out of focus eyes does this matter??

hi i have been playing around in a friends studio recently but i am having trouble getting the eyes in focus does this matter????
this is a tipical example of my results what would you have done to get this correct or better??

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How were you focussing? Did you choose an AF point, let the camera decide or focus manually?

The image can probably be sharpened up with a little tweaking but it's generally best to get them right on camera if you can.

yes i use the af but i always try to make it focus on the eyes i really struggle with it!!

It can be tricky. I tend to choose the best AF point I can for the shot. Stepping down the aperture helps immensely and if you're in a studio then you'll have plenty of light to work with.

Stepping down not only gives you more depth of field (so more things are in focus) but it also gives you sharper images - most lenses become sharp between f/5.6 and f/8

ok thanks for the info!! i shall go try it out i can not remember what i had the aperture on in this pic i have a feeling it may have been around 4.0 or something!

Ah I've just looked at the exif info and found out what the problem was.

The aperture you used was f/8 which is good, but the shutter speed was only 1/10 of a second which is way too slow. You really need to increase the shutter speed - try increasing your ISO from 100 to 400 and then see how sharp the image comes out.

ok i just checked out the af and it was on f8 1/10 so should i still be having the problem?

my camera was a 5D and the focal lenth was 105mm

oh ok thank you!! so faster shutter speed it is then thank you)

I'd suggest you manual focus and use a tripod. 1/10 is pretty slow too I'd agree. But with a still subject it can work if you're on a tripod and trigger with a timer or a remote switch.

Agreed, Even on a tripod you need to stay above 1/60s because your subject will move every so slightly causeing an unshape image.

Leave the f-stop at f8.0, crank the shutter up to 125 and boost your strobe output a bit. This is really very simple and should not require a tripod or higher iso. Shoot ISO 100.

And yes, out of focus eyes matter a whole bunch....

I have same problem. Its not the best studio lights arent the greatest and its very tiny.

Im not happy with these 2(f13 1/160):
http://www.riccardo-ulpts.com/IMG_0913.jpg
http://www.riccardo-ulpts.com/IMG_1197.jpg

But id say this one is ok (f7.1 1/160):
http://www.riccardo-ulpts.com/IMG_9710.jpg

And im very happy with the sharpness with this one (f10 1/160)
http://www.riccardo-ulpts.comIMG_0637.jpg

Its a Canon 1000D with the lens that comes with it... thinking of getting a sigma 30mm 1.4 soon.

Maybe you guys could help me.