How To Get Sharp Digital Photographs

Want to know how to get tack sharp digital pictures?

You can have a great subject, great light, great camera, great whatever! But when it comes down to it, if you don’t have a picture that is clearly in focus, it’s not much good. A blurry picture just doesn’t have much pizazz.

Now photographers may 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, instead of being soft, fuzzy or downright blurred.

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

Hand-Held Digital Photo Tips

If you’re hand-holding your camera, brace your arms against your sides to help steady the camera.If your camera has anti-shake technology like Vibration Reduction (VR) or Image Stabilization (IS) lens, this is the time to have it turned on.

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.  At least one picture should be in sharp focus when you’ve taken a whole series of shots.

Tripods For Better Focus

There’s no getting around the fact that it’s easier to get a tack sharp photo using a digital camera tripod.  There’s no way you can hold a camera as steady as a tripod does.  And like most things in life, with a tripod you get what you pay for.  A cheap tripod will help, but won’t hold your camera rock steady like a more expensive tripod will.  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.  You have to buy it separately, but that means you get to choose what suits you best.  To keep your pictures sharp, buy a quality ballhead for the tripod so the camera won’t slide from side to side.

If you’re somewhere that carrying a tripod just won’t work, beanbags make a nice cushion for cameras in these settings.  They cushion your camera, helping to steady it and increase your ability to situate the camera to focus on the subject you want.

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.  This allows you to press the shutter, but gives the camera time to stabilize before taking the picture.

More Advanced 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 so when you take a picture the mirror doesn’t move until after the picture is taken, limiting the movement inside the camera.  This means to take a picture, you will have to press the shutter release button twice on your remote or cable release (you’re not going to all this trouble and pressing the shutter release on the 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.  It may sound counter productive, but even after the camera is steady because of the tripod, the vibration control keeps looking for movement.  When there isn’t any movement, the vibration reduction can actually cause some shaking while looking for movement.  For best results, turn off any vibration controls when using a tripod, then turn them back on when hand-holding your camera.

One last way to increase the sharpness of your pictures is to have good glass.  The lens used makes a considerable difference.  A quality lens with good glass is more expensive of course, but it’s another instance of getting what you pay for.  It’s an investment in fantastic photography.

Use as many methods as you can to steady your camera, and you’ll have a much better chance of getting those clear photos, and better digital photography.