Soft Eyes on Pretty Daughter

I am just an amateur who enjoys taking pictures. However, I am disturbed that I can't get sharp eyes no matter what I try. Would a nifty fifty help me get sharper eyes for portraits? I would also appreciate any cc on these pics. Thanks!

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Hey there. Its hard to tell with photos of that size. Can you host them somewhere else, like Flickr, in a larger size? They look great though as far as lighting and exposure!

Here are larger images hopefully! Thanks!

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Is this a really heavy crop? It almost looks pixelated. Do you have the original files?

I guess my total noobiness is showing. First, the only program I have for "PP" is Picasa. I used it for a little editing but did not crop these particular pictures. I could try to upload the original file, but it is too big, and the only way I know how to reduce the size is though Picasa. I guess I have much to learn

Ah, I see. Sorry I cant help you with Picasa. You can download GIMP for free. Ive also never used it but I hear it has a lot of the same tools as photoshop and there are a lot of video tutorials for it on youtube. I PMed you my email if you want to email me one of them. Ill take the one on the right.

what was your camera settings?

EXIF IFD0

Camera Make = Canon
Camera Model = Canon EOS REBEL T3i
X-Resolution = 72/1 ===> 72
Y-Resolution = 72/1 ===> 72
X/Y-Resolution Unit = inch (2)
Software / Firmware Version = Picasa
Last Modified Date/Time = 2011:10:21 13:14:17
Artist =
Y/Cb/Cr Positioning (Subsampling) = co-sited / datum point (2)
Copyright Owner =

EXIF Sub IFD

Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) = 1/200 second ===> 0.005 second
Lens F-Number / F-Stop = 5/1 ===> ƒ/5
Exposure Program = aperture priority (3)
ISO Speed Ratings = 800
Unknown tag, Tagnum 0x8830 = data ===> 2
Unknown tag, Tagnum 0x8832 = data ===> 800
EXIF Version = 0230
Original Date/Time = 2011:10:21 13:14:17
Digitization Date/Time = 2011:10:21 13:14:17
Components Configuration = 0x01,0x02,0x03,0x00 / YCbCr
Shutter Speed Value (APEX) = 499712/65536
Shutter Speed (Exposure Time) = 1/197.4 second
Aperture Value (APEX) = 303104/65536
Aperture = ƒ/4.97
Exposure Bias (EV) = 0/1 ===> 0
Metering Mode = pattern / multi-segment (5)
Flash = Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length = 109/1 mm ===> 109 mm

You're at f5. Try at least f8 for portraits. Once you get the hang of focus you can stop down again if desired. In this case though it wouldn't matter too much because the backgroun is only an inch away.

It's not just her eyes, nothing is sharp. Makes me wonder if the camera picked the wrong focus point. Try putting your AF on center point only.

So try f8 or even f11, center point focus on her eye (and then recompose if necessary). I think you're really close because these are easy adjustments to make. You'll get the hang of it.

f/5 at this subject distance is actually do-able for portraits. Both images look like they suffer from image compression when uploading/converting. Though the left one looks like it suffers more from back focusing. The flower on her head seems to be the sharpest thing in the picture.