Black Swan.

[Mad Aussie]

Oh Thanks MA.

Settings:
Auto WB.
1/200 sec.
ISO 400.
f/9.
44mm focal length.

Pick the bones out of that!
Look forward to hearing your thoughts/sudjestions.

Well I don't see anything there that worries me.
Your shutter speed at 1/200 is well over the focal length of 44mm so that in itself is good.
I doubt the swan was swimming fast enough cause the softness with 1/200th.

Which lens was this?

How long have you had the lens?

What Auto Focus (AF) point(s) were you using?

Was this photo cropped? If so, by much?

[Wicked Dark]

I'm kind of amused at how easy people think this kind of photography is. It isn't. It's hard. And you're doing the right thing - practicing. That's the only way to get good at anything. I doubt the DGrin bird photographer got these photos on her first try. No doubt years of practice and trial and error went into making sure she got these kinds of pictures in a 20 minute span. Bird photography isn't my thing, but if it were I can imaging I'd have to take 1000s of shots before getting one that was even close to what she gets. It's all in how much you want it and how much you practice.

[lhosphotography]

Hi,
Lens ive had for about a year its a canon 18-55 kit lens.
I was using auto AF (all points)
And the photo was only croped slightly. Just the excess water.

I know the kit lens isnt that great but it should produce a better image..?

Then I suppose it boils down to the AF settings.

Handheld should have produced better, prehaps I wasnt steady enough?

Would a tripod sort this out?..I think so, but not always enough time to set one up.

[Mad Aussie]

Hi,
Lens ive had for about a year its a canon 18-55 kit lens.
I was using auto AF (all points)
And the photo was only croped slightly. Just the excess water.

I know the kit lens isnt that great but it should produce a better image..?

Then I suppose it boils down to the AF settings.

Handheld should have produced better, prehaps I wasnt steady enough?

Would a tripod sort this out?..I think so, but not always enough time to set one up.

WD is right ... this kind of shot takes a lot of practice to get consistently good shots. I do shoot birds ... here's 165 of my shots you can look at if you like Birds - a set on Flickr ... I have many, many more.

Don't undersell the the little 18-55mm kit lens. I had that too and now my daughter Chantelle has my old camera and that lens. I taught her to shoot (got her going anyway, she's taken courses since) and have taken her on various shootings where she has often produced better shots than mine even though I had a $2000 lens on. To see some of here work with that lens check our her album Flickr: Please wait... ignore the Great Barrier Reef stuff as that was with my wide angle lens she borrowed.

My first suggestion is don't use Multi AF ... select a single point (usually the center one until you get better) and then place that over a key element in the photo. In this case it would have been the eye. Had the eye and face been sharp, this photo would have been much nicer even with the rest of the body soft.

Maybe also try Shutter Priority (TV on Canon) and keep that shutter speed high as possible. If possible go for much higher than 1/200 even. 1/400 ... 1/800 whatever. The goal is to get sharp images. You can worry about catching movement as well later

Unless you have a special tripod for following action (they do exist) then a tripod isn't going to be helpful for this shot and sharp hand held shots is the target anyway.

I think, from what I can see here, you were following the swan but just right on time with it.
The other possibility is you are getting movement when you press the button.
Try to squeeze the button down gently, not jab it down in a rush.
If your camera has a 2 sec timer (many Canon's do) then you could try that as an experiment for this sort of shot as it would eliminate the button press movement.

Remember also, that if you get sharp photos on stationary objects but not on moving ones then the issue is indeed likely to be you physically seeing as the settings seem appropriate to me.

In the end, practice, practice, practice.

[lhosphotography]

Wow!! MA your work is fantastic, I hope I am able to take shots like that one day! Well I hope I will be able to take shots like your daughters to!! they are brilliant.
Thankyou for your advice and help, I shall keep practising every day.
I need to crack these settings!! ive only been at it a year I did a 10 week OU course. I learnt the basics thats it. the rest I have picked up from books and the net (I dont realy like reading books or manuals..!, I'd rather get stuck in)
thats a fault...some would say im like a bull in a china shop!! I think I need to slow down and think about prepare and plan the shot first,rather than guessing and shooting and hoping for the best!!

Although I must do something right I have sold six of my images over the past six or so months, which I was so chuffed about.

Anyway sorry to bore you! you will have my life story next...!! lol

Im sure we will be in contact again soon

[Mad Aussie]

Anyway sorry to bore you! you will have my life story next...!! lol

Not at all.

Spending a year just enjoying and practicing isn't a bad thing. Most of us do that ... then realize we want to step it up a notch or 10 and start digging deeper.

You have a great resource at your disposal right here at ph.ca. There's a wide variety of skills levels here but also a wide variety of tastes and preferences. No one person will have all your answers. You'll find those within the myriad of opinions, experiences, knowledge etc that's freely offered here by people passionate about their photography and only too keen to help in some way.

We learn from everybody. Newbies can teach me things quite often. Geeks who pour over the technical data of various aspects can help. Professionals and those with more experience than I also have techniques, thoughts etc to share I can learn from.

We can ALL be better