Our friends at PhotoWhoa are back with their February tips and featured training (more below), but first, please take note of a 3-day only Valentine’s special offer: 15% off sitewide! The usual PLUGSNPIXELS discount code always gets you an additional 10% off their seemingly endless collection of photography-related materials, but right now using coupon SHUTTERLOVE on any offer here will get you 15%!
And now, PhotoWhoa brings you The 5 Best Tips For Taking Sharp Photos:
There is a technical fact you need to be aware of: No matter how good your camera is, there’s no camera that will nail focus in every situation. On most occasions accurate focus will be a hit, but inevitably a miss on others. In fact, even pro’s often have a hard time taking sharp photos. Luckily, there’s help to be had. In this blog post, we’ll give you a few photography tips to help you take ultra sharp images.
Shutter Speed vs. Focal Length Rule
As a general rule of the thumb, you need to choose the appropriate shutter speed to achieve the perfect focus, especially when moving objects are involved. Choose a speed that’s not too fast or too low, but just right to freeze any action. To do this, you will need to adjust the ISO and aperture settings until you achieve the desired shutter speed.
Use Continuous Autofocus
Sometimes, achieving the perfect focus is as simple as using continuous autofocus, especially if you are shooting sports, events, and wildlife. With continuous autofocus, the camera automatically tracks the subject, therefore, freeing you from having to fight with the focus ring manually.
Use Back Button Focus
It’s probably an approach that you don’t normally use, but another effective way of achieving the perfect focus is by using the back button focus. This feature locks your focus and achieves better sharpness when you press the shutter. You chances for sharp photos increase regardless of the conditions in which you are shooting.
Avoid Camera Shake
One of the basics sounds obvious but if you want to achieve perfect focus, avoiding camera shake is definitely something that you need to think about. The first thing to consider is your stance for handheld shots. Be aware of your body posture during the shoot, how you angle your legs and hands. Place one foot slightly ahead of the other while putting most of your weight on the forward one. Tuck your elbows in and point them to the ground as if you are about to shoot a rifle. It’s all about achieving proper weight distribution.
For the ultimate in camera stability, go the extra mile and purchase a tripod. A tripod is heavy and will probably slow you down, but besides stabilizing the camera it also enables you to perfectly level the horizon and frame your shots while helping you achieve sharper focus. Now you can use even very slow shutter speeds and still maintain image sharpness.
Using Single Autofocus Point
Finally, make use of the single autofocus point, where you manually choose where the focus is to be rather than leaving this decision to your camera. This is the best approach when dealing with shallow depth of field.
Conclusion
When it comes to nailing focus, you may have already tried every trick you could think of. You might have even thought about purchasing focus correction software to recover your hopeless shots. But education on the proper techniques is the best approach. Here is an awesome book on nailing focus and taking sharp photos. It features handy, simple tips which you can implement today in your quest for perfect focus.
As always, we hope that this information has been helpful.