Digital Photography Guide

There are lots of ingredients to making a spectacular photograph, but the most important is for the picture to be in sharp focus.Just a little blur makes a picture second rate, no matter how good the subject.

Photographers have somewhat varying opinions on what constitutes a tack sharp picture, but generally, a tack sharp photograph has good, clean lines.The picture will have clear definition, intead of being soft or downright blurred.

There are several things you can do to increase your chances of getting that coveted tack sharp picture.

Hand-Held Digital Photography Tips

If you’re hand-holding your camera, brace your arms against your sides to help steady the camera.Anti-shake technology such as Vibration Reduction (VR) or Image Stabilzation (IS) lens should be turned on if available.

You can also lean against a wall or tree or whatever sturdy object that’s handy, and help keep yourself and your camera steady.You could also put your camera or lens on some nearby sturdy object to help steady the camera.

Steadying your camera by hooking the strap under your elbow and wrapping the rest around your forearm will also help stabilize the camera and hold it steady in your hand.

Getting those tack sharp photos while hand-holding your camera can be difficult, so to increase your chances of getting that perfect shot, use the burst or continuous shooting mode on your camera to take several shots at once.The series of picture will increase the chances of at least one being tack sharp.

Tripods For Better Focus

There’s no getting around the fact that it’s easier to get a tack sharp photo using a tripod.A person just can’t keep a camera as still and steady as a tripod does.Like lens and other things in life, with a tripod you likely get what you pay for.Cheap tripods are helpful, but won’t hold the camera as stil as a more expensive tripod does.The best tip here is to buy the best tripod you can reasonably afford.

The more expensive tripods don’t come with the head attached.It must be bought separately, but that gives you the opportunity to choose what you like best.Buying a good quality ballhead for your tripod will help you get sharp photos by keeping your camera from sliding.

If you’re somewhere that carrying a tripod just won’t work, beanbags make a nice cushion for cameras in these settings.Beanbags cushion your camera, increasing your ability to move it to just the right position and keep it steady while you get a well-focused shot.

To improve your chances of a tack sharp photo even more, use a cable release instead of pressing the shutter.The movement from pressing the shutter may not seem like much, but it shakes the camera enough to prevent getting a tack sharp picture.

If you don’t have a cable release, the self timer will also work.  It allows you to press the shutter, while giving the camera time to stabilize before it actually takes the picture.

More Advanced Digital Photography Secrets For Sharp Shots

If you have a digital SLR camera, there are even more ways to make sure your camera stays steady while taking pictures.

The first is to use mirror lock-up.This locks your camera’s mirror in the up position. Then when taking a picture, the mirror won’t move until after the picture is taken, so there’s less movement in the camera during the picture taking process.You have to press the shutter release button twice on the cable release or remote to take a picture (you surely aren’t going to all this trouble and still pressing the shutter release on your camera are you?).  The first press lifts the mirror and the second press actually takes the picture.

The second method is to turn off the Vibration Reduction or Image Stabilization.Though it sounds counter productive, once a camera is stabilized with the tripod and other methods, the vibration reduction keeps looking for movement.There can be some shaking caused by vibration reduction when looking for movement that isn’t there.A good rule to follow is to keep these turned off when using a tripod, and only use them when you’re hand-holding the camera.

One last way to increase the sharpness of your pictures is to have good glass.It makes a considerable difference which lens you use.Quality lens are more expensive, but good glass is worth it. You get what you pay for, like most things in life.Consider it an investment in great photography.

Use as many methods as you can to steady your camera, and you’ll have a much better chance of getting those lovely tack sharp photographs.