Does your camera have a spot meter option? If so, use it and place that dead center on the figure. Next, increase the light. I use three 75-100 watt incandescent desk lamps for my pictures, moving them around to reduce shadows. This amount of light should increase your shutter speed and/or reduce your aperture which will increase the depth of field. If you have any control over the aperture setting, choose aperture priority mode. Worst case, drop back a bit and use the telephoto/zoom to get a larger image. Also, consider using a tripod to steady the camera and the self timer to eliminate any hand induced motion blurring.
All that said, I'm thinking the bright background is shifting your settings to compensate and placing your figures in the dark. It's like someone standing between you and a bright window.