Digital Photography - How To Create Really Sharp Photos

by Ron Bigelow

One of the most frustrating experiences for a photographer is to get home from a photo trip with some great images only to find that some of the images are not sharp. To help solve this problem, this article covers seven things that a photographer can do to create really sharp images.

Use a Tripod

The tripod is the place to start to get sharp images. The tripod provides a very stable base for the camera that will increase the sharpness of your images compared to hand held shots.

Weighting the Tripod

A tripod is a good start. However, a tripod can be made even more stable by using some object to weigh down the tripod. This produces even sharper images. This is so important that many tripods have some type of mechanism at the bottom of the center post that was designed for hanging objects to add weight to the tripod. A simple way to take advantage of this feature is to carry a small net bag with your photo equipment. The bag can be filled with rocks, or other materials, and attached to the tripod. Even if a tripod doesn't have such a mechanism, other methods can be used such as hanging a camera bag from the center column of the tripod.

Shutter Release

Just because a camera is on a tripod doesn't mean that the camera will be steady. The simple act of pressing the shutter can cause vibrations that will cause a loss of sharpness. The solution is simple. A remote switch can be used to release the shutter. A remote switch is a device that attaches to the camera through a cable, or wirelessly, and allows the photographer to release the shutter without touching the camera.

Mirror Lock Up

Even if the camera is set up on a tripod, the tripod is weighted down, and a remote switch is used, image quality can still be degraded due to vibration from the movement of the camera's mirror when the shutter is released. This vibration is primarily a problem with shutter speeds between about 1/30 second and 1 second. This is easily solved by enabling the mirror lockup function on the camera. Once enabled, pressing the shutter button once swings the mirror out of the way. Pressing the shutter button a second time releases the shutter. This way, the mirror vibration dies out before the shutter is released.

Chose Your Aperture

Some apertures produce sharper images than others. Various aberrations cause a loss of sharpness with larger apertures. Diffraction causes a loss of sharpness with the smaller apertures. As a result, the middle apertures (about f/8 for most lenses) generally produce the sharpest images.

Shutter Speed

You now have a stable tripod and a sharp aperture. On the other hand, the subject that you are photographing could be moving. This can also cause a loss of sharpness. To resolve this problem, you must use a shutter speed that is high enough to freeze the motion of the subject.

ISO

If you are experiencing a problem with image sharpness due to the motion of the subject, increasing your ISO will allow you to use a higher shutter speed to freeze the motion.

In Summary

With these techniques, you have several solutions to improve your image sharpness.

Want to learn more about taking powerful images. Visit Ron's free site at Ron Bigelow Photography to learn the skills that you can use to become a great photographer.