Quote Originally Posted by sedwards View Post
i had thought the 50mm 1.8 would give me better quality images but i was wrong lol. i tried the longer lenses like you sugested and upped the shutter speed with the flash directly on the frog. much better in my opinion but its still hard to get the eye perfectly in focus.
the first 2 are with the 75-300 at 300mm f8 1/200 shutter and 100 iso. the last one is withthe 18-135 kit lens at 135 mm f8 1/200 shutter and 100 iso. thanks for the pointers Pat !
Better

I would Up the ISO to 200 and then push the aperture to f/11 to get a little more DOF. If your lens/camera combo can handle ISO400 without significant noise, then I think I would do that and push the aperture even further. 300mm and 135mm that close makes for a thin DOF.

Are you using a release and a tripod?

How many shots did you take? Some times it takes quite a few tries. Take lots of shots, and liberally throw them away. As you get better, more steady, and get better glass; then you do not need as many shots (I still take a lot, but it is reducing).

If you are hand holding, then a little body sway after getting the focus can really throw you off focus. It does look like the front of the eye is in focus, but the back side is not. What I try to do is get a good profile so if it focuses on anything near the eye, then it is still in focus. Then do not try to push the shutter release half way to focus and then take a picture... you can get to much movement between AF and capture. Right or wrong, I push the shutter button all the way so that as soon as AF is achieved, it takes a picture right away - I get more keepers that way.

In PP, zoom in 100% on the eye you were focusing on, and pick the one with the best focus. Throw everything else.