I'm such a bad photographer - Bummed

DansMom wrote: I took two great photos of Daniel's facial expressions today, and they are both blurry. I'll post them because they are so darn cute. But really---this happens to me a lot. It's a digital. Any advice about technique (I know, hold still...LOL). Here is the first one.

DansMom replied: Here's the second one. Wish it could have been perfect.

momof2girls replied: He is so cute!!! I have no advice though!

paradisemommy replied: he's a cutie..the key is holding still..some cameras are more touchy than others - that's why my mom fell in love with our olympus..her hand is a little shaky but the pics she took came out pretty good!!! i know there's a little bit of a lag time with the digitals and ours, you can hold it down halfway so when you are ready, all you do is push it down the full way and it'll click..that's what we do a lot. plus too, you have to make sure that whatever you are taking a picture of doesn't move either...that'll make it blurry too!!!

gracies replied: they are great pics.i have problems like that too

A&A'smommy replied: awwwie I'm sorry my moms camera has an auto focus which is good for her, I don't know how all my pictures don't come out blurry I can't sit still and neither can Alyssa

amynicole21 replied: This happens to me a lot! I know you can make some adjustments on the camera which should help... do you have the auto focus feature on? There is also probably an auto focus assist beam which should be turned on so that it can focus more accurately.

I think he looks adorable, anyway... blurry or not

3_call_me_mama replied: My MIL had this same problem all weekend... we fixed it by holding the button down halfway for a second or two before you snap the picture, I guess it lets the camera focus better. (DH read it online somewhere).

Your pictures still came out ADORABLE though! What a CUTIE!!

MommyToAshley replied: I am sorry the picture turned out blurry, but he's absolutely adorable on matter what.

I agee that auto focus may help, but it will take longer to snap the picture then. I used to use the focus beam, but when Ashley was little she was afraid of it. So, I've gotten used to taking pictures without it.

Edited to say: I just thought that I would say that I still take a blurry picture every now and then because I am not good at holding my hand still, but I just take tons... that's one of the good things about a digital camera. Also, a tripod helps. I used a tripod a lot when Ashley was younger, but it's useless now that she is so active. I don't know if Dan will sit still long enough for you to use a tripod or not.

alice&arik replied: He's such a cutie!!! They are great pictures no matter what!

DansMom replied: Thanks guys---I appreciate the tips! I'm such a novice when it comes to digital technology.

Kaitlin'smom replied: awww he is so cute! dont worry I have a few blurry pis also, and so way over exposed!

coasterqueen replied: Aww those are so cute! I'm not great with my digital either or else I'd give you some advice. They are really cute pics though.

Zoe'sMommaCamie replied: Keith is a photographer so we get pretty good pics lol. It's when i resize them on the computer that they get all mess up

Daniel is so handsome!! Those are grea pictures Tracy, blurry or not !!

kimberley replied: awww he is so adorable! i am the worst with always being off center and out of focus.

dileco replied: One of the most important factors is good lighting. But the focusing looks like it is due to being too close up. The picture is in focus, just not on your subject. What you might want to do is stand back and let the auto zoom do all the work. If you have a manual for the camera it should tell you how far to stand back for taking portraits. If you notice in portrait photography the photographer is never really close up to the subject he stands about ten to fifteen feet away depending on the mm of his lenses. He uses his lenses to zoom in (like a telescope) to get a clearer picture. Also you have to remember that even a professional photographer gets a few good pictures on a whole role of film. That is why digital cameras are so cool; you can take as many as you want to get that perfect picture with out the cost of developing film.

dileco replied:
On most standard digital cameras that use auto focus you want to hold down the button halfway for a second or two this is how the camera focuses on the subject. On a lot of cameras when the button is halfway down you will hear a beep that tells you the camera is focused. What you might want to do is center your child’s face, then hold down the button half way until you here the beep (camera is now focused), then move the camera (with the button still held down halfway) to better center him while the camera is still focused on his face. That way your composition is perfect and your not focusing on his clothing or furniture in the background.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: Awwww what a cutie! My problem with the camera (our 35mm) is that I can't seem to get the pictures centred and when I get them developed the people are way off to one side!

dileco replied:
Centered isn’t always a good thing, in art and architecture “The Golden Rectangle” is used to center the subject and in photography we use “The Rule Of Thirds.” The Rule of Thirds is very simple in principle: you mentally divide the area of the picture into thirds, with two vertical and two horizontal lines (like tic tac toe), and compose your picture around the nine areas and four intersections.


If your visual like me, then take a second and look at the below website, it explains it quite well, It’s just one of hundreds I found on google. Once you get used to doing this you will naturally do it and not even realize your doing it. Some of you may be doing it ready and just have a natural eye for photography. Like my husband for example has never took a photography class in his life and picked up a digital camera for the first time four years ago and started taking perfect pictures right away. He blew me away when we were dating by his pictures and I have BA in Photography. We still compete to see who can take better pictures, He’s probably better but I don’t let him know that.


Rules of thirds

DansMom replied: Thanks!!! I am going to check out that website, also try standing farther away and using the zoom. That auto-focus feature drives me nuts, but I guess I'll get used to it.

pinka_star replied: He's such a handsome guy!!

I'm not the best photographer either.