5 Top Photography Tips for Razor Sharp Shots

By Geoff Harris

You can tell when you've become a serious photographer when you start to obsess about the s word – sharpness. Enter any photography competition, or submit images for feedback at any camera club, and sharpness is one area that's really scrutinised.

While most competent photographers know how to avoid very blurry softs, it's much harder to get absolutely pin-sharp results that still stand up when viewed at 100% on the camera's screen or in software. Here five ways to sharpen up for the summer...

Get a grip

Aperture, Autofocus, ISO, mirror lock-up, sharp image, Sharp picture, Sharpening, Sharpness, Shutter Speed, Triopd

Obviously, grip your camera firmly, but not so firmly that you tense up and actually end up making camera shake worse. If you are shooting a slow shutter speeds or narrow apertures (say higher than f/16), a tripod is essential. Use the thickest leg sections first to get the right height, and avoid raising the centre column. Use a bag to add weight to the centre column if there's a hook.

Don't try to stabilise the tripod by holding it, and make sure you use a cable release or remote release to fire the camera. Switch your SLR to mirror lock-up mode for even more stability.

Choose the right shutter speed

20071210-83
When shooting handheld, a good rule of thumb is to choose a shutter speed that is at least 1/your lens focal length or faster. So this would equate to a shutter speed of at least 1/50 sec if you are using a 50mm lens on a full frame SLR, and 1/80 sec or higher on a camera with an APS-C sensor. These are only starting points, however, and obviously very fast moving subjects will need faster shutter speeds.

Increase the ISO

Tufted puffin carrying nesting material

Higher ISOs are not just good for shooting in low light, they can also give you faster shutter speeds. So you can use a higher ISO to enable you to pick a faster shutter speed when shooting in Manual mode, for instance. Yes, there is a greater risk of noise at higher ISOs, but it's easier to remove noise from an image in raw than it is to sharpen a soft one.

Crack autofocus

Common Buzzard Buteo buteo Glos UK winter
Skilful use of AF is also essential here. Rather than relying on your camera's default AF choice, use single point AF for static subjects, such as portraits. Place the AF point on the subject's eyes to ensure they are sharp. You can either move the AF points around manually, choosing the point closest to the eyes with the AF selector, or lock AF over the eyes with the central point (usually the most sensitive), then half press the shutter button to lock focus and then recompose.

For moving objects, select continuous (servo) AF. Again though, keep the active AF point where you need it to be – over a flying bird's head for example. For macro shots and landscapes, you can try using Manual focus for consistent results; switch to Live View on the rear camera screen and zoom in to check sharpness where you want to focus.

Set the right aperture

LECT.1-09
When shooting at a wide aperture, don't always choose the widest setting (e.g. f/1.4) as it makes it harder to keep a face sharp (soft looking ears and jewellery are a tell-tale sign). Often f/2.8 or even f/3.5 is a better choice, depending on the lens. With narrow apertures, while it's true that bigger f numbers give deeper depth of field, a process called refraction can actually make images softer at very narrow f numbers, e.g. f/22. Experiment with a tripod to see what works best for you.

If you would like to improve your photography why not consider taking one of MyPhotoSchool 4 week online Photography courses and get 1-2-1 tuition form some of the world greatest photographers Click here for more details

Geoff Harris

I am a journalist and photographer and currently work as the Deputy Editor of Amateur Photographer (AP) - http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk the oldest weekly photographic magazine in the world. Before that I served as the editor of Digital Camera, Britain's best-selling photography magazine, for five years. During my time as editor it became the UK's top selling photo monthly and won Print Publication of the Year at the 2013 British Media Awards. As well as being lucky enough to get paid to write about photography, I've been fortunate to interview some of the greatest photographers in the world, including Elliott Erwitt, Don McCullin, Martin Parr, Terry O'Neill and Steve McCurry. This has been a wonderful learning experience and very influential on my photography. Beyond writing, I am a professional portrait, travel and documentary photographer, and reached the finals of the 2016 Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year competition. I am a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society and hope to take my Associateship whenever I can find the time. In addition I write about well being/personal development and antiques collecting for a range of other titles, including BlueWings, the in-flight magazine of Finn Air.

Stay updated

Receive free updates by email including special offers and new courses.

You can unsubscribe at any time

Photography

Related posts

Our best selling courses

Awards & Accreditations

  • CPD Accredited (provider 50276)
  • Good Web Guide
  • Red Herring Winner
  • Education Investor Awards 2021 - Finalist
  • Royal Horticultural Society
  • Digital Education Awards 2023 Winner for Digital Health and Wellbeing Learning Product of the Year
  • Digital Education Awards 2023 Winner for Adult Home Learning Product of the Year