These Simple Techniques Will Help You Reliably Take Sharp Photos

There are small pieces of information that can make a big difference to your enjoyment of photography and your success at taking better pictures.

Make a Slight Adjustment

Cameras may be standardized, but the human eye is not. Luckily, camera makers have long since realized this. Most cameras have a dioptre adjustment to correct the eyepiece to your eye’s quirks. It is usually a little wheel or sometimes a slider at the side of the viewfinder. To adjust it, point your camera at a stationary subject and then half-press and release the shutter button so it focuses. Now turn the little wheel, or move the slider, until the subject appears sharp through the viewfinder.

The dioptre adjustment makes no difference at all to the sharpness of the photograph, but it helps you to better see the scene you are photographing.

Change Your Shooting Technique

I’ve had so many experienced photographers come to me because their photos are blurred and they don’t understand why. Invariably, it’s down to poor shooting techniques.

Even at relatively fast shutter speeds, slight camera movements during the exposure can make the image blurred. To avoid that, there are things you can do to ensure that camera shake does not affect your photo.

Stand Like Surfer

Surfers don’t stand facing the direction of travel. The stance they adopt gives them increased stability and makes them less likely to be wiped out. Surfers typically ride along the face of the wave, angled between 30 to 60 degrees from the wave’s direction.

Not that many of us surf, so it may be easier to imagine you were standing on a bus. If you were facing forward and the driver suddenly braked, you would be thrown off balance. You instinctively know to turn so you are standing at an angle and therefore more stable as the bus accelerates and decelerates.

The same applies to photography. Turning so you are standing at around 45 degrees to the subject stops you from swaying back and forth and makes you more stable.

Next, like the surfer, unlock your knees.

Hold Your Camera Correctly

With the advent of cameras in phones, an increasing number of photographers are adopting the same technique of holding the camera at arm’s length and using the rear live view screen to frame the shot. This method comes with significant disadvantages. Firstly, on a bright day, it can be tough to see what the screen is displaying as the sunlight drowns it out. Secondly, its inherent instability makes it difficult to hold the camera still, increasing the likelihood of an unclear shot.

Instead, hold the camera with both hands. Use your left hand to support the weight of the camera and lens. You should find the position where the camera feels balanced in your hand. Don’t grip it hard, as that will make the muscles that control your fingers tremble. Use your right hand to gently hold the grip and place your forefinger on the shutter release button. Then, lightly tuck your elbows in against your body to stop your arms from moving. Now, look through the viewfinder if your camera has one.

Even adopting those techniques may not be enough to stabilize the camera. In low light, the shutter can remain open for longer. Consequently, any movement in that time will show up in the photo. You can stabilize yourself further in a number of ways. Sitting or crouching down lowers your center of gravity and adds stability. Alternatively, leaning against a solid structure can stop you from moving.

Don’t Jab the Shutter Button

The next step is the most common cause of blurred photos. Gently squeeze the shutter button and, equally gently, release it. Don’t jab at it, as that will cause the camera to move. (Give it a try, hold the camera and tap it with your right forefinger and watch the end of the lens move.)

Use the Image Stabilizer if Your Camera Has it

Some, but by no means all, cameras and lenses have image stabilisation built into them. This excellent feature helps you to handhold the camera at slower shutter speeds that would otherwise be impossible. It’s something that I find invaluable as I am often shooting in very low light. Useful though it is, there are times when you should turn it off or limit it to stabilizing in one direction only. It is particularly difficult to track moving subjects like flying birds if you are fighting against the system’s stabilisation. In that case, I usually turn off the horizontal stabilization. Also, if you have the camera mounted on a tripod, the stabilisation may try to work in opposition to that stillness and cause your photo to blur. Therefore, it should be switched off entirely.

Do You Need a Tripod?

In some circumstances, such as very low light, it is necessary to use a tripod to stabilise your camera. Don’t rush out and buy one yet, though. Not all tripods are equal, and I’ll be discussing those in an article soon.

Poor Quality Filters

Many photographers use filters on the front of their lenses to achieve certain effects. Not all filters are equal; poor-quality ones can degrade the quality of your images. I have tested dozens of filters and found that most, even quite expensive ones, cause severe image quality issues. Again, I will cover filters in a future article.

Lens Quality Affects Your Photos

Most lenses produced today are pretty good. However, you do get what you pay for. Cheap lenses lack the ability to produce what is known as micro contrast. That refers to the subtle differences in the tone of fine detail within small areas of the photo. Micro contrast makes the image pop, enhancing perceived sharpness.

Generally, prime lenses (lenses that are not zooms) and high-quality zooms produce better micro contrast.

Zoom lenses will perform best at certain focal lengths. For example, the cheap 75-300mm lenses often produce very soft images at their longest end. Therefore, it is worth testing your lenses at different focal lengths to see whether they produce acceptably sharp images at all focal lengths.

Cheaper lenses are also more likely to suffer from other issues. Chromatic aberration is where there is a coloured fringe around high-contrast edges. Take a photo of tree branches against the sky and see if you can see purple or green lines around them. Poorer quality lenses can have other issues, too. Some can produce softness or distortions at the edge of the frame. Meanwhile, others suffer from darkening of the edges of the frame, called vignetting.

Many of these issues can be fixed with software, but you will always get better quality images with better lenses. It’s worth researching by reading trusted lens reviews before buying.

Clean Your Lens

Your lens is a precision instrument, and an accumulation of muck on the front element can cause a degradation of image quality. I often shoot on the beach, which means my lenses get filthy with sand and airborne salty sea spray.

Your first option should always be to use a blower to remove dust and grit, as it has the least chance of scratching the lens. I reckon the Giottos Rocket Blower is the best tool for this, but there are cheaper copies of that model available.

If you cannot remove the muck with a blower, your next best option is to use a soft-bristle lens brush to sweep away the remaining particles. Failing that, wipe the lens gently with a clean microfiber cloth. Always give the cloth a good shake first. Then, with gentle pressure, using a circular motion, start from the centre and work outwards. Don’t press too hard.

If smudges persist, only then use a couple of drops of lens-cleaning solution on the cloth (not on the lens) as your last option.

Some people use a lens pen when in the field. It has a retractable brush at one end and a dry carbon element at the other end that removes dust, grease spots, and other smudges.

Avoid using paper towels or clothing to clean the lens, as they can scratch the glass.

Diffraction at Small Apertures

As I mentioned in my recent article about apertures, small apertures (e.g., f/16, f/22) can lead to blurring caused by diffraction as the light bends around the aperture blades.

Incorrect Focusing

Two other common causes of blurred images are too shallow a depth of field and incorrect focusing. I covered depth of field in a previous article that you can read here. Focussing is a huge and often misunderstood topic and will be the subject of another article soon.