# Family photos gone bad...



## Tgoodwater2002 (Oct 30, 2016)

I am using a Canon Rebel T6 50mm 1.8 lens.  I used this lens in all these pics.  Now, the pictures with only one person turned out great!  Then when I get the group together the back person is always a little blurred.  This picture was taken in Av mode at 4.0 aperture, ISO 800 and 1/2000 shutter speed.  And Parents are blurry....:/



 
This next pic the specs are exactly the same as above. 




This next pic I have is on 5.6, 1/200 and ISO 800.  Tree in front is crisp and girl is blurry.  I thought when the aperture was bigger it would get more focused the farther back into the picture?  Does is matter how far you are from subject and aperture combined?  Or should I be using a different lens for family photos?  I do have a 55mm-250mm zoom lens and kit lens. This next photo was taken at 6.3, 1/40 and ISO 200.  I was only trying to get the depth but both people sharp at the same time. Person in red is blurry.




This one was at 3.2, ISO 1600 and shutter speed of 1/4000.  It seems that the ISO changes by itself sometimes when I change the aperture in Av mode.  Is that true?   How would I get all people in focus if I wanted to at different depths?  Some of these same poses are with the kids in focus and mom and dad are a little blurred out.  




 I am getting frustrated trying to find the right aperture for family photos.  I am not using the auto modes and staying in Av mode and Tv mode.   I thought you were supposed to use Av mode for portraits?  What am I doing wrong?  This is only my second family photo shoot as well.  Thanks for your input!


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## 480sparky (Oct 30, 2016)

Gary A. said:


> ............This one was at 3.2, ISO 1600 and shutter speed of 1/4000. ...............



f/3.2?  Seems awful wide.  You should be shooting at f/8 or smaller.  To compensate, 1/4000 is WAY to fast, you can easily drop that to 1/500 and still not worry about camera & subject movement.


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## tirediron (Oct 30, 2016)

Make sure you've got sufficient depth of field!


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## Tgoodwater2002 (Oct 30, 2016)

So if I moved the aperture to 8.0 it would automatically slow the shutter speed?  Is this around what professionals keep the aperture at to get those crisp photos of groups of people?


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## Trever1t (Oct 30, 2016)

It's quite apparent you do not fully understand the correlation between Aperture, Shutter speed and ISO and when to prioritize one over the other. I suggest you read a short, easy to read book called Understanding Exposure. 

Basically your ISO is too high, shutter too fast and Aperture too wide for the subject at hand.


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## Tgoodwater2002 (Oct 30, 2016)

Thanks Trevor!  I will definitely read that book.  I have to admit I don't quite understand exactly how everything works together.  So thank you for your feed back!


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## Trever1t (Oct 30, 2016)

good attitude will go far to help yourself. Someone can link you to a source, it's an easy read. Keep at it!


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## Tgoodwater2002 (Oct 30, 2016)

I am going to the library tomorrow and get that book!  I have another photo shoot this week!  I need to learn as much as I can before then!


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## Peeb (Oct 31, 2016)

Tgoodwater2002 said:


> Thanks Trevor!  I will definitely read that book.  I have to admit I don't quite understand exactly how everything works together.  So thank you for your feed back!


When it comes to exposure, there are three parameters:

1. Time (shutter speed)
2. Light (aperture diameter)
3. Sensitivity (ISO setting)

Some other helpful tidbits:
*Increasing shutter speed freezes motion.
*Increasing aperture makes the 'in focus' portion of your shot deeper ('depth of field')
*Increasing ISO causes graininess in your images at some point (varies from model to model of camera, dependent upon sensor employed).

So, you'll  need to increase your aperture setting to get better depth of field.  If you close off the light (get a higher aperture setting), then you will need to EITHER need to increase them time of exposure (slower shutter shutter speed)  OR increase the sensitivity of your sensor (higher ISO) OR a combination of both.  If you slow down your shutter (i.e., increase your exposure time), the risk of shake comes into play, so experiment to see how slow you can go before motion becomes an issue.  

I could say (much) more, but there's a start...


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## Advanced Photo (Oct 31, 2016)

Read this before you get a book and see if you get the idea...The Exposure Triangle: Understanding How Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO Work Together | Fstoppers


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## astroNikon (Oct 31, 2016)

All above is great information.

I suggest you go home, grab some inanimate objects, a Tape Measure and learn about Depth of Field.
Read this information ==> Understanding Depth of Field in Photography

And then use inanimate objects in a row, distanced from each other and use different apertures and notice how one go in and out of focus.  

Then use the Ruler and measure out the distance to the subjects, and the distance between the Focus Point.  Then look at this DOF Calculator ==> A Flexible Depth of Field Calculator

and learn how DOF is affected by how close you are, the selected Aperture and the distance the subjects are.  The more your practice and measure things out the more you'll understand.
for example: Struggling with Focus

then as you learn more, go to a parking lot or someplace with many objects.  And test your DOF by getting license plates in focus or out of focus using different apertures.  Also notice how it affects your shutter speed and ISO.

= = = = 
learn about your focusing area and mode system. 
For portraits generally in a Single AF area, and using a single focus point.
==> Selecting an AF frame before shooting (EOS REBEL T6i / EOS 750D)

= = = = =
then as mentioned learn more about exposure - shutter, aperture ISO.
I normally shoot in manual because I tell the camera what shutter, aperture and ISO to use.  

But you have to understand that you just can't select 3 arbitrary settings.  you are trying to balance an exposure.  Or you are letting the camera decide for you Aperture Av and Shutter Tv priority modes which shutter/ISO or Aperture/ISO to use.  

It's all a give and take among the Shutter, Aperture & ISO.  So if one of the 3 is adjusted one way, you'll have to adjust one or two of the other the otherway.  OR the camera is doing it for you in Tv or Av mode.


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## Peeb (Oct 31, 2016)

Here is a a screenshot of your camera/lens combination (the Rebel has a 1.6 crop factor) at f/4, focused at 10 feet. 
You LESS THAN 2 FEET of sharp focus in front and behind of your focal point.


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## Tgoodwater2002 (Oct 31, 2016)

Wow!  Thank you all so so much for the articles and info!  I will be practicing with the DOF calculator in my driveway with a tape measure and then I will hopefully get it and be able to see it.  And not leaving driveway until I understand my settings and where my subjects need to be and where I need to be as well.  I had no idea there would be a calculator involved with the dof thing!  Haha...I can't wait to get started!!  Thanks you again!!


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## KmH (Oct 31, 2016)

I would suggest you be more aware of the light you're using:
Direction & Quality of Light: Your Key to Better Portrait Photography Anywhere
Off-Camera Flash: Techniques for Digital Photographers
On-Camera Flash Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography


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## Trever1t (Oct 31, 2016)

It can all be overwhelming if taken at once. Move slowly and focus on one lesson at a time until it's mastered. All this will become second nature with time and practice.


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## otherprof (Oct 31, 2016)

Tgoodwater2002 said:


> So if I moved the aperture to 8.0 it would automatically slow the shutter speed?  Is this around what professionals keep the aperture at to get those crisp photos of groups of people?


By all means follow Trevor's advice. A really short fix is this: the larger the f-stop number, the larger the depth of field. Depth of field is how much will be in focus from the closest focused item to the farthest item in focus.  So going from, say, f2.8 to f8 will increase the depth of field, and probably solve the focus problem.  Also, unless you are in full manual mode, making the opening smaller (increasing the f number) will be compensated for by the camera by making the exposure longer - or increasing the iso.


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## KmH (Oct 31, 2016)

otherprof said:


> making the opening smaller (increasing the f number)


F-numbers are fractions, so f/2 is a bigger number, and a larger lens aperture, than f/8 is.
Put another way, making the opening smaller requires _decreasing_ the f-number.

Lens aperture is only 1 of several factors that control depth-of-field (DoF).
Lens focal length and point of focus distance have more effect on DoF than lens aperture does.
Image sensor size is also a DoF factor.


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## vintagesnaps (Oct 31, 2016)

It's not just using a calculator, I've never used anything like that. You need to learn more about how your camera works, and how to make adjustments in aperture and shutter speed that work in a variety of settings and with various subjects in various lighting conditions.

Good idea to back up the bus and go learn how to use the camera well. And practice a lot. And later on maybe you'd be good enough at it to do shoots for other people. (And people will apparently take just about any pictures they get for _free_ by talking somebody with a camera into doing it, lol - and it seems you can't go just by friends & family who might just be trying to be nice and supportive.)


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## Tgoodwater2002 (Nov 1, 2016)

vintagesnaps said:


> It's not just using a calculator, I've never used anything like that. You need to learn more about how your camera works, and how to make adjustments in aperture and shutter speed that work in a variety of settings and with various subjects in various lighting conditions.
> 
> Good idea to back up the bus and go learn how to use the camera well. And practice a lot. And later on maybe you'd be good enough at it to do shoots for other people. (And people will apparently take just about any pictures they get for _free_ by talking somebody with a camera into doing it, lol - and it seems you can't go just by friends & family who might just be trying to be nice and supportive.)




I definitely am going to practice more and learn how my camera works in manual mode.  Experiment and practice practice practice!  I have also never charged anyone for the pictures I've taken.  I've told everyone that I am just starting out and asked them if they would like me to take their family pictures.  So they all know I'm an amateur using our new camera we got....   So the more people I can take pictures of the better I will get right?  I am having fun and determined to master this camera and its settings to take gorgeous pictures!!


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## KmH (Nov 1, 2016)

The in-the-camera light meter is only capable of metering reflected light.
To consistently make high quality shots of people we need to meter not only reflected light, wew also need to meter incident light and strobed (flash) light too.

The only way we can meter incident and flash is to use a hand held light meter.
Sekonic L-308S Flashmate Digital Incident, Reflected & Flash Light Meter


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## pendennis (Nov 1, 2016)

Ahhh, for the days of the DOF scales on the focus rings!!


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