Help, Why are some images Tack Sharp? And some are not?

SkipD wrote in post #15095313
How about showing us 100% crops of where you thought you were focusing.

An unrelated question: Why the camera tilt for the first shot? Quite honestly, I have never seen a single "tilted camera" shot that seemed to have good composition when it was obvious (because of something within the image) what was supposed to be horizontal or vertical in the real world. I've been asking folks who do it why they do it and have not gotten a solid answer yet.

How do I show at a 100%?

The simplest answer I can think of, based on those images, is that your subject moved and was no longer right at the plane of focus; did you refocus for each of the two shots?

Welcome to POTN , I guess as you said you are using Strobes / Flashes doing so you can drop tour shutter speed and up your Aperture for more DOF , one more question are you using a Tripod ?

David

Snydremark wrote in post #15095579
The simplest answer I can think of, based on those images, is that your subject moved and was no longer right at the plane of focus; did you refocus for each of the two shots?

I always do. Especially in studio because I have to wait a few seconds for the lights.

hvaught32 wrote in post #15095171
Well at a 100% one image is very clear and the other is not. I did not edit these images, they are SOC. I just want to figure out why some are sharp and then the next is not.

hvaught32 wrote in post #15095542
How do I show at a 100%?

With Photoshop you go to View, set it to actual pixels ( show actual size) and take a crop.
But I agree with the others, the pics are way overexposed irrespective of whether you think one is sharper than the other. For babies I would use a higher shutter speed (and higher ISO)

Suggestion for shooting young children that don't take instructions, which is usually up until about 4 or older: Use AI-Servo focusing mode. Trying to pose them is pointless, they're gonna what they want to anyway. Just let them go and wait for (hopefully) that good moment. AI-Servo lets you track focus with them, and not have to focus/recompose ( a really bad idea in any situation ).

dpds68 wrote in post #15095621
Welcome to POTN , I guess as you said you are using Strobes / Flashes doing so you can drop tour shutter speed and up your Aperture for more DOF , one more question are you using a Tripod ?

David

Will that still create a blurry background? Or is that all in the how far the subject is from the background? No on the tripod. I have tried but I feel tied down and I can't move as quick to keep up with the babies.

DennisW1 wrote in post #15095650
Suggestion for shooting young children that don't take instructions, which is usually up until about 4 or older: Use AI-Servo focusing mode. Trying to pose them is pointless, they're gonna what they want to anyway. Just let them go and wait for (hopefully) that good moment. AI-Servo lets you track focus with them, and not have to focus/recompose ( a really bad idea in any situation ).

Ok I do have that turned on on my camera and I back button focus but maybe I am not using it correctly. Can you explain how I would track focus just so I know I am doing that right.

I have two 160 Watt Strobe Softboxes and 1 Flash MonoLight with an umbrella. I also have a window which allows some natural light in.

I can't go any higher that 1/200 because my cameras are both rated with a 1/200 sync speed.

hvaught32 wrote in post #15095384
I used a 2.8 apature because I was shooting a fast baby so my thoughts were that my shutter speed needs to be high. I generally try to keep my noise down so I try to keep my ISO as close to 100 as I can. Since my shutter is fast, my ISO and apature needs to be lower to allow more light in, right? Then I try to lower my aperture and bring my subject away from the background as far as I can to get more bokeh. Also I was reading that on the 50mm the sweet spot is one or two stops up from wide open.

I am learning here so let me know if I should be doing something different.

hvaught32 wrote in post #15095677
I have two 160 Watt Strobe Softboxes and 1 Flash MonoLight with an umbrella. I also have a window which allows some natural light in.

Because you are using electronic flash lighting, you can totally ignore the shutter speed to "stop the action". The duration of the burst of light is much shorter than any shutter speed you would choose on your camera.

With a solid color background, there's nothing to blur. Thus you don't need to use a wide aperture (low f-stop number) to intentionally blur the background.

I'd suggest that you work with the camera in manual mode for exposure control and set your lighting so that f/8 or so would provide a nice exposure level. That way, you'll have more leeway in your focus plane (a deeper depth of field) and probably solve the issue that you started the thread about.

A tidbit: The word "bokeh" is not a substitute for "background blur". "Bokeh" refers only to the aesthetic qualities of background blur. Thus, you cannot have "more bokeh" or "less bokeh".

watt100 wrote in post #15095636
With Photoshop you go to View, set it to actual pixels ( show actual size) and take a crop.
But I agree with the others, the pics are way overexposed irrespective of whether you think one is sharper than the other. For babies I would use a higher shutter speed (and higher ISO)

Here is 100% on the first image:

SkipD wrote in post #15095764
Because you are using electronic flash lighting, you can totally ignore the shutter speed to "stop the action". The duration of the burst of light is much shorter than any shutter speed you would choose on your camera.

With a solid color background, there's nothing to blur. Thus you don't need to use a wide aperture (low f-stop number) to intentionally blur the background.

I'd suggest that you work with the camera in manual mode for exposure control and set your lighting so that f/8 or so would provide a nice exposure level. That way, you'll have more leeway in your focus plane (a deeper depth of field) and probably solve the issue that you started the thread about.

A tidbit: The word "bokeh" is not a substitute for "background blur". "Bokeh" refers only to the aesthetic qualities of background blur. Thus, you cannot have "more bokeh" or "less bokeh".

Thanks for the info.

Let's say I do have background that I want blurry, what do you suggest?

hvaught32 wrote in post #15095768
Here is 100% on the first image:


I like it to be this sharp at min.

take Skip's suggestion for shooting at f8 - seriously, if you have studio strobes, monolights, etc. and you control the lighting why not give yourself the best "DOF" (depth of field) and a higher shutter speed. And don't be afraid of higher ISO levels. You would get a sharp pic every time. Look at the baby thread in the people section and note the settings

Take a 100% crop of the chiffon on her right arm and see if its sharp.