Capture Sharp Digital Images – 10 Basic Things

Getting crisp, sharp and clean images is not painless even in digital photography. It’s the desire of every photographer to click sharp and clean images without any imperfections. And the major reason behind these flaws is the mistake to hold a digital camera which causes blur and imperfect pictures. Peek-a-boo in this Photoshop tutorial but before that let me tell you the causes for lack of sharpness.

·         Bad Focus: The most common causes of lack of sharpness in pictures are poor focus. Sometimes you take wide of the mark object in focus or focus on the wrong part of the object which leads to un-sharp images. And sometimes selected aperture generates narrow DOF or image gets clicked too hurriedly without taking the object in focus.

·         Moving Object: Objects in motion get captured which makes an image look hazy. It is mostly common when shutter speed is too sluggish so apt adjustment of digital camera is required while taking shots.

·         Camera Shake: Due to hand or camera shake, picture gets blur. It usually relates to shutter speed or how much your camera is at a standstill. Consider buying a tripod to purge off this problem.

·         Noisiness: Noise means small dots i.e. pixels come out in low quality images which make an image look grainy. Take a quick glance on its effect by going close to your TV and you can clearly see tiny dots.

To get sharp images, here is the rundown of 10 basic things. Other than these, Photoshop, a photo editing software is also an option to smarten up a picture.

Perfectly Hold YourCamera

Blurry images are a result of camera shake or hand shake. While clicking, many times your hands shake which shakes the camera. And this shake happens when the shutter is open for that split second which blurs the clicked picture. To wander off this hitch, invest in tripod and relish haze free and sharp images. And if not tripod, hold back your camera with both hands, rest against some solid surface and take the shot.

Tripods

It is one of the best solutions to trim down the blur effect from your images. You might feel that it’s not always pragmatic but trust me, it works great for me. And to your surprise, you can carry it around on travel so it is worth investing in.

Image Stabilization

Latest cameras and lenses are launched with IS technology which reduces camera shake to a million bucks. Image stabilization gives you a facility of extra two or three stops which means slower shutter speeds while holding a camera. But guys don’t confuse it with object movement as it only gives you control over camera movement due to slower shutter speeds. And it is also not ideal for nomadic objects. 

Focus

Perhaps, to get sharp focussed images is possible only when camera focus is perfect. Many of us rely on Auto focussing and assume that camera is always right while clicking shots. But at times, camera gets misguided due to the location of object which throws the object out of focus. And here the need arises to hit the shots by switching on to manual mode. Check the shutter speed of the camera and focus of the lens before capturing any shot. If you don’t feel it right, try again with the shutter speed and camera focus.

Lens of the Camera

Obviously, quality and pricing of the camera lens do matters. It has a dire impact on the sharpness of an image and usually, DSLR camera holders notice the difference. I own a DSLR and I was on a hunt to buy everyday zoom lens to get wide and telephoto zoom capability. I bought one satisfying both the requirements and was quite contented with its features except sharpness. Then I switched over to professional series’ lens and I just couldn’t believe my eyes. The difference was so clearly perceivable and I was amazed to get that lens. Now I can capture crisp and sharp shots which were not possible in the previous lens. Now I am so much in love with the sharp images gifted by the professional lens that it has a permanent attachment in my camera.

Check your Eyes

Poor eye sight is also one of the reasons for un-sharp images. You find it tricky to focus on the object if you have poor eye sight so I would suggest you to get your eyes checked. Wear glasses and you will see a significant improvement in every area especially in photography where focus is required. Some cameras have dioptre which equips you to make a little adjustment in your view finder. Dioptre is perfect for poor eye sight folks and located next to your view finder as a small wheel.

Clean the Camera

You might have observed that windows, mirrors, tables get grimy due to dust and become translucent from transparent. There is not enough room for light to pass through due to the grime.  And after cleaning, they become crystal clear. So same is the case with your camera lens. Make sure that it is free from dirt and smudges before clicking any shot or else it will badly impact your pictures.

 Lens Sweet Spot

Aperture ranges set apart the sharpness of images. Lenses have spots which are sharper than others. While shooting, pull back a stop or two and here you go with crisp and clear shots. Avoid keeping your lens wide open while shooting pictures and one of the best things you will get this way is sharpness in images.

Shutter Speed

To get sharpness in your images, shutter speed plays a major role. Obviously, the faster shutter speed will reduce camera shake and the more movement will freeze up. And as a result, object movement and camera movement, both of the blur get reduced in one go.

Choose Shutter Speeds as:

·         For 50mm lens length, shoot at 1/60^th of a second.

·         For 100mm focal length, choose 1/125^th of a second.

·         For 200mm focal length, go for 1/250^th of a second or faster.

ISO

It has to deal with the noisiness of the images. Larger ISO, faster shutter speed and smaller aperture will give you noisy shots. Use ISO up to the value of 400 for enlarged images with less noise and for sharp images keep ISO as low as possible.

Aperture

Aperture deals with the focus of your images. Depth of field gets increased when you decrease the aperture value (increasing the number – up to f/20). It means that the area you want to focus comes in the picture including close and distant objects. Set the values opposite (let’s say f/4) and both background and foreground will go out of focus so exactness in the images are required.

This is all about you can do to make your images look sharp and crisp. In digital photography, you have to do apt settings in your camera to get refined and dazzling shots. Holda digital camera perfectly and then click the shots to achieve desired results. To spruce up a picture a bit, use Photoshop and here you go.

DESCRIPTION: Explore some causes of un-sharp images and basic things to add sharpness in your images. Stay tuned for more tutorials on digital photography.