Gera

Hey there,

I has hoping I could get help trying to fix this image. First of all, I know the image sucks, really bad. I am helping my school with their yearbook. It is nothing crazy; it's very inexpensive and informal. Since I was trying to get a lot of pictures done in very little time I didn't do any set ups because the classrooms are small, there isn't a lot of light available to work with, and of course, teachers want you in and out. 

Either way, here is a crop of the picture. I would just post it on the book and leave despite the level of noise and quality since the bigger does not look offensive and it is going to be a small print. However, It looks like the teacher is giving the middle finger when the reality is that the whole group was doing the "I'm watching you face". I really hope I can get help since I don't want to receive negative feedback from parents. 

Thanks in advance. 

Sorry I took for ever to respond @Brian. School is kicking my butt right now. 

Anyhow, this response is based on what I did (and do) before my original post. 

I shoot 90-95% of the time in manual. I have my camera set to back button focusing and almost always use AF-C. I normally had a 9 cluster focus points (center plus 8 surrounding ones). 

I normally leave the focus button pressed when I'm focusing which lead me to believe that the camera was focusing on the surrounding points. Then I changed it to AF-Single, but the thing kept on doing the same thing. I changed from 9 focus points to 1 focus point. I'd point it to the persons face, yet the wall would be on focus but not the freaking face even when I had the focus point on them! At first, the average Joe can't seem to notice the difference, but now that I got more into photography, I'm able to notice how the focus is wrong. 

I have not shot with my 50mm yet. I have the current 35mm I have is a replacement because I thought it was a lens problem. Then I got the Tamron and the problem is still there. 

On 3/9/2016 at 0:12 PM, Brian said:

if the camera finds something easier to lock on, it will override your choices. You need to tell your camera to not do that in the settings menu. 

How do I go about doing that?

Thanks.

I got those to bodies, and I do know that neither of them have AF fine tuning.

I got the 35mm 1.8 amd just got a 24-70mm 2.8 (which helped with the noise, thanks Brian).

I did notice however, that the cameras even when the focus point is on the person's face the camera focuses on the back.

Is there a way in camera to fix this or do I have to send it out for service?

This is a very common problem I run into. Any suggestions on how to fix it?

And yes, hair comb and checking for the hair first are on the list, but sometimes I just get too excited with how the emotions flow. 

Thanks guys. 

Alright!

I do shoot RAW. It's just that my images often come noisy 

Does anyone use it? Should it be used? Why or why not?

Thanks. 

Hey @Brian

What do you think of the sigma 24-70 2.8... worth $680 new? 

1 hour ago, Brian said:

Seriously, it will blow your 18-55 out of the water. Here is one of my favorite photo taken with my D300s and 17-55 f/2.8G. My D300s dates from 2009 and I'm about to make the switch to Full Frame:

Kristen & Benjamin
 

GTFO...  what a pic! 

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I really would HIGHLY recommend upgrading your lenses. You could even rent them to see what I'm talking about.

We'll do. I'll post pictures whenever I get a change to rent. I've been wanting to put my hands on a Sigma Art 50mm. 

Thank you for your time @Brian

On 1/31/2016 at 7:57 PM, Brian said:

What don't you like about the 35 1.8? Is that the AF-S 35mm f/1.8G DX lens? If so, I love mine. What problems are you having with it? 

I really like it. It is just that the focus has been very inconsistent lately. I have the focusing square on where I want to to be, focus... and then realize the thing didn't focused properly. If it does, it's very slow. I tried it with my wife's D5300 and sent it to repair twice already and the problem is the same. 

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Oh, one thought. Be careful with believing the marketing hype with the sample images. I have a friend who had a image used by Nikon for a commercial. It was to promote the then new D3300. Guess what her image was taken with? A Nikon D3s and 24-70. The ad actor said, "You could take this image with a Nikon camera..." So they weren't "lying," but not telling the whole story. Don't think for a minute that those sample images were taken with a 18-55 kit lens.  

Well s**t... and of course they weren't taken with a kit lens... I'm not that green anymore (yay!)

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 If you really want to improve your image quality, start with lenses. 

Do lenses improve ISO performance? Doesn't that have to do more with the body's sensor???

1 hour ago, Brian said:

Throw me a bone here, which lenses specifically?

I have the lame 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 50mm 1.8, 35mm 1.8 (which I'm about to throw to the garbage... )

I guess it's worth to mention that I find myself constantly taking pictures in low light... and being the noob that I am, I didn't know much when I go it about a year ago. 

A D5200... LOL... 

Hi @Brian,

Currently I own only DX lenses. I am doing mainly portraits and family gatherings. I really don't think I will be doing big events like weddings and stuff like ever. Or at least not any time soon. 

Hello people!

I've been wanting to buy a D750 for a while now (it's taking long due to financial reasons). But now with the D500 I am expecting to get more out of it than from the D750. Would there be any particular reason to wait for the D500? It is a cropped sensor and has a smaller megapixel count, I understand; but it is considered to be a "professional" grade camera. And the ISO performance looks incredible (from the little info that is out there).

Thank you for taking time to respond!

Edit: Update! Here are some sample pictures  http://www.nikon-image.com/products/slr/lineup/d500/sample.html  

That ISO performance though!!!