Nothing is as seemingly painful for a photographer than getting back from a long shoot only to realize that all the photos that you took are blurry. Adding salt to the wound, the photos that you were especially excited about are the worst.
We’ve all been there learned those hard lessons. But I would argue that this is not the worst thing ever, actually I would say that it’s a great thing! You want your photos to be sharp and be able to replicate that every time. This indicates that you have a need to strengthen your skills and knowledge as a photographer. With this list, soon you’ll be taking razor sharp photos.
If you are in a rush, check below for an overview of all the points in the list. Please feel free to jump around to each of the points as they pertain to you.
Solution overview
- Slow Shutter Speed
- Auto Focus (Single Point)
- Caffeine / Too little Food
- Image stabilization
- Shutter Speed
One of the most common problems that new photographers run into while trying to take sharp photos is shutter speed. A slower shutter speed can cause shaking and image blur. While in certain cases image blur can be an extremely creative tool, however, if undesired it can be extremely unfortunate. A common rule of thumb is that if you are walking about and trying to freeze motion completely in your image 1/250 shutter speed is a great option.
If you are in a low-light scenario or need more light and can’t change your ISO and aperture then “really cutting it close” would be don’t go below the reciprocal of your focal length. An example is if you are using a 50mm lens try not to go below 1/50 shutter speed. That being said, keep in mind that even shooting at this shutter speed can be difficult.
- Auto Focus
Another common problem that many photographers run into when dealing with blurry photos is with focus. To save a lot of head ache and time, use auto focus (if available) rather than manual focus. Modern cameras are so good at focusing correctly that even the cameras themselves are able to see things that we can’t. Generally you can enable autofocus by switching the button from MF to AF on your camera lens.
Now, when you half press the shutter button your camera will automatically look for a point to focus on. As great as this is, if you do not indicate which specific point to focus, your camera might try to pull a different part of the image into focus. You can solve this by enabling single point auto focus. Single point auto focus will tell the camera exactly on which point you want to focus.
For the final step, you will need to choose what kind of autofocus you want the camera to use. As a quick overview, you will most likely use only two, One-shot and Continuous (also called AI Servo). Most of the time you will use one-shot. However, if you have a subject that is moving a lot and you want the camera to keep track of that subject then use continuous autofocus.
(Note) There are certain situations in which manual focus would be preferred like in astrophotography and atypical lighting. However for the majority of the time you can reliably use auto focus.
- Food / Caffeine
This point might seem abnormal at first, but limiting your caffeine intake and having something to eat before you shoot can be just as effective. Even if you feel as though you have a high caffeine resistance, your hands can still be shaky from the caffeine. Similarly if you haven’t eaten much, your photo could be affected by hunger shakes.
You might be tempted to think “I could just increase my shutter speed to account for the hand shake.” and for the majority of the time you can. But you might find yourself in a situation where there’s not enough light to account for the shaking.
General tips, try to not intake caffeine within 4 hours of a shoot. Similarly try to pack a snack in your bag that can act as quick and easy calories to help stave off hunger shakes. I personally like to keep a couple bananas and a granola bar since they’re not messy and don’t leave a lot of residue on the fingers.
- Image stabilization
For the last point I would like to touch briefly on in camera body and lens image stabilization. Most modern lenses and cameras have image stabilization that helps the photographer get sharp shots in less than ideal shooting situations. Uneven terrain, a strong gust of wind, and even a car horn honking can make you move just enough to make the image blurry.
Some camera bodies and lenses can even work together to provide even better stabilization. Check with your users manual and online to see if you can utilize this feature. If not, try enabling the in camera body stabilization. For lenses, typically there is a switch on the side to toggle the stabilizer on and off. Once both are turned on, you will have stabilization from 2 different points.
Conclusion
If you apply all or even some of the points listed above your photos will not only dramatically increase in sharpness, but you will have greater control over the result of the image taken. While this list is not exhaustive, these are some of the things that have helped me with taking sharper images. Let me know in the comments what are some of things that has helped you take sharp photos!
-Steven
