Dof And Focus, How

Looks like you've got motion blur and it's on the underexposed side.

If you have to, shoot at a higher ISO so that your shutter speed can be higher. Shoot RAW and you'll have an easier time raising the exposure afterward if need be.
What were you shooting with and what were your settings? You'll want to look at those to learn what needs to change.

We can always make something better. As far as your question, that usually depends on exactly what you are trying to do with the composition and not necessarily what someone else would think. You can make the background softer or harder depending on what YOU want.

You definitely are showing a change in the DOF (if that's what you're after)... the degree of change is up to you.

... just to give anther view:

I do NOT see motion blur, but rather a choice of sharp focal point that blurs the foreground flower a bit, which is okay.

I do NOT see underexposure either (in the butterfly, I presume), but rather OVER exposure, where you have exposed for shade instead of for sun, which blows out the highlights in the background, making the camera "think" the butterfly should be darker than you might want.

Shirley, this may seem counter-intuitive since with a greater DOF more of the area is in focus, but the main subject won't be as sharp as it would be with a shallower DOF. There's always a trade-off and finding that balance is tricky.

the deeper the focus, the more light it will need. something like a butterfly will be harder because it moves so fast. you'll need to increase the iso, but doing that may increase the noise. adding a flash will work provided your shutter speed is high enough (i have mine set to 200th and i still had blurred wings). for things like this you don't want it to be too deep anyway because it would be distracting and it won't have a 3-d quality to it. so i'd choose something in the middle like f13 or so.

this however, is not in focus. the butterfly is not that clear. you want to lock on to the center of the body using a spot focus. don't use auto or it will select something else like that flower on the right.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

This is so exciting to me. You are all so helpful and generous! I'm going to shoot until my fingers fall off. I took 237 shots, just to get this one. But I'm getting better in understanding my camera. Thanks so much!

I have a Canon Rebel XTi
60MM Macro lens
ISO 100
F 5.6
1/40

Shirley, you might enjoy this app: http://camerasim.com/apps/camera-simulator/
It will let you adjust all the manual camera settings (ISO, shutter speed, aperture), as well as distance and focal length. You tweak the settings, click the Snap button, and it shows you what your final image would look like, whether it's under/overexposed, grainy, if the movement in the picture was frozen in place or blurred, etc.

It's a good way to understand WHY each setting makes a difference, and how you need to tweak one setting to offset another.

Shirley, you always need to do some editing of the image in post processing. You don't always get it right in camera. Even the pros process!
With this image there is too much going on in the background. What is your setting? Are you in aperture priority mode or what? What is your F stop?

Shirley - that 1/40th of a second is why you get motion blur (I can't hand old at that low speed without the amount of blur that would annoy me)... especially for a potentially moving target like butterfly. You want that number at leave above the 1/200
Bump your ISO up.

Heather's right. When you use your 60mm macro, you will likely be able to hand hold with a shutter speed of 1/60, but no slower (and even then, you may want to prop yourself against something stable if you've got shakier hands), or you'll see motion blur from you, rather than the subject. Because it's a potentially moving target, you would generally want to move to a faster shutter speed than the 1/60 for a shot such as this, as she mentioned.

Someone who is really focused and really GOOD at being steady can handhold a 60mm macro at 1/40th.

But yeah thats the reason things aren't as sharp as they could be.

Taking a deep breath and holding it for the split second before and while you press the shutter can also help that steadiness. I can sometimes pull off the 1/40, but it really depends on the shot and the day. When in doubt, I stick to 1/60 for my 60mm, which is my favorite lens. :)

Thank you! And for that link.

I always use a tripod. But butterflies may not be the best subject to practice on.

Do you have a remote/corded shutter release, or do you physically touch the shutter button to shoot?