Sharper shooting

Nikon DSLR images have never looked so good – that is, unless you have problems with sharpness. Steve Davey looks at how you can improve your technique and bring the sharpness back…

This month we provide top tips on how to banish the blur and make your shots so sharp you may need to wear gloves…

When you are shooting in the Raw format, you have a wide latitude for correcting your exposures. Even quite significant over- and underexposure can be rectified, and as long as you crop loosely, then you can also always improve your composition in post-production. One thing that you can’t do though – in spite of a number of Photoshop forthcoming feature teaser videos – is successfully deblur an unsharp image. If you don’t get your picture sharp in camera then there is pretty much nothing that you can do, other than just deleting it.

The problem is compounded by the increasing resolution of digital cameras, which are better than ever at resolving detail. Which also means that they are merciless at showing up any inconsistencies with quality or technique.

When I run workshops, I’m always amazed by the amount of people that will edit their pictures without zooming to 1:1. They’re usually the ones who don’t put their hands up when I ask who has problems with sharpness. If you don’t look at images properly you won’t know you have any issues.

Whilst you should always strive for the sharpest pictures, you should have reasonable expectations and be mindful of your own equipment and levels of skill. Don’t kid yourself that your pictures are perfect, but don’t sacrifice wonderful memories just because they aren’t 100% perfect.

There are a number of things that can affect the sharpness of your pictures. The main issue is the accuracy of focusing, but subject blur and camera shake, limited depth of field, post-production problems and equipment issues can all have their effect.