What did I do wrong? Zoomed in too much? Person blurry in picture

[100AcreWood]

I have a new Canon T5i with the 18-135mm lens. I replaced an old Canon Rebel X that was just awesome until it refused to take another picture .

So I'm still experimenting with this camera. I took pictures tonight of my dd with her birthday cake. The cake was very focused and looked awesome. She was blurry. Did I zoom in too much? Should have gotten closer? Any idea what I did wrong to make her blurry?

Thanks for your help! I need to finish reading the manual tonight.

 

[SrisonS]

Could you post a sample picture??? And if you think you zoomed in too much, that might be what happened.

 

[hakepb]

Sounds like a depth of field issue. (What is in subject vs what is a fuzzy background)
Zoom, aperature, and distance from the front subject all impact depth of field.

Here is one depth of field calculator, the T4i will be the same:
http://www.dofmaster.com/doftable.html

 

[ronfin]

Seems the camera focused on the cake rather than the subject. I'm assuming you were shooting in the "green box" mode all auto mode? Go to page 100 of your manual, and learn to change the focus points. This will help you focus on what you're shooting better. In Auto you're more likely to have the focus grab the most prominent points in the frame. Also, try playing with manual focusing by turning the AF to M on the lens itself. Now look through the viewfinder, or in Live View mode, and when you achieve focus the light should blink and beep.

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

Without a pic its tough to tell lol, could be because the cake was stationary, the subject may have been moving causing the blur, or as previous posters stated, your DOF was off, or your focal point...

 

[havoc315]

Probably depth of field. You likely used a large aperture, creating a narrow depth of field. In extreme cases, the area of focus may only be about 1 inch wide.

 

[100AcreWood]

I've never tried to post a picture in all the years I've been on the DIS! I can't seem to find the "manage attachments button." Also in the blue box below my reply I see posting rules and it says "may not post attachments."

Wow, wonder why not?

Thanks for your help by the way. I have a lot to learn about this new camera.

 

[ronfin]

I've never tried to post a picture in all the years I've been on the DIS! I can't seem to find the "manage attachments button." Also in the blue box below my reply I see posting rules and it says "may not post attachments."

Wow, wonder why not?

Thanks for your help by the way. I have a lot to learn about this new camera.

Go to Imageshack, upload the picture there, then copy the "Direct Link". Paste it here, and put IMG tages in front and back. Example

and done.

 

[manning]

Several things.

The stronger the focal length the narrower the depth of field.

The smaller the aperture the deeper the depth of field.

What is depth of field?

In reality there is only one spot that is in perfect focus. Depth of field is the distance in front and behind that spot that appears to be in focus.

 

[Skywise]

I'm guessing she probably moved while the camera locked on to exposure levels for the cake -

Seems the camera focused on the cake rather than the subject. I'm assuming you were shooting in the "green box" mode all auto mode? Go to page 100 of your manual, and learn to change the focus points. This will help you focus on what you're shooting better. In Auto you're more likely to have the focus grab the most prominent points in the frame.

This x1000.

My Canon T2i and T4i were/are notorious for selecting an auto-focus point on the most non-obvious object on the scene. Got the center dot on the family for a portrait? Hey! There's a rose bush right in front of them off to the left, let's lock onto that!

I turned off all the focus points on my camera except for the center one. If I want to focus on something NOT on the center point (say the rose bush), I'll aim at the rose bush first and press the shutter button half way until the auto-focus lights up and beeps and then, while still holding the button, put the point back onto what I'm shooting and press the button all the way. (Note that will also affect your exposure levels too!)

 

[photo_chick]

No one can diagnose the problem without an image. While all the probable scenarios have been covered, you have to post something to get a useful answer here.