How to get sharp photos

Whether you’re using a kitlens or an expensive lens if your image is not sharp…its not sharp! You can’t really tell the difference. Some people would kill over a sharpness of an image (which i think is really overrated) then they blame themselves for not getting the more expensive gears. Im fine with soft images as long as it’s sharp where my focus is. But for those who are crazy over getting a sharp image, here are tips for you…

1. Shoot with more light
– make sure there is more than enough light to have your AF work properly, if there isnt much light available your AF tends to hunt and sometimes making it hard to lock a focus on a subject.

2. Find your lens’ sweet spot
– Most of us think that stopping down to the lowest aperture increases sharpness, its only increasing the depth of field. If you want the sharpest possible aperture, its usually somewhere in the middle of the range. You have to shoot in different range and aperture to determine the sharpness of your lens, try shooting a newspaper. If your a pixel peeper then good for you crop it 100% and see the difference.

3. Use a steady tripod
– Invest in a good heavy tripod, avoid those cheap lightweight ones. Use a solid head, solid tripod and a good sturdy mount and lock down all the legs and the head for max sharpness.

4. Fast shutter speeds
– Using faster shutter speeds freezes action better.

5. Use correct AF modes
– If your shooting still life, then your good to go with a simple one shot mode. If your subject is moving, you can set your AF to follow your subject.

6. Avoid subject movement
– If your shooting in low light try to ask your subject not to move a lot since you’ll be using slow shutter speeds it can blur your image.

7. Use the right ISo
– Set your ISO that will allow you to use faster shutter speeds without too much noise

8. Avoid using too much NR softwares
– Too much or improperly applied NR decreases image sharpness, some even makes your image soft and reducing details on an image.

9. Avoid problems related to filters
– Cheap filters can reduce sharpness in your image. Some can cause bad flaring

10. Use the right amount of post processing sharpening
– Many beginners tend to over sharpen their images, some result to halos, noise, etc., you might want to slow down on over sharpening.

Related posts:

1. When to use a tripod?
2. Understanding Exposure: Shutter speed, Aperture, ISO