First ever wedding shots...Horrible results on the inside. What am I doing wrong?

Fortunately this work was done for free and I wasn't being paid. I was assisting the wedding photography with my Nikon D3300 and was using a prime 50mm 1:8G. 90% of my outside shots were great and in good focus but less than half of the inside shots were in focus. I previewed every shot after taking it and if I didn't think it was in focus I re-took the shot. Looking at the preview screen they appeared fine but after opening them on my computer I can see that they are out of focus. There were some times when I couldn't get the lens to focus. I have it set to M/A and would adjust the focus ring then let the shutter do the auto focus but some shots just wouldn't focus. Changed from Apeture to Manual to Shutter even Auto with no better results. Adjusted ISO because I was limited with the flash but just couldn't find anything that worked. Got frustrated and ended up switching to Auto (Yes I know this is a no no for professionals). Yes I am a beginner when it comes to DSLR shots on the inside. I took the same couples pre-wedding photos by the railroad track on a cloudy day and they look great. Maybe I just need more training with the settings. When I finish processing them I will show a few of the outside shots compared to the inside.

Cant advise without shots and EXIF info. I'm suspecting that the shutter speeds were really low inside hence the oof/blurry shots.
How did the main photographers shots turned out inside?

What focus setting were you on? What was your shutter speed?

I ALWAYS use AF-C 9 point with back button focusing. I am not sure if the D3300 has this. I place the focus point on my subject and hold down the back focus button and just fire when necessary. I also have my camera setup to not take an image if the focus is off... this has led to some nerve wracking times when I am mashing the focus button like nobody's business praying it sorts itself out before the shot goes... it's amazing how your brain thinks the harder you push, the faster it will focus... hahaha

Yes I will try to post a few pictures as soon as I can. I haven't seen the photographers shots yet. I'm just hoping I don't have any issues with the camera or lens. I've taken inside shots before but not at a wedding and they were fine.

Like Pete said, posting a couple sample images will help eliminate the theories on what went wrong and give you more directed feedback.

What I've seen my wife do when I've had her shooting a D5300 with 35mm f/1.8 prime, is get inside of the max focus distance where the lens can't possible achieve focus. I like Kevin's idea ... I need to make sure her camera won't let her fire the shutter without having achieved focus first.

For critical shots I use AF-S, single point, usually the centre AF point. AF-C misses a lot, especially in low light, multipoint focus modes seem to always focus at the wrong place. I have taken tons of indoor shots with 35mm at F1.8 and ISO 400, and rarely got them out of focus.

Here are a few examples

I know everyone has different experiences, but I was never happy with my 50mm on my D5100. Did great on my D7100 and D600. Your posting sounds very similar to mine many ears ago.

I'm sorry for getting back on this so late. I've been so busy but I was able to pick out the good shots or should I say the better shots and compare the settings to the not so great shots. So since I attend the church that the pics were taking in I'm going to set my camera settings based off the best pics and go do some more trial shots. I'm still a inexperienced newbie but I'm learning more everyday.

aroy said:

For critical shots I use AF-S, single point, usually the centre AF point. AF-C misses a lot, especially in low light, multipoint focus modes seem to always focus at the wrong place. I have taken tons of indoor shots with 35mm at F1.8 and ISO 400, and rarely got them out of focus.

Here are a few examples

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Thanks! I'm just now starting to understand the AF-S vs AF-C.

Just a thought, sometimes in a stressful situation like a first wedding shoot it is possible to use poor shooting form and not even realize it. Your shutter speed is much lower indoors and if you don't properly "follow through" with each shot they could be blurry. What I mean by that is hold your camera as steady as possible until the shutter has done its job. Sometimes we can get in a hurry to review each shot, as you said you did, moving the camera before the shutter finishes. I'm not saying that's what happens but keeping the camera steady is very important in low light situations.

We really need to see some of the photos making sure to include the EXIF data. Follow the directions below to have a better chance of the EXIF data showing.

Guidelines to adding a photo to your post.

1. Resize photo to 1000px on the long side.
2. Resolution set to 72ppi (Pixels Per Inch)

These guidelines will be good for viewing on a computer but will not be good for printing. This will help safeguard your copyright.