Why do my pictures come out blurry?

[Luckylove]

When I turn the flash off unless Ava is very still the pic ends up blurry. I tried to adjust my ISO speed as someone else suggested to me. It helped but didnt fix the problem. Is it just my camera? Am I doing something wrong? I always seem to get a great shot on the blurry pics :( . Thanks for your help.

[Kellie_MO5]

I think it's because with the flash off the shutter stays open longer to get enough light so the objects your shooting will show up, so if you move or the object moves while the shutter is open it will blur

[LMS]

it's a lack of natural light. when you don't have sufficient natural light, your shutter will go pretty slow (if you are in auto mode) to try and allow in enough light for the "film" to "develop"... (I know it's digital, but it's the same concept just dealing with sensors instead of film).
When you have a slow shutter speed, ANY movement (even minescule amounts not detectable by the naked eye) will cause what's called "motion blur"
Here is a quick explination of camera settings and how they can help you create a better image:
Higher ISOs can OCCASIONALLY work, but not when it's actually dark in the area you are photographing.. that's more to compensate for OVERLY sunny days (ISO 100 is best) as opposed to cloudy, grey days (ISO 300ish, depending on the amount ambient light). The lower the number, the faster the "film"... so if you have tons of available light, you go with a lower number, and if you have not very much light, the film would be slower (ISO number is higher) to absorb more light.

Your shutter speed is very important in your photograph. If your shutter speed is fast (ie 1/1000) you will get a sharper picture, but you need LOTS of light available. If you have a slower shutter speed (1/100) you will get a MUCH softer image, but it will allow in more light.

Your aperature/f-stop (and this gets confusing) is how BIG your shutter opens. So when your shutter speed determines how quickly it opens and closes, this determines how large that opening gets at the fully "open" amount. when your aperatue is higher (prepare to be confused... a "high aperature" is a low number.. so a high f/stop is really like a 1.4-1.8, when you 'bump down' your f/stop, you go to a higher number, so it would be like a 5 or more.) you allow in a lot more light.. b/c once that shutter opens BIG there is more space for light to come through.. smaller hole allows less light. make sense?

So to get the best image with no flash, you want lots of ambient light, a midrange to low ISO (200ish), a fast shutter speed and a high f/stop.
The problem is that most point & shoot cameras dont' allow this kind of "fine tuning" of these settings... even in manual.
Unfortunately, it's almost impossible with many point and shoot cameras to have images with no flash, no motion blur, etc. :( I hope that explains it.
oh, and a higher ISO will also give you more grain.

[Luckylove]

Holy crap Jackie that's a lot of info! Thanks for your help. You actually explained it really well given that I know very little about cameras. Thanks again. I didnt see an aperature thingy on my camera. Its a pretty basic camera though so I wouldnt be shocked if you can't adjust it. Thanks for your help! :)

[LMS]

i would be suprised if you can. I have the (relatively) new Canon powershot sd550 and i've yet to find where i can adjust the shutter speed or aperature.
and no problem ;) This is kind of my thing so i enjoy whenever i can help with camera related questions

[becky]

gosh i have forgotten so much....i want to take lessons from you jackie. that was a great explanation.