How to get sharper photos, without buying new gear!
Getting beautiful crisp clear images is every photographers goal. When we’re starting out with our beginner/intermediate camera it’s easy to start doubting the camera or lenses for unclear images.
I get asked all the time, should I invest in a professional level camera? should I buy new lenses? ….No! Save your money! The gear you have right now can create beautiful clear images with these 10 helpful tips.
1. Use a Tripod
The first one might seem obvious to some but it’s very important in getting clear images. It’s not only important to have a tripod but extremely important to get a good tripod that is sturdy and stable. Manfrotto makes amazing tripods that are sturdy and some that are very reasonably priced. By using a tripod this will eliminate any camera shake. It will also allow you to lower your shutter speed to capture amazing long exposures.
2. Two Second Timer
Ok, so you got a tripod and you’ve started taking more photos but there are still more ways to make your images more clear. One of the biggest causes for loss of image crispness is through camera shake. Even though you are using a tripod now, if you’re still pushing that shutter button manually there will be some shake, even if it’s little. The best way to avoid that shake is with a remote shutter. A remote shutter connects to your camera with a long cord. You hold the remote and push the button on the remote, thus eliminating you from touching the camera. There are a lot of cheap shutter remotes on the market and I recommend buying the non-name brand shutter remotes. They will be a third the cost and will do the exact same thing. If you’re looking to save money, you can get away without the remote shutter by setting your camera to a two second timer. When you push the shutter button on your camera, pull your hand away and let any camera shake dissipate during the two seconds. This may seem little but any little bit of precaution you can take to eliminate camera shake will result in better images.
3. Live Shooting
I picked this tip up a while ago and whenever I shoot on a tripod I’m always shooting in live view. Certain cameras will be different but most DSLR’s will have the option of live view. This flips the mirror up in your camera and projects the live image on the back screen. This is helpful in a few different ways. First, you don’t need to worry about straining and looking through the view finder to see your shot. Second, live view projects the image exactly how it will look when you take the shot. If it’s too dark or too bright you will see it live. Third, it will help eliminate camera shake! When in live view the mirror locks up in order to project the live image. When you take the shot the camera doesn’t have to flip that mirror up to allow the light to hit the sensor. As little as it might be, there is a chance the motion of the mirror flipping up can cause seam camera shake. Always shoot in live view when you can!
4. mirror lockup
On Canon cameras, there is an option in the settings menu called ‘mirror lockup’. Just like live view, when this is enabled this locks the mirror up to help reduce any vibration from the mirror when you release the shutter. You would only use this in combination with a tripod. So why would you choose this over Live View? to save battery life of the camera. When shooting in live view the LCD screen is always on. This can drain your cameras battery quickly. If you enable mirror lockup you can still shoot through the viewfinder, thus extending battery life.
5. F-Stop
Knowing which f-stop to use is one fo the most confusing things I struggled with when I first started out. I had the basic knowledge that if I wanted a blurred background I’d lower my f-stop, so if I wanted everything crisp and clear I’d bump it up to the highest f-stop the camera/lens can do? I immediately figured out this was not the case. What I’ve found is that if I want everything in my frame to be in focus and I have subjects in the foreground and background I stick between f-14 to f-16. I never go above f-16 as I have found you start to lose image quality after that. If I’m shooting an image with no foreground subject such as the image below, I stick around f-10 to f-13. Anything below f-10 and you start to get a blurred background. Again, this will be different on every camera and every brand and it takes a lot fo trial and error to figure out which f-stop is best for each situation. Take the time to photograph one image at every f-stop, when you get home load the images into Lightroom and zoom into the background. You will know really quick which f-stop worked best for that situation.
6. Focus Stacking
Focus stacking is a technique where to take three images of the same composition. One where you put the focus on the foreground, one image you focus on the mid ground, and one image that focuses on the background. When you upload these images to photoshop you can layer these images on top of each other to ensure you get complete focus from foreground to background. I haven’t experimented with this much but I do find this works very well with images where you have an object in the immediate foreground and want to ensure everything is clear of that object but also all the way to the background.
7. Touch Shutter
There is a setting in your camera menu that is called ‘Touch Shutter’ This will only be available on cameras that have a touch screen on the back. When you turn this on, this will allow you to capture an image simply by tapping on the back LCD screen. So what’s the benefit of this? This paired with the two second time allows you to tap the exact location you want the camera to focus on. This will help eliminate incorrect focusing, plus if you wanted to do extended exposures you can switch your camera to bulb mode and use touch shutter to open the shutter. It won’t close until you touch the back of the screen again.
8. Shutter Speed
Using the correct shutter speed is key to capturing clear images. As a rule fo thumb I like to keep my shutter speed minimum to double my focal length. For instance if i’m shooting at 50mm, I want my shutter speed to be a minimum of 1/100th of a second. As you increase focal length this will amplify the camera camera movement. By doubling the shutter speed there is less time that shutter is open and less chance of capturing camera movement.
9. ISO
This doesn’t have to do so much with image crispness but. Does have to do with image quality. ISO is a feature you use to help your camera capture more light in low light conditions. As a general rule of thumb, I will always strive to keep my ISO at 100 which is usually the minimum amount on most cameras. By raising the ISO you can get more light absorption when capturing in low light conditions but the higher the ISO the grainier your photos will be. The best way to capture more in low light conditions is to lower your shutter speed. However, like I said before, you want to keep your shutter speed double your focus length. If you’re shooting handheld this will be impossible to keep your ISO at 100 and your shutter speed at double your focal length. This is where you will have to raise your ISO to avoid camera shake. Since you’re now shooting on a tripod you can easily lower your shutter speed and avoid any camera shake. Keep in mind that if you are trying to photograph any moving objects, you will need your shutter speed to be high for them to be clear. This will result in you increasing the ISO.
10. auto focus
Turn auto focus off! Again, this one might be small but by turning auto focus off before taking your shot that eliminates any chance of the camera refocusing on the wrong object or causing any minimal camera shake by trying to focus. I will leave auto focus on while i’m composing the shot, i’ll let the camera auto focus then turn the switch off and capture the shot. It may be small but it can make a difference.
Well that’s it! There are my top 10 way to get more crisp photographs without having to buy new gear! Let me know what you think!