A horse in the port of Chania, Crete island

[MarynaS]

Hi everyone! I would like to know your opinion on this picture. I like the colours and the composition but I know the quality is not great especially in terms of sharpness. I took this picture while walking on the beautiful harbour in the town of Chania, Crete island, Greece. It was just before the sunset so there was not much light and I didn't have a tripod. The settings are Nikkor 50 mm 1.8, F 2, 1/25 sec, ISO 200. I figure the shutter speed was slow so the horse doesn't look sharp.

[Shadowman]

Hi Maryna,

Camera settings, mainly shutter speed too slow and shooting against the light doesn't help. Nicely composed though.

[MarynaS]

Thank you for the comment

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I'm not so sure the shutter speed is too slow, rather the DOF is too shallow at f2 and you just missed it.
Bump the ISO up to 400 next time, see if that helps.
Were you manually focusing?

[MarynaS]

I kept the aperture wide because there was not enough light. You are right I should have increased the ISO and set a smaller aperture. No, it wasn't manual focus, but single point AF

[AlwaysOnAuto]

If I had been taking that shot with my D7000, I would have tried focusing on the bridle right at the eye patch.
Mind if I ask which camera you used?

[MarynaS]

Thank you for the advice. I need to learn more about focusing. It's Nikon d5500. Do you think the focus in this case could depend on a camera?

[AlwaysOnAuto]

The key to focusing or using the auto focus on my Nikon was discovering that the focus patch needed a line of contrasting color dark/light area to work with. When I got my D80 I couldn't take a good picture to save my life. Then, I learned how the focus mechanism worked. Instead of aiming at the middle of a car door, I made sure the patch was on door shut line or fender line. All of a sudden all my pictures were in focus as if by magic.

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Remember, with a half press of the shutter button you should be able to lock in the focus and then recompose the picture for the shot you want.

[madcrow]

Maryna, keep shooting and posting this is the place to learn also to ask questions. Nice shot.

[MarynaS]

The key to focusing or using the auto focus on my Nikon was discovering that the focus patch needed a line of contrasting color dark/light area to work with. When I got my D80 I couldn't take a good picture to save my life. Then, I learned how the focus mechanism worked. Instead of aiming at the middle of a car door, I made sure the patch was on door shut line or fender line. All of a sudden all my pictures were in focus as if by magic.

Thank you! This is a great advice I will definitely try it.

[MarynaS]

Maryna, keep shooting and posting this is the place to learn also to ask questions. Nice shot.

Thank you! This is my first post here, I am really happy to be able to post my pictures and get valuable suggestions.

[AlwaysOnAuto]

So next time, put the focus point on the harness just below the horse's neck. That way it'll have the most contrast to work with and should give you a good picture.
I've found there is no substitute for practice, and more practice, and even more practice. Good thing film is cheap with digital!