Photography Woes

I have been having photography woes off and on ever since I purchased my entry level Nikon D3200 dslr a few years ago.  Sometimes, I would get sharp images and then most of the time I would have what I call "soft" photos.  It drove me insane!  I have talked to many photographers practically begging for advice on what to do.  Of course they would all tell me to take a class.  That's a nice thought, but hello, I live in West Virginia and the classes consist of sitting in a small class of people listening to the beginner's guide.  I'm already past that stage...I just wanted someone to help me with the settings on my camera.  And then online classes consisted of the same thing practically and both were expensive.  I was doing everything I have been told to do and still this is what I was getting.

Sure, it looks pretty, but can you see that it has a soft look to it?

I adjusted my camera settings over and over, taking this same shot about 50 times, lol!  I finally talked to a friend on the phone almost begging for help after spending an entire day focusing on my camera, watching video after video, reading blog after blog and whatever else I could study up on after endless google searches!  I was ready to buy a new camera!

We talked about ISO and how we had been told to always try and shoot in the lowest ISO setting for best quality.  But when I would do that, I would have so much noise in my photos, especially when I began to edit. Well that wasn't working evidently.

Still confused, I began to fool with setting my ISO to 400, 800, 1600 and testing photos in low light.  That's where I always ended up having the "soft" photos....when the lighting wasn't the greatest.  Outside photos always ended up being ok unless it was over cast.  I knew my lens kit was allowing enough aperture in, so I was really confused.

Finally, I adjusted my ISO to 800 and this was my results!

See the difference?!

Oh how I began to see hope...finally!  I had thought that maybe I had a dud of a camera since all of my lenses produced the same images.

So then I used my telephoto lens and captured this...giving me hope yet once again!  I still need to work on a few things, but at least when you zoom in, you can see details rather than fuzzy details.

This photo was taken in natural lighting but was overcast outside.  With some brightening, this is all of the editing that was needed.  No noise to reduce or anything!  And you can see details!

Colors were right and the details are headed in the right direction for once!

And if any of you edit your photos, you all know when you lighten and brighten, details start to fade.  Not anymore!  Look at the grain on the wood floor...you can actually see it!  

For years, I have struggled with capturing a photo in this spot.  The mirror frame would always fade in with the wall after editing.  Now look at it!  The frame actually stands out.

I finally see a light at the end of the tunnel!

So here's my advice.  Fool around with your settings, take lot's of the same shot and compare.  And don't be afraid to do what they tell you not to do, lol.  It made no sense to up my ISO to such a high number to be able to capture sharper images in natural lighting from everything I read and was told...but look how it greatly improved my photos.

Of course, there all different setting combos for different types of photography.  I'm not taking a portrait, a landscape or an up close one most of the time so finding a setting that works for capturing some detail was what I was so desperately wanting.  And I think I am finally on the right track!

I hope you're having a great week...I know mine is going better now, lol!