I just started playing around with flash in bright daylight, but my images are kinda fuzzy. Does anyone know what causes this?
Many thanks!!!

this image shot at:
iso 400
f 16
1/200 sec.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

every lens acts differently at different fstops. don't ask why but they just do. even though f16 maybe the "sharpest" fstop you have in the fact that everything "should be" in focus it may not always be the case. my 50mm 1.4 is HORRIBLE at f16 but tack sharp at really open fstops like 2.8 and less...

btw, i really like the shot.

To me it looks like noise/grain not focus. I think that the ISO is way too high. Wouldn't setting it at 100 and opening up give less noisy images?

Canon or Nikon? and which camera? That makes a huge diff re: noise/grain at different ISOs

Also is this SOOC? Is it a RAW file or did you turn down the sharpening if it's a JPG? Most digital files require sharpening, unless you are shooting JPG and having the camera do it for you (and you trust its sharpening method).

Sorry if this is basic info, I'm just trying to think of everything.

this also does not make sense. I am positive if it was noon day, which it looks like it was or close to it, and your iso is 400 and you shoot f/16 your shutter speed should be 1/500th of a second for the CORRECT exposure (sunny 16 rule)...at 200th of a second your background should be CONSIDERABLY lighter...

looking at the shadows on the architecture I would guess the sun is about 1.5 hrs b4 sun down, exposure looks correct for that time,, what lens/camera is this

Thanks for your suggestions everyone! This guy is the founder and president of the development where our studio is. He is a really cool guy and needed some new headshots desperately! The whole development is about sustainability and building green. The ampitheatre in the background is where we have concerts... it was a big deal getting it approved by the city. To read more about the Noisette project read here.


The time of day was 10am. Shot JPEG with a Nikon D80 with 17-55 2.8 lens. My sync speed is currently 1/200 sec. Maybe changing it to 1/250 would make a difference? The zoomed photo is not sharpened, but the bigger image is sharpened.

A lot of it looks like a noise issue. Were these underexposed and then bumped up? Also you might be dealing with diffraction issues which cause softness issues when you stop a lens way down. They actually get softer not sharper.

There is a point with many lenses at which they are less sharp. You'll probably find that all your lenses are typically tack sharp at F8, but that may decrease as you go upwards to F16.

Shooting this at ISO 100, 1/200th, F8 might have produced a sharper and cleaner looking photo. But, you can't really know that now without a re-shoot.

I think this is what I'll try next. Thanks for the help everyone!!!

I have a Nikon D80, iso above 200 is awful.
And I think on Manual max shutter is 200 with flash, no?
Going on memory here.

I shoot like this quite a bit and I have the exact same problem. I haven't done a completely scientific study of it by my 16-35L is not happy between f16 and f22 either. It's not just a little soft at those ranges, but *really soft*. Otherwise it works pretty darn well.

My solution? Sell it and buy some nice primes instead. The 24L and 25L seem to be much sharper across the entire range and a lot better at high ISO's... It's a bummer too because I really try to like the 16-35 but it's got some major issues.

ken