Shooting on manual mode with Nikon?
I seem to be having troubles getting crisp clear photos while shooting on manual mode with my Nikon D5100. I get good lighting for the most part, I just can't seem to get really clear crisp photos. I do most of my photography outdoors in the late evening. Does anyone have any suggestions or advice they can give me? What should I have my exposure, aperture, shutter speeds and iso settings on? Sometimes when I have families with children I occasionally get the kids movements blurry considering they move around so much. However overall my issue is just blurred photos… And I've played around with my settings and read up on manual photography but something still isn't right.
You are using too slow a shutter speed. Why are you shooting manual? It is fine if you understand how exposure works, but you do not seem to know. So start in shutter priority, shoot at least 1/60 of a second and pay attention to how the camera adjusts the aperture.
Yes, use a faster shutter speed to avoid slight camera shake.
It will also capture kids movements better.
Use a shutter speed of about 1/100 and let the camera sort out the aperture. Put the ISO up to around 1000 too.
Post an example with some EXIF data. It sounds like in low light your shutter speed is too low.
What are you using for supplementary lighting? Are you using fast lenses (ie capable of a wide aperture)?
What ISO are you using?
More details needed please.
The other answers offer decent explanations… I agree that it's down to user inexperience and not the camera… I use a D5100 quite a lot for my photography and it hasn't once let me down… And i've shot in some pretty awkward places just using the available light.
The internet has guides that would help you… I always recommend popping into a library and grabbing a photography guide book… It doesn't cost you anything and it's an invaluable source of reference… Into the bargain it will help you understand how to tackle your problem.
Subject blur = slow shutter speed. A slow shutter speed is usually caused by low light levels, a low ISO or a slow lens such as the usual 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 or a combination of all three.
A faster lens such as a 50mm f/1.8 can help but when you're photographing groups you'll need sufficient depth of field to keep everyone in focus.
A higher ISO can help but then you get into the problem of more digital noise than you'd like.
Your best solution is to use fill flash.
http://www.shutterbug.com/content/using-fill-flashbra-little-extra-light-can-make-big-difference