Take sharper shots
DISCOVER WHY YOUR PICTURES MAY BE BLURRED – AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT.
THERE ARE MANY reasons why you might reject a photo — the exposure being off and unrecoverable for one. Perhaps the background of your shot isn’t complementary to the subject. Maybe you’ve missed the moment altogether. But ditching pictures because they’re not sharp enough is probably the most common reason for trashing a picture.
While factors such as lens quality and the amount of digital processing applied to an image make a difference to sharpness, there are basically two things that you can do to get sharper photos out of your camera. The first is to use a shutter speed fast enough to freeze any movement — whether that’s subject movement or unintentional movement of the camera during the exposure. The second (pretty important, this) is to make sure the subject is in focus.
Your camera has a number of different focusing modes that you can match to the type of picture you’re taking. Set the wrong mode, and you’re likely to end up with a blurred mess. If the subject isn’t moving, choose the One-Shot or Single-Shot AF mode. In this mode, the lens will stop focusing once it’s locked on to a subject and won’t move again unless you take your finger off the shutter release. If the subject is moving, set the Servo or Continuous AF option, as the camera will then continuously adjust the focus to try to keep the subject sharp as it moves.
The length of time it takes to record a picture is a crucial factor when it comes to getting sharp results. The faster the exposure, the more likely it is that you’ll freeze motion. There are two types of motion you need to think about: subject movement and camera movement. The shutter speed required to stop a moving subject depends on the distance the subject is from the camera, the speed it’s moving and the direction of travel; but it’s safe to say that you’ll probably need a faster shutter speed than you think.
Unintentional camera movement is invariably the more challenging type of motion to deal with. In fact, the camera doesn’t have to be flailing wildly for pictures to be ruined: just a slight movement during the exposure can lead to a blurred picture — whether that’s a slight softening of details or a complete fuzzy shot overall. Follow our guide overleaf to holding a camera the right way to improve your handheld hit rate.
Even the action of the mirror bouncing up and down inside a DSLR can be enough to take the edge off details during slower exposures. For situations that magnify the effects of mirror vibrations, such as when you’re using a long lens or shooting extreme close-ups, activate your camera’s mirror lock-up function if your camera has this feature, or shoot in Live View when the mirror is locked out of the way automatically. It makes sense to use a tripod when using either of these options, as this will help you maximise every last drop of sharpness.
THE LENGTH OF TIME IT TAKES TO RECORD A PICTURE IS A CRUCIAL FACTOR WHEN IT COMES TO GETTING SHARP RESULTS. THE FASTER THE EXPOSURE, THE MORE LIKELY IT IS THAT YOU’LL FREEZE MOTION.