For every photography learner, the foremost important tips are to capture sharp pictures. There is no single photography tips to make your picture sharper, however, there are a combination of multiple factors to produce sharp and in focus images. This blog post compiles the list of factors for the beginners who are honing their skills in photography.
Camera and its related equipment:
Tripod:
No matter how securely you hold your camera; there will always be some movement. This is the primary reason why photographers use a tripod even during the daylight. A tripod’s job is to keep your camera steady. You can also try tripods with ball head, however, that will not help you with sharp images, but will save a huge amount of time with adjusting and re-adjusting your camera.
In case if you do not use a tripod, you can simply lean against a wall or any surface for support and hold your camera.
Faster lens:
Bigger aperture lens such as f/1.4 or f/2.8 are sharper as compared to the standard lens (f/3.5 or f/5.6). Faster lens features high quality glass with enhanced construction which results in sharp images. However, these lenses are quite expensive than the usual ones.
Remote shutter release:
As you have to hold your camera with hands, nothing can prevent camera shake even if you use a tripod. Here lies the importance of remote shutter release that helps to minimize camera shake and produce sharper pictures. You can find wired and wireless remote shutter release. It is usually recommended to use wireless shutter release if your digital camera supports it.
A better alternative to remote shutter release is to use the camera’s self-timer function.
The camera and its lens settings:
Mirror-Lock Up function:
Flipping the mirror up which occurs in most of the digital cameras introduces camera shake during the picture shooting process. Therefore, look for the mirror Lock-Up function in the camera as the right solution. The first press on the shutter release button will open the mirror up while the second press will actuate the shutter. Therefore, with the help of mirror flipping process, you can prevent camera shake and get the desired results.
Camera self-timer function:
Self-timer function is a great alternative to remote shutter release and Mirror Lock-Up control. With a self – timer, the moment you press the shutter release, it flips the mirror up and then release the shutter. During this process, the vibration caused by pressing the shutter release button and flipping up the mirror settles before any image is captured.
Turn vibration –reduction off:
Besides using a tripod and remote release, the Image Stabilization (IS) or Vibration Release (VR) on your lens should be turned off. These lenses cause vibration and ultimately make your picture blurry. To put it in simpler words, while using a tripod turn the Vibration Release and the Image stabilization off, as it will destroy the whole purpose of the image.
Do not increase the ISO:
It is best to use the lowest ISO available. An increased ISO will only maximize the blurry image caused due to camera shake. Therefore, besides using a tripod and a remote shutter release, always opt for lowest ISO that will result in clear and sharp images every time you plan to shoot photography.
Hyper focal focusing technique:
The focus technique depends on the basic optical principle- the area 2/3 behind the point focused on and 1/3 in the front will always appear sharp. This indicates that if you focus at the hyper focal distance, you can maximize those parts of the image that will appear sharp. Finding the hyper focal distance depends on the aperture used, lenses, and focal length as well as on the camera’s sensor crop factor.
The shooting technique:
The use of manual focusing:
In certain cases like macro photography, it is best to use manual focus as it enables you to control specific area you want in sharp focus. Macro photography needs absolute pin-point focusing.
The use of continuous shooting mode:
Continuous shooting mode applies best while shooting fast moving objects or action shots. Further, if you need to refocus between the different shots, you may engage continuous auto-focusing mode.
Zoom –in to check image sharpness:
Looking through the camera screen and utilizing the above mentioned technique will not suffice to produce sharp images. It is important that you zoom-in and then check the sharpness of the photos you have taken.
Hopefully, the tips shared will help you avoid the basic mistakes while capturing sharper images during your photography learning phase.
David Meyer
Prince Kapoor
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Sudeep Banerjee