? I am an undergrad @ UCO in the Mass Communications College/Photography/Jo​urnalism. By no means am I saying I know more than an any other person out there by saying where I was attending so please do not look at it like that. I feel its necessary for you to understand my predicament. I purchased the T3i when I finally chose one of my majors. I paid more $$$ for it than I had ever paid for a camera because I thought perhaps it would be worth it. After all, more $$ should = better pictures, right Or so I thought.......Anyways , heres whats been going on for the last 4 semesters... I have experienced a terrible automatic flash problem. I push the button for a photo, always pushing half way to focus then all the way, and at least 25% of the time the camera will make a sound like its shorting out and the flash will try to light but I only hear a sizzle like sound. I promptly took the camera back where purchased when the problem was noticed and the only thing they could do was send it to you right in the middle of my first semester. Well, you can imagine my reaction.....after paying so much $$$ and getting faulty equipment, I felt like they should have given me a different camera since it was new at the time. Anyway, since it would have ruined my GPA to keep taking my classes with no camera and make 0's for my assignments for the entire month it was going to take to do this, I promptly declined. Well, when the semester was over, I was told they could no longer help me without paying for it.....This was unreal!!!! I had paid so much $$$$ an gotten a camera that performed at least 50% worse than the POINT AND SHOOT that I had prior and used for a couple of years (different brand) Okay, so I'm stuck with this crappy camera and then when I start my editing projects I'm told my pictures were too blurry to really edit properly....there's only so much you can do with a blurry face and all those blown out pixels!!! So here I am in the next semester and I'm thinking how CANON has literally ruined my GPA with their faulty equipment. I'm a student, as I said before and I don't have the $$$ to run out and replace equipment at the drop of a hat. If i did, you would not be seeing this message now, I assure you. But I am very upset that this has turned out the way it has and I'm really disappointed with BOTH the store I purchased this camera from & Canon. Reason being, neither one of you wanted, wants to help. The store basically told me it would take you guys approx. 1 month to fix this. I'm wondering if ANYONE cared to back their products they would have helped me when they found out the predicament I was/am in. I am literally STUCK with this camera now since I cannot afford another kind so I have to do something to fix the situation somehow. I suppose I will start looking at programs to buy that might actually correct the blurriness in order for me to properly edit them for a grade, but I sincerely doubt if any of them really work. They are probably just companies wanting more $$$ from people that got stuck with faulty equipment as I have been. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this, if you did of course, and if by chance any solution has been found for (1) flash not going off properly and make "electrocution" sound (2) Blurry pictures (3) the problem of camera saying "BUSY" all the time during a photo shoot, making you miss perhaps the best shots, then by all means please let me know. I would be ETERNALLY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR HELP!!! and I mean that literally. I feel as if my career has been doomed from the start now and I really don't know what to do other than visit a pawn shop, sell the faulty camera and take my chances on a cheap one for now. Its really a sad situation when you think about it. All I wanted was to buy a camera that would last for a few semesters (so I thought by paying more $$$ than some of my friends I could make that happen. Now I am totally embarrassed by the pictures that I used to be so proud to have taken before purchasing this doomsday device. I have literally sealed my own fate. That's honestly the way I feel, sabotaged & doomed to be exact. (And of course, I would have been so proud that I had been making the various sacrifices I had to make in order to purchase this $$$ camera by having awesome pictures to show for it!!! That really would have been a wonderful thing in my life about now, as I sit here and ponder my bad grades for the last 2 semesters). How ironic I ended up with one that wasn't good from the start and has pretty much made me a "bad" (for lack of another word) student.
By-the-way, I have read all the posts, not just from here but everywhere, that I can find and contrary to the opinions of some people , I assure you, it IS NOT JUST OPERATOR malfunctions, errors, etc. that is causing these problems. There have been far too many posts/complaints about this camera, that it could not possibly be ALL/OR the only problem (I will give ya about 15% there on operator error, but that's being extremely generous I think.)
So I want CANON to have an awesome day, week, month and year and just know that I will always be thinking about them and how they truly affected my life in such a GIGANTIC way. I may keep this camera always as a reminder of BIG CORPORATIONS and how they literally bite the hands that feed them, while I struggle as much as possible now with my career. Just know that when I do finally make it because of a different brand of camera, believe that I will have their CANON camera laying on a shelf somewhere IN PLAIN VIEW as a constant reminder of this terrible time in my life (and it definitely wont be displayed as if I use it for any picture taking abilities I assure you)!!
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[FONT="Century Gothic"] rmanncobb

So you had a choice to send it back, but rather decided to ruin 4 semesters instead of just your first one? You could have sent it canon yourself and it would have taken maybe 2 weeks. You never gave canon a chance to stand by their product BECAUSE you didn't send it in. Also why wouldn't you have purchased a separate flash? It sounds like you had some choices to make, and made the wrong ones.

There are no programs you can buy to make your camera not take blurry pictures. Those are a result of too slow a shutter speed, a slow lens like a kit lens in low light situations, etc. Raise your ISO to allow the shutter speeds to be raised. I would suggest read some articles on exposure triangles, it will help you to get better pictures. I suggest an aftermarket flash, even something like a YungNuo. There are things in your control here, and continuing to place the entire blame on the camera, shop and Canon isn't going to further your trek in life. Getting rid of the camera and getting another isn't either, from what I can tell from this post.

Please attach some of your photos with exif data, and I guarantee you, there are many on the board here that could immediately tell you what the issue(s) are. As to your "busy" indicator, what brand and type of card did you buy? Did you go for the cheapest at the store or did you get one as part of a T3i package deal?

Finally, paragraphs make articles easier to read, just a good tip for your future career.

rmanncobb wrote in post #16806282
Hello....I was wondering if you have found any defects with the T3i that I might not have been told about or made aware of ?? I am an undergrad @ UCO in the Mass Communications College/Photography/Jo​urnalism. By no means am I saying I know more than an any other person out there by saying where I was attending so please do not look at it like that. I feel its necessary for you to understand my predicament. I purchased the T3i when I finally chose one of my majors. I paid more $$$ for it than I had ever paid for a camera because I thought perhaps it would be worth it. After all, more $$ should = better pictures, right Or so I thought.......

Anyways , heres whats been going on for the last 4 semesters... I have experienced a terrible automatic flash problem. I push the button for a photo, always pushing half way to focus then all the way, and at least 25% of the time the camera will make a sound like its shorting out and the flash will try to light but I only hear a sizzle like sound. I promptly took the camera back where purchased when the problem was noticed and the only thing they could do was send it to you right in the middle of my first semester. Well, you can imagine my reaction.....after paying so much $$$ and getting faulty equipment, I felt like they should have given me a different camera since it was new at the time.

Anyway, since it would have ruined my GPA to keep taking my classes with no camera and make 0's for my assignments for the entire month it was going to take to do this, I promptly declined. Well, when the semester was over, I was told they could no longer help me without paying for it.....This was unreal!!!! I had paid so much $$$$ an gotten a camera that performed at least 50% worse than the POINT AND SHOOT that I had prior and used for a couple of years (different brand) Okay, so I'm stuck with this crappy camera and then when I start my editing projects I'm told my pictures were too blurry to really edit properly....there's only so much you can do with a blurry face and all those blown out pixels!!!

So here I am in the next semester and I'm thinking how CANON has literally ruined my GPA with their faulty equipment. I'm a student, as I said before and I don't have the $$$ to run out and replace equipment at the drop of a hat. If i did, you would not be seeing this message now, I assure you. But I am very upset that this has turned out the way it has and I'm really disappointed with BOTH the store I purchased this camera from & Canon. Reason being, neither one of you wanted, wants to help. The store basically told me it would take you guys approx. 1 month to fix this. I'm wondering if ANYONE cared to back their products they would have helped me when they found out the predicament I was/am in.

I am literally STUCK with this camera now since I cannot afford another kind so I have to do something to fix the situation somehow. I suppose I will start looking at programs to buy that might actually correct the blurriness in order for me to properly edit them for a grade, but I sincerely doubt if any of them really work. They are probably just companies wanting more $$$ from people that got stuck with faulty equipment as I have been.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this, if you did of course, and if by chance any solution has been found for (1) flash not going off properly and make "electrocution" sound (2) Blurry pictures (3) the problem of camera saying "BUSY" all the time during a photo shoot, making you miss perhaps the best shots, then by all means please let me know. I would be ETERNALLY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR HELP!!! and I mean that literally. I feel as if my career has been doomed from the start now and I really don't know what to do other than visit a pawn shop, sell the faulty camera and take my chances on a cheap one for now.

Its really a sad situation when you think about it. All I wanted was to buy a camera that would last for a few semesters (so I thought by paying more $$$ than some of my friends I could make that happen. Now I am totally embarrassed by the pictures that I used to be so proud to have taken before purchasing this doomsday device. I have literally sealed my own fate. That's honestly the way I feel, sabotaged & doomed to be exact. (And of course, I would have been so proud that I had been making the various sacrifices I had to make in order to purchase this $$$ camera by having awesome pictures to show for it!!! That really would have been a wonderful thing in my life about now, as I sit here and ponder my bad grades for the last 2 semesters). How ironic I ended up with one that wasn't good from the start and has pretty much made me a "bad" (for lack of another word) student.

By-the-way, I have read all the posts, not just from here but everywhere, that I can find and contrary to the opinions of some people , I assure you, it IS NOT JUST OPERATOR malfunctions, errors, etc. that is causing these problems. There have been far too many posts/complaints about this camera, that it could not possibly be ALL/OR the only problem (I will give ya about 15% there on operator error, but that's being extremely generous I think.)

So I want CANON to have an awesome day, week, month and year and just know that I will always be thinking about them and how they truly affected my life in such a GIGANTIC way. I may keep this camera always as a reminder of BIG CORPORATIONS and how they literally bite the hands that feed them, while I struggle as much as possible now with my career. Just know that when I do finally make it because of a different brand of camera, believe that I will have their CANON camera laying on a shelf somewhere IN PLAIN VIEW as a constant reminder of this terrible time in my life (and it definitely wont be displayed as if I use it for any picture taking abilities I assure you)!!
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[FONT="Century Gothic"] rmanncobb