Newbie help. Just trying to get started.

A few years ago I bought a cheap Nikon D40. And while it was a pretty cheap camera it gave me the bug for taking nice pictures.

I recently decided to try it again, so I picked up a Canon T3I which i THINK is a pretty good camera for a newbie. but I can't help but wish I'd have gotten a 7d.

Anyway, I'm just trying to get a feel for pictures and I'm finding a problem. I've got a couple lenses and they both do the same thing so it has to be me.

I'm not trying to take stellar pictures yet, just getting an overall vibe for the camera. But it seems like every pic I take has a very VERY small focus point, and starts blurring very quickly as you move out. for instance. if I take a normal close up of my cat. it focuses perfectly on her nose, but if that happens, her eyes are slightly blurry. or vice versa. I tried manual focus, auto etc in different programs and I just can't seem to focus a big enough part of the pic.

The standard 18-55mm lens that came with it, and today I tried to use a 28-135 Canon (actually it's the default lense the 7d comes with. a friend sent it to me to test).

Can't I use the 28-135 for macro (really close up of flowers etc)?

Am i doing something fundamentally stupid?

It sounds like you have a thin DOF (depth of focus) due to your aperture, distance to your cat, and your focal length. If you are zoomed out all the way, and are getting close to the cat, you will have a pretty thin depth of focus. Try upping your aperture to f8, for example (hopefully you have great lighting though or use the flash). Or move back, or go to a wider focal length...

Adjust your aperture - the f-stop. A smaller aperture (bigger number) will cause more of your image to be in focus.

Great thread here: https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=414088

ooh that thread helps so much. I feel like such an idiot. It's even worse because I'm a 19 year senior program manager in the IT industry, when I tell someone I'm a total dunce on anything electronic they call me a liar.

thanks for that. I was actually thinking of getting the Lynda tutorials (premium service you pay for) as I noticed they have some SLR tuts. I use them sometimes for advanced photoshop and javascript techniques.

I live in Hot Springs Arkansas and down town is a fantastic place to take pictures so once I get over feeling like a goofball i'm excited.

before you spend any money on tutorials, pick up a copy of understanding exposure by bryan peterson. Then spend a little time playing with this. http://www.dofmaster.c​om/dofjs.html Plug in your lens, aperture, and distance and see how it works...

This is great and best of all it is free just for being here: https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=414088

try shooting in Av mode and bring the aperture down to f/8 and take the same shot. The nose and eyes should both be focused. The thing is, if you want more of the foreground/background in focus along with your subject, then you will need a smaller aperture.

To get more in focus....use a bigger F stop.