lwerthe1mer Loc: Birmingham, Alabama

I took some photos at a birthday party recently. My camera was a Sony a7ii. My lens was the Zeiss 2.8 fixed lens. Based on the advice of a knowledgeable photographer, I did not use a flash. I did not use a tripod.

Several photos were fine, but a large number were not sharp. I have enclosed a sampling for your review.

To what can I attribute the blurriness? Unsteady hands? Not focusing properly?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, Colorado

Looks like camera shake to me. I would have probably used a monopod for stability.

ProfessorRagtop Loc: Navarre, FL

Or bump the shutter speed and the ISO

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Take a look at Topaz InFocus, a plug in for Lightroom and Photoshop

Diverhank

Not sure you want to listen to that knowledgeable photographer any longer - my guess was maybe you didn't hear his/her entire advice in the proper context. There is nothing wrong with using flashes as long as you know how to do it properly. Most wedding photographers use flashes - think about it. But let's not get into that discussion here.

Your pictures blurriness are probably caused by 3 things:

1. Too low of shutter speed - I only looked at the exif for a few of your pictures and one was at 1/15sec, one was at 1/30sec and one was at 1/60. All 3 were shot at 35mm FL
2. People were moving around...
3. Too wide of an aperture


The rule of thumb to avoid camera shake (unsteady hands) is to shoot at 1/FL or faster so the optimum safe speed should have been 1/60. The one picture at 1/60 that was blurry, unless you really have unsteady hands, was caused by people moving around. I'm a bit surprised that your camera anti-shake feature didn't save the day here - maybe it did but it can't do anything against fidgeting people...


In a couple of pictures with multiple people...some are clear and some are blurry...that might have to do with your aperture being set to 2.8 and it didn't have enough depth of field to make sure all people - staggered front to back - are in focus.

So when you shoot indoors where you know the light is low, you need to make sure you have high enough shutter speed and that means you need to use S (shutter speed) mode and set the speed yourself...in this case I'd set it at 1/100 if people are not moving or fidgeting and even faster if they move. Also, in cases of group picture, you want to set the aperture A to something like f/4 or f/5.6 instead of letting the camera pick for you - it always goes widest which is 2.8 for your lens.

In this case, you need to set both shutter speed and aperture, I'd recommend go to Manual mode with Auto ISO so the end result still is automatic except you get to control the speed and depth of field.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

What do your expect with 1/15th of a second????

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aellman Loc: Boston MA

I agree with the other posters that it looks like camera shake, some subtle, and some more obvious. Increasing the ISO and/or shutter speed will solve this problem, but you should do some tests in the same kind of lighting situation, to see how much you need to adjust. There are also tricks for steadying the camera while hand-holding. This is an excellent article on the subject. I'm sure there are many more online. >Alan
http://filmcameracourse.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/10-tips-for-shooting-steady-hand-held/

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

At a quick glance, that almost looks like Kim Catrall on the left in #2 and #3.

My vote goes to camera shake. That built-in flash can come in handy.

fourg1b2006 Loc: Long Island New York

You should use a tripod. You will get better results.

davefales Loc: Virginia

The prior comments pretty well cover the issues. But I'd like to add from personal experience: as you age, the rule of thumb to avoid "shake" probably needs to be pushed up towards 1/80 or 1/100.

From your file naming: is someone in those shots 70? I'll take two of whatever they are eating.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

The light is pleasant.

But you should use an ISO, aperture and shutter speed combination that would let you shoot at 1/125 sec or shorter, and F4 or smaller. On camera flash is not good way to shoot this unless you like the "paparazzo" look - harsh, flat, uninspired.

A better solution is to use bounce flash. Practice.

aellman Loc: Boston MA

Even in my youth, I didn't go beyond 1/125 handheld unless I was braced against a solid object. For example, at a wedding,
if I could get up in a balcony and rest the camera on the handrail, I could get a sharp cover shot of the
whole interior at 1/4 sec. It speaks again of the value of being able to brace the camera in various ways
to increase the maximum usable shutter speed duration. I learned the various body-bracing techniques long ago,
and they have always worked for me. >Alan

rmm0605 Loc: Atlanta GA

Did the Zeiss lens autofocus with your Sony? I would guess 'yes,' but they won't autofocus with my Nikon. So I have to be extra careful to focus each time. If it does, then I agree with those that say camera shake was responsible. Solution: monopod or up the shutter speed.

aellman Loc: Boston MA

Another way is to use flash compensation to reduce the intensity and ugliness of the light. I also
use a small plastic diffuser in front of the flash, which softens the source quite a bit.
There are a bunch of these gadgets available in various sizes. They clip onto the hot shoe
or sometimes slip over the lens barrel. >Alan

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Let me put things into perspective, did you say a "knowledgeable photographer" advised you against using flash? I do indeed wonder how "knowledgeable" that photographer is. Flash, when properly used is a very useful accessory putting light where you need it most, on your subject. If I was the person taking those shots I would have used flash with a diffuser or I would have bounced the light from a white wall for a softer look and most probably better skin colors. Obviously, if you had a window illuminating with soft light your subjects then flash most probably was not a necessity.
A large aperture with a slow shutter speed could have been responsible for the softness shown in your portraits especially if you kept the ISO speed at a low setting. AF could also be implicated, hard to say.
As you can see there are several factors that could be implicated.