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How to take sharp pictures

1. Start with setting your camera to the lowest ISO “base” value (in my Nikon camera it is ISO !!".

#emember that the camera base ISO will pro$uce the highest %uality images with ma&imum sharpness.

'he higher the ISO (sensor sensitivity" the more noise you will see in the image. I suggest rea$ing my

article on un$erstan$ing ISO.

. I) you have an “*uto+ISO” )eature in your camera set it to “On” with the )ollowing settings, ISO sensitivity

auto control, “On” -a&imum sensitivity, 1!! -inimum shutter spee$, 1/1!!. 0hat this $oes it basically

tells the camera to automatically change the sensitivity o) the sensor base$ on light availability. I) the

amount o) light entering the lens $ecreases an$ the shutter spee$ goes below 1/1!! o) a secon$ the

camera automatically increases ISO to keep the shutter spee$ above 1/1!! o) a secon$. I) you have

shaky han$s I woul$ recommen$ bumping up the “-inimum shutter spee$” to something like 1/!!+1/!

(I will go through proper camera han$+hol$ing techni%ues so that you coul$ shoot at even lower shutter

spee$s in a separate article". I) you $o not have *uto+ISO then you woul$ have to a$2ust it manually inlow+light between the lowest value an$ ISO 1!!. 0hy ISO 1!! is the ma&imum I recommen$3 4ecause

anything higher than that in an entry+level 5S6#s pro$uces too much noise which has a negative impact

on overall image %uality. On ol$er+generation 5S6#s such as Nikon 57!/58!/5!! you might want to

keep the ma&imum ISO to 8!!.

9. Han$+hol$ing rule, I) you have a :oom lens that goes beyon$ 1!!mm I woul$ recommen$ applying the

general han$+hol$ing “rule” which states that the shutter spee$ shoul$ be e%uivalent to the )ocal length

set on the lens. ;or e&ample i) you have your lens :oome$ at 1mm your shutter spee$ shoul$ be atleast 1/1 o) a secon$. <eep in min$ that this rule applie$ to 9mm )ilm an$ $igital cameras so i) you

own an entry+level 5S6# with a crop )actor (not )ull )rame" you nee$ to $o the math accor$ingly. ;or

Nikon cameras with a 1.& crop )actor 2ust multiply the result by 1. whereas )or =anon cameras multiply

by 1.. I) you have a :oom lens such as the 18+mm ()or Nikon 5> sensors" set the “-inimum Shutter

Spee$” to the longest )ocal range o) the lens (19mm" which is 1/!! o) a secon$. Here are some

e&amples,

!mm on Nikon 5> (59!!!/5!!!/5?!", 1/@ (!mm & 1."

1!!mm on Nikon 5> (59!!!/5!!!/5?!", 1/1! (1!!mm & 1."

1!mm on Nikon 5> (59!!!/5!!!/5?!", 1/ (1!mm & 1."

!!mm on Nikon 5> (59!!!/5!!!/5?!", 1/9!! (!!mm & 1."

9!!mm on Nikon 5> (59!!!/5!!!/5?!", 1/7! (9!!mm & 1."

2.

??A o) the time I shoot in  *perture+Briority mo$e an$ set aperture to the lowest value when I shoot inlow light. In aperture+priority mo$e you tell the camera what the lens aperture shoul$ be (the “)” number

)or e&ample )/9." while the camera automatically meters an$ guesses what the shutter spee$ shoul$ be

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to properly e&pose the image. So set your camera to aperture+priority mo$e an$ lower the aperture to the

lowest possible number.

3. Set your metering to “-atri&” on Nikon or “Cvaluative” on =anon so that the whole scene is assesse$ to

estimate the correct shutter spee$.

4.  *)ter you set the right metering mo$e an$ your lens to aperture priority point it to the sub2ect that you

want to photograph an$ hal)+press the shutter. 5oing so shoul$ show you the shutter spee$ on the bottom

o) the view)in$er. I) the shutter spee$ is showing 1/1!! or more you shoul$ be goo$ to go. Snap an image

or two an$ see i) you are getting any blur in your image. I typically review my images on the back o) the

camera at 1!!A an$ make sure that nothing is blurry. I) the shutter spee$ is below 1/1!! it means that

you simply $o not have enough light. I) you are in$oors opening up win$ows to let some light in or turning

the lights on will help to increase your shutter spee$.

5.I) you are still getting blurry images try to hol$ the camera stea$y without shaking it too much an$ take

another picture. I) it $oesnDt help try increasing the “-inimum Shutter Spee$” value to a higher number in

your “*uto+ISO” settings. ;or those without the “*uto+ISO” )eature E try to bump up your ISO all the way to

ISO 8!! or even 1!! an$ see i) you can get )aster shutter spee$s.

6. 0hile han$+hol$ing your camera there is a $irect correlation between the camera shutter spee$ an$

blurry images. 'he lower the shutter spee$ (below 1/! o) a secon$" the higher the chance )or blurrier

images. 0hy3 4ecause while han$+hol$ing a camera )actors such as your stance breathing camera

han$+hol$ing techni%ue all play a huge role in stabili:ing the camera an$ pro$ucing shake+)ree images.

'hink o) it as hol$ing a ri)le on your han$. Fou woul$nDt want to move aroun$ while trying to shoot E you

nee$ to stan$ as stea$y an$ stable as possible pull the stock tightly into the shoul$er e&hale an$ then

shoot. 'he same techni%ue works great )or your photography especially when you have to $eal with slow

shutter spee$s. *s I sai$ above I will post another “how+to” on proper camera han$+hol$ing techni%ues

but )or now I recommen$ hol$ing the camera 2ust like you woul$ hol$ a ri)le (e&cept your right han$ goes

on the shutter instea$ o) the trigger" with one o) your legs on the )ront an$ your bo$y balance sprea$

across both legs. I personally e&hale when I shoot very slow shutter spee$s an$ it $oes help me to get

sharper images so try it an$ see how it works )or you. 'he $i))erence between shooting a camera versus

a ri)le is that you can at least a$2ust the shutter spee$ to a higher number an$ avoi$ camera shake

whereas you cannot $o the same on a gun.

7. 6earn how to )ocus correctly an$ $eal with )ocusing issues. 'his one is very important as your camera

)ocus $irectly impacts image sharpness. 'he )irst thing you nee$ to learn is how to $i))erentiate between a

camera shake/motion blur an$ a )ocus problem. 0hen a sub2ect in your image is so)t or out o) )ocus while

something else in the )oregroun$ or backgroun$ is per)ectly in )ocus an$ sharp it is a )ocus issue. I) the

whole image is blurry an$ nothing is sharp it is most likely a slow shutter spee$ or improper camera

hol$ing techni%ue that is the issue. I) you are having problems ac%uiring a goo$ )ocus here are some

things that I recommen$ )or you,

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6ack o) light can cause auto+)ocus mal)unction resulting in inaccurate )ocus ac%uisition by the

camera. -ake sure there is plenty o) light )or your camera to properly )ocus.

'he center )ocus point is generally the most accurate in cameras. I) you are having problems

ac%uiring )ocus because your )ocus point is elsewhere I recommen$ moving it back to the center.

-any cameras allow having a separate button )or )ocusing without touching the shutter. I set my

camera this way )ocusing e&clusively with my thumb while pushing the shutter trigger with my

in$e& )inger. 'his way I can use the center )ocus point (which almost never has any issues with

ac%uiring correct )ocus" ac%uire correct )ocus then recompose without moving my bo$y an$ then

shoot. I) you have such a )eature in your camera I recommen$ enabling it in low+light situations. In

all other cases leaving the shutter to both )ocus an$ shoot is the best option )or convenience

reasons.

'he camera auto+)ocus system works by looking at the contrast aroun$ the )ocus area. ;or

e&ample i) you try to )ocus your camera on a clean white wall it will never be able to ac%uire )ocus

because the camera will not see any areas o) contrast. On the other han$ i) you have a white wall

with a $ark ob2ect on it an$ you put your )ocus point in between the wall an$ the ob2ect your

camera will instantly ac%uire correct )ocus. -y recommen$ation is to place the rectangular )ocus

area to an area with the most contrast. C&amples are, e$ges o) ob2ects lines separating $i))erent

colors numbers an$ letters printe$ on ob2ects etc.

;ocus multiple times until you can clearly see in the view)in$er that the ob2ect is in )ocus. ;or this

one you nee$ to have a goo$ view)in$er an$ a goo$ vision. Some entry+level 5S6#s have a very

small view)in$er making it har$ or sometimes even impossible to see i) you are getting correct

)ocus. Gn)ortunately there is not much you can $o i) you cannot tell i) the sub2ect is in )ocus by

looking into the view)in$er so 2ust take multiple pictures while constantly re+a$2usting the )ocus an$

review images on the camera 6=5.

8. -ake your sub2ect )ree:e. I) you are photographing a person have them )ree:e an$ not move while you

take their picture. 0hen you work with slow shutter spee$s even i) you $o everything right your images

might still come out blurry 2ust because your sub2ect move$ while the shutter was open. 'his is

calle$ motion blur . Sometimes people like the e))ect o) the motion blur especially )or high+spee$ ob2ects

like cars. 'o repro$uce this e))ect on your camera set your camera to Shutter+Briority mo$e then set your 

shutter to 1/1!! o) a secon$ or less. *sk your sub2ect to move his/her han$ %uickly while not moving the

bo$y. 'he result shoul$ be a sharp picture o) the personDs bo$y while having a motion blur on his/her 

han$.

9.  *s you can see )rom the above image everything in the image is sharp while the )an is blurre$ through

motion blur that I speci)ically create$ by shooting the image in low shutter spee$ o) 1/! o) a secon$ (the

image was shot han$+hel$".Here is another e&ample o) motion blur that I shot at night on a tripo$ (shutter 

spee$ is secon$s",

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10. -ake sure that your vibration re$uction (# on Nikon" or image stabili:ation (IS on =anon" is set to “On”

on your lens i) you have it. -any o) the consumer :oom lenses have some sort o) anti+shake/vibration

re$uction technology in them allowing one to shoot at lower shutter spee$s an$ still get sharp images. I)

you have one o) those lenses go ahea$ an$ try lowering your shutter spee$ to a lower value. Fou can

even lower $own the “minimum shutter spee$” in your *uto ISO settings to something like 1/! o) a

secon$ an$ still get sharp images.

11. et a goo$ )ast prime lens such as the Nikon 9mm )/1.8 5> or !mm )/1.7 / )/1.8 lenses. 'hese prime

lenses are relatively ine&pensive ranging between J!! to J7!! )or the )/1.7 mo$el. ery )ew :oom

lenses can achieve the same optical %uality as the prime lenses because prime lenses have simpler

$esign an$ are optimi:e$ to per)orm )or only one )ocal range. *lthough you lose the ability to :oom in an$

out prime lenses are much )aster than most :oom lenses an$ are e&cellent choices )or low+light an$

portrait photography. 4ecause o) the shallow $epth o) )iel$ they are also capable o) pro$ucing pictures

with beauti)ul bokeh (nicely blurre$ backgroun$s". 0hen I got my han$s on my )irst prime lens I 2ust coul$not believe how much o) a $i))erence it ma$e in terms o) sharpness. I) you have never use$ a prime lens

be)ore give it a try an$ you will not regret it.

12. 0hen photographing people or animals always )ocus on the closest eye to you. 'his is very important

especially when $ealing with large aperturesbetween )/1.7 an$ )/.8. *s long as the eye o) the sub2ect is

sharp the image will most likely be acceptable. 'ake a look at this photograph o) my son O::y,

Normally I $elete images like this but IDm gla$ I kept it )or this article. *s you can see )rom the above

image I )aile$ to ac%uire correct )ocus on O::yDs eye an$ somehow )ocuse$ on his hair instea$.Now

compare it to this image,Such a big $i))erence between the two. 'he secon$ image looks much sharper

although I was using the same camera settings.

13.  *perture also plays a big role in achieving optimal sharpness. ;or lan$scape photography I mostly use

apertures between )/8 an$ )/1! while )or portraits I use apertures o) )/1.7 to )/8 $epen$ing on what I want

to $o with the backgroun$. -ost lenses are sharpest between )/. an$ )/8 so i) you are shooting $uring a

bright sunny $ay try increasing your aperture to a number between )/7 an$ )/8 an$ see i) it makes a$i))erence. Kust keep in min$ that playing with aperture changes the $epth o) )iel$ an$ will have an impact

on the lens bokeh.

14. =lean your lensesL *n amateur photographer approache$ me once an$ aske$ )or a$vice on what he

coul$ $o to bring more contrast an$ sharpness to his images. 0hen I saw the )ront element o) his lens I

imme$iately ma$e a suggestion to clean his lens. It was so $irty that I coul$nDt believe he was still able to

take pictures. * $irty an$ a greasy )ront element o) the lens is a guarantee to inaccurate camera )ocusing

an$ poor image contrast. I) you $onDt know how to $o it properly check out my article on how to clean

5S6# lenses.

15. et a tripo$ )or low+light situations (see my article on how to choose a tripo$". ;or shooting lightning

storms )ireworks city lights an$ other cool stu)) at night a stur$y tripo$ is a mustL 5onDt buy a cheap

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tripo$ $esigne$ )or point an$ shoot cameras but rather invest in a heavy $uty stur$y tripo$ that can

han$le your 5S6#. Having a sel)+timer mo$e or a cable/wireless shutter release is also very help)ul to

minimi:e camera shake. 'he below image woul$ not be possible to capture without a tripo$,

16. Shoot in bursts. Set your camera to *;+= (*uto ;ocus in =ontinuous -o$e" then photograph your

sub2ect in bursts by 2ust hol$ing the shutter button. Shooting moving sub2ects continuously (especially

chil$ren" helps improve the o$$s that youDll get a shot that is spot+on. ;iring o)) 9 or shot bursts can also

help )ree:e the motion o) your sub2ect especially when with a bit o) panning. Sometimes youDll get 2ust

enough o) the )ace (o) say a happily+running ki$" in )ocus then everything else gets blurre$ because o) the

motion leaving you with a nice isolation that highlights the emotion o) that moment. 'his valuable tip was

provi$e$ by our rea$er Cric.