New to forum.

[ddr8a]

Greetings! I'm a beginning amature photographer with a passion for capturing precious moments so that persons may reflect on those moments for years to come. I'm especially interested in improving my techniques, so this is why I've joined this list serve. Cheers!

[swmdrayfan]

Now that's unusual. A poll to rate your picture. Never seen it done this way on this forum before. Like a lot of people, I'm not into 'ratings' or 'polls' when it comes to photos, because invariably it leads to trouble.
I will say that this looks somewhat dark and blurred. Could be my monitor though. You have the right idea, and the dog is well centered.

[Tyson L. Sparks]

Out of focus dog.

[ddr8a]

I used AF with IS with my Canon 30D. Do you have any recommendations on how I can sharpen subject focus with future shots? Thanks!

[swmdrayfan]

I used AF with IS with my Canon 30D. Do you have any recommendations on how I can sharpen subject focus with future shots? Thanks!

could be your focal point was a little off, as the water seems more in focus than the dog. try to focus on the dog's eyes.

[ddr8a]

Thanks for the advice. I'll set the focal point differently next time.

[Greg McCary]

I think a little sharpening in PhotoShop would help. You might could have set your camera to spot meter the dog. You need to overexpose black animals a little. Your camera probably took an average of the whole shot. You could have also shot in RAW and brought out more detail as well.

[Frog]

I won't comment on the focus or darkness as its been covered but will say I like the composition and whoever this dog owns will be happy with the shot and will shed some tears in the future if their friend is no longer with them.

[gahspidy]

Welcome to the forum, glad you found us. You have captured a fine moment. I like the framing and square crop for this. As others have already pointed out, the dogs face, particuliarly the eyes need to be in focus to make this very good. The AF chose the rippling of water under the dog as the focal point. If I'm using AF, I like to have the camera set to focus on what ever is in the center of the viewfinder. Then I just point the center mark at the area I want in focus, press shutter down halfway to focus and then recompose and shoot. Manual focus is always a good option
Also, as Greg pointed out about the exposure of the subject you could bring out a little more here in your photo editing software. A bit more exposure and detail in the dog would be nice.