Taking
razor-sharp photos is a pursuit of many photographers – crisp, defined edges
and incredible texture creates a whole new dimension to your photos. However,
there is a reason why professional images appear to be sharper than the average
hobbyist – they follow a few simple, but key steps in order to eliminate camera
vibration and make sure that their scene is as sharp as possible.
There
are 5 very important steps to clear, tack-sharp images.
Use a
Tripod
I’m
sure you’ve heard of this before, but a tripod is one of the most versatile and
important pieces of gear in a photographer’s arsenal. It allows you to capture
HDR images, do long exposures, and it will also help stabilize a camera in the
event of camera shake.
When
not using a tripod, your shutter
speed needs to be fast enough to capture your scene without
registering any movement caused by camera shake – or simply put, a slow shutter
speed may pick up vibrations caused by handheld movement, which gives you a
blurry photo. Even the slightest movement can cause camera shake, which
ultimately affects your image sharpness.
A
tripod will help stabilize your camera so that you can capture images of any
shutter speed in sharp focus – assuming your subject isn’t moving. This is by
far the biggest thing you can do to obtain a sharper photo.
Lock
Your Mirror
In
addition to mounting your camera on a tripod, locking your internal mirror will
help eliminate any vibration the camera causes when your press the shutter
button. Instead of letting your camera flip the mirror up and expose your image
in one fell swoop, it does it in two steps so that the vibration isn’t present when
you actually take your photo. So when mirror lock-up mode is enabled, you’ll be
pressing your shutter button twice to take a photo – once to flip the mirror
and lock it in place, and again to take your image.
Each
camera has a slightly different way to access this setting, so refer to your
camera manual in order to learn how to enable this helpful tool.
Remote
Cable Release
The
remote cable release is another great tool for obtaining sharp images during
longer exposures. So you’ve got your camera mounted on a tripod, and
you’ve enabled a mirror lock – now it’s time to actually take your photo.
However, just the act of pressing the shutter button can physically shake your
camera, causing unwanted blurring and a less-than-sharp image.
A
remote cable release is simply a corded remote that attaches to your camera,
allowing you to take a photo without actually touching it. Most remotes also
come with a lock – perfect for extended exposures where you don’t have to hold
down the shutter button for 15 minutes or longer.
Disable
IS/VR
If your
camera is already mounted on a tripod, then there’s no reason to use your image
stabilization/vibration reduction function on your lens (if you have it) as
it’s a redundant step. Actually, combining both IS/VR and tripod mounting as a
stabilization method can be counterproductive – this function can actually blur
your image instead of stabilizing it since the camera is already mounted. Make
sure to disable this function for a truly sharp photo.
Aperture
If
you’re following all the above steps and still desire a sharper image, note
that theaperture you choose can greatly affect
image clarity. Every lens has a “sweet spot” aperture setting – usually
somewhere between f/8 and f/11. If you go outside of this bracket, your image
sharpness will progressively decrease. Whether or not this is a concern to you
depends on what is more important to you – your depth of field or your
sharpness?
By
following these 5 important steps, you will notice a considerable difference in
image sharpness.
