Why are my photographs blurred?

Question

I was usinng a Pentax SLR camera and every photo I took with flash came out blurred. At first I thought it was the film, (I could only get 200ASA) but the first few shots I took at this time were on 400ASA that was still in my camera. Other flash shots taken a few months ago and prior to this catastrophe were fine. What happened?

Answer 1

since light travels faster than you can move, the blur is probably caused because some settings are off:
1- are you focusing corectly
2- is the camera flash settings set properly
3- is the flash settings set properly

Answer 2

There are basically four things that cause a photograph to be blurry.

1) Expired film (probably the least likely, usually the problem with expired film is color shift.)
2) Your subject moved while the shutter was open.
3) You moved, or more specifically, the camera moved while the shutter was open.
4) The lens was out of focus. This can be caused by a couple of things, The distance between subject and camera changed once the focus was set. The subject was out of focus when the picture was taken, One or more elements in the lens was fogged, dirty, or damaged.

If all your photographs are blurry and your are certain they looked in focus in the viewfinder, then your problem is most likely movement, either camera or subject. The image you see through the viewfinder is the image that will be projected onto the film plane. If you have a lens problem, i.e., a fogged, dirty, or damaged element, you should see it in the viewfinder.

If you know there was no movement, and you know there is not a problem with the lens (You can look through off the camera, if everything looks clear, there's probably not a problem.) then the problem may be with the film. Either expired, or some problem with the processing and/or printing. Look at the negatives, with a loupe if you have one if not a magnifying glass. If the negatives look good, that is in focus, then the problem is that the prints themselves are out of focus, which is a problem in the actual printing process.

If film, processing, lens, and movement don't appear to be the problem, you may need to have your camera cleaned and serviced.

Answer 3

if its an autofocus camera then you may be pointing the cameras autofocus area at a different area to the main element of the shot, or you may not be focussing correctly.

you may be moving the camera when you take the photo, try to make sure you hold the camera steady.

if its a manual shutter make sure you select the correct speed of shutter.. usually marked with a zig zag / lightening sign.

if you are using a wide angle lens then you have significantly shallower depth of focus than on a telephoto.

depth of focus ('f'stop) is a trade off between shutter speed, film 'speed'/rating. The slower ther shutter speed, the faster the film then the higher 'f'stop you can use. The higher the 'f' stop the more tolerance you have on depth of focus.

most modern flashes shouldbe able to illuminate a portariat close up photo with a failry high depth of focus.. check for what settings the camera and flash gun will support. there should be a rating plate indicating how far the flash will illuminate and what 'f' stop you can use.

when in doubt RTFM

Answer 4

Ignore Ian Spence. You use "B" when you want to hold the shutter open for extended periods of time. If you had the camera tripod mounted and wanted to "paint" a scene using your flash then yes, you'd use "B". You'd use the flash in its Manual setting and make numerous flashes of, perhaps, parts of a building or other night scene. This is also used in cave photography.

Use the correct flash synch speed your camera - it will tell you in the Owner's Manual. Should be 1/60 sec., pretty common for 35mm cameras.

I think you were either poorly focused or you're using too slow of a shutter speed.

Answer 5

That is a hard question to answer without knowing the light levels present when taking the picture and more importantly the shutter speed you used.

The film speed shouldn't make any difference, are you sure there were actually blurred rather than being out of focus?

Answer 6

with a 200 iso film and needing a flash, its very possible that your shutter spead is too slow.... you could set your flash to "B" or you could set your film to 400 ISO or 800 ISO (this will spead your shutter up, by tricking the camera into thinking that it has a faster film in than you actually have) and when developing ask them to over expose the pics by 1 or 2 times.

if you do have any pics that are under, or over exposed, or need any editing, you can send them to me with instructions on what wants changing to:-
brdm2u @ yahhoo.com
and i'll sort them free of charge... nothing to loose

Answer 7

If you had a slow shutter speed it would allow more time for anything to move - if on a stand then the wind could shake the camera or if you were holding it you could have moved a tiny bit.

Answer 8

Maybe you had your thumb in the way. You might have jolted the camera right at the last minute. Their may have also possibly been dirt on the lens. Try cleaning your camera lens.

Answer 9

you may have some moisture inside your lens, or some sand maybe if you've been to the beach? you camera may just need a good clean.

Answer 10

On the shutter speed dial, make sure it is set to "B" (bulb).
This setting should work together with flash.
Also because this is a slower shutter speed, try bracing yourself against something. I.E. a door frame, the top of a chair etc, or use a tripod.