Focus Testing

Hi all, Just testing my camera skills and finding that my photo's are never what i would call sharp, not the best subject I know but just looking for more sharpness. I,m Using a Canon 550D and Canon 15-85mm lens. Focused on the face with spot metering. Feedback welcomed.

Impossible to tell anything from an image that size, you need to post a 100% crop from the area you focused on (i.e. the face) with no sharpening applied to get an opinion on the original.

Sorry, is that any better.

Yes, it is a little soft, but not far out - it should still sharpen up in post to produce a decent image.

Hard to say whether it is down to equipment or technique, as the exif has been stripped so we can't see your settings. Did you use single point AF, in one shot mode, and focus on the edge of the glasses for a good contrast (using the vertical or horizontal edge if using a horizontal or vertical only AF point). Suitable shutter speed and aperture?

Assuming it isn't down to the camera settings, are you sharpening the shots correctly in post (or in camera if shooting jpeg and not doing further editing)? If resizing, do you sharpen afterwards as resizing will soften an image?

I haven't used that lens, so I don't know how the results are from a typical example, but that may be fairly normal for that lens. Do you have a filter on it? Sometimes a filter can cause softness issues if it isn't a high quality one.

Thanks for the suggestions, I will have another go to see if there are any changes, Thanks again.