My nikon d7100 is always taking soft photos?

The past month or so all of my photos have been coming out soft… I don't know if I damaged the camera somehow but they were very sharp when I got the camera which is only about eight months old. I'm taking it to nikon shortly but want I check if I've made some dumb setting mistake unintentionally… Or other reasons a camera would act up a bit?

Before taking it to Nikon, reset it to the default (factory) settings first. Then set it up the way you had it when it was taking sharp pictures. If they're still soft, it could be down to technique (are you shooting wide open? Most lenses are sharp when stopped down a bit), insufficient shutter speed (take a shot with a tripod or put the camera somewhere stable and take a shot with the timer). If it's still soft, then it may be worth asking Nikon to take a look at it. But as a rule, unsharp pictures are rarely a problem with the camera as such; it's usually a mix of operator error / incorrect or non-optimal settings, and the nature of the lens being used.

Shooting with the aperture wide open can cause soft images - and can also introduce shallow depth of field which might prevent you getting all parts of the subject in full focus.

Also shooting with the aperture stopped down higher than f/22 can cause diffraction problems which affects image clarity.

If trying to fix these things doesn't work, then you can call Nikon. Perhaps there's a auto focus problem.

Read the manual and attempt to return the camera to its default settings. If you become frustrated, remove the batteries and allow the camera to sit for a time (overnight always works). Re-insert batteries; this is a winning technique.

I agree with Mark, as the camera has been functioning well, and assuming you have not dropped it or any such mishap, then it is far more likely that the problem does not reside with the camera.

There are So MANY different scenarios that could be causing "soft" photos that I could spend an hour here trying to troubleshoot them all. Do like Mark said and reset the camera to all factory default settings. Then, try this. Go outside during the day, makes no difference if it is sunny or not. Put the camera in Shutter Priority mode. Set a shutter speed of 1/160. The camera will automatically set aperture and ISO. Take a photo of any object that has some distinctive shape or edges. Be sure you get the confirmation light and beep that the camera is focused. The shutter speed of 1/160 is fast enough to eliminate any blur due to camera movement. Look at the photo on your computer at 100%. Do not trust the on camera monitor. If you still have a soft photo when viewing at 100% on the computer, then the camera must actually have a problem.

If shooting in one of the semi manual modes, you might have the aperture a bit too wide.
Or, you could have reduced the resolution by mistake; make sure it's still on high resolution.

Mags, when you say your images are coming out "soft," are you referring to the subject you focused on, or just the background and/or the foreground? OR are you referring to the entire image, that includes the subject you focused on along with EVERYTHING else? You may wish to check your Instructions Manual first and reset the camera to the factory default settings, and then start all over again. IF the problem persists, go to the camera shop where you bought from and ask one of the salespersons to take a look and see if he/she can't resolve it… It won't cost a nickle, and will possibly make the salesperson happy to help you.