First portrait(?)

So normally I don't take photos of people but I'm slowly starting to. I took this one on NYE but I have a couple of questions.

First, notice the blue and white reflections on middle/bottom of the photo. There's tons of these reflections on shots I took last night and I'm not sure why that is. I'm wondering if it's because of the ND filter. Should I replace that filter and get a new one or is there a way of fixing that problem?

Also is the background bokeh too bright?

Those spots are flare from light bouncing around between the lens and the filter. You could probably do without the filter for that shot. Both of these are a bit soft, the second one more than a bit. I'm not sure if its a focus or motion issue.

In both of these, I would have made another effort to capture the shot.

I cranked up the luminence noise reduction and softened both of them up. I know the 2nd one was definitely not in focus but I tried to save it.

It's impossible for me to do night shots without flash and tripod. These were both at f/1.4 1/15 shutter speed for the first photo and f1.4 1/30 for the 2nd. I'm thinking it's a motion issue but it can be a focus issue since it was at f/1.4.

LettieVonDread wrote in post #11555628
In both of these, I would have made another effort to capture the shot.

I know, right? But from the view finder it looked in focus so I just kept it as is. My BIGGEST problem is getting shots in focus. About 80% of the shots I took last night was out of focus. Probably cause my aperture and shutter speed weren't really set to hand held friendliness but ugh... It's been frustrating the hell out of me without having an external flash.

Are you shooting in manual or autofocus? Earlier I saw someone make the suggestion to turn the built in flash on to autofocus then turn it off when you go to snap the photo. I haven't used this method, but maybe it could benefit you.
You could also try having your model pose and use a tripod.

What camera are you using? My XSi has a flash right on top and using it would have produced a better product that OOF, flat, and noisy images.

Once in a while, in challenging conditions, you can get a good image. There is a reason some ppl have a bag full of equipment. The rest of the time, you need that gear to produce the best image. Stick to situations your equipment can work in for now until you get more toys to expand your pleasure.

That said, I actually like the first image. I don't find OOF images as keepers usually, but, this one is close enough. Just a touch too yellow on my screen though (not much, just a hint). Keep practicing.

You had a ND filter on and you were shooting at those speeds? I hope you meant UV filter.

you need to increase your ISO to get a faster shutter speed.

I took some inside the bar which I HAD to use the built in flash cause it was so dark. It was surprisingly better than I thought it would be. I'm so paranoid about using built in flash because it seems like it produces crappy pictures.

I've got enough money saved up for a 580ex ii, so I'm planning on getting that tomorrow.

Guess I gotta keep chugging along. Maybe it's me but I actually thought the first one was in focus even in post. I think I should get my eyes checked lol.

gonzogolf wrote in post #11555980
You had a ND filter on and you were shooting at those speeds? I hope you meant UV filter.

yeah UV lol.