Get Focused – Tips for Sharper Images

It’s happened to the best of us. YOU may never see it, because professional photographers don’t show their mistakes. But I guarantee you that unintentional blurry photos happen all the time.  There are a few different reasons why this common mistake happens.

Your Shutter Speed is Just Too SLOW

Also known as camera shake, the easiest way to solve this problem is to switch that dial over to Tv (shutter priority) mode. By doing this, you can choose for yourself just how fast you want your shutter to be, and the camera will make up for the rest of the exposure. Sounds easy enough, right? The rule of thumb as to what shutter speed you need to choose says that whatever focal length of lens you are using, take the reciprocal of that number and use that for your shutter speed. For example, if you are using an 85mm lens, your shutter speed should be AT LEAST 1/85th second. This is only a rule of thumb, meaning there are some variations taken into account with crop factors and what you are shooting.

If you are familiar with manual mode, this is an ideal way of fixing the problem. That way, you can choose your shutter speed, aperture, and ISO, ensuring that you get a sharp photo that also has your ideal exposure. I have talked to some mothers who have found success in taking pictures of their wild and crazy children by switching their dial over to the sport mode. I’ve never tried it, but perhaps that could be useful.

Just Plain Out of Focus

One of the most aggravating things is when you have a perfectly exposed picture with the shutter speed set properly, but instead of the subject being in focus, something else is. This has happened enough to where I made sure I knew how to prevent it from happening as much as possible. Each photographer has their personal preference on how they choose to focus, and there are different options as to how you do it. You can do full automatic where the camera determines what is in focus, choose one focal  point(usually the center) to do the focusing, circle through manually which focal point is in focus, or do 100% manual focusing.  My favorite way to focus is by manually cycling through the focal points for each shot. I also have an option to mark a red square on the LCD screen to show what was in focus in that shot. This way, I can see exactly what part of the photograph I wanted focused, and have proof in the screen.

Your Aperture is Too Wide

When you shoot with a wide aperture, you are creating a very shallow depth of field. This does not give you much room for error when it comes to focusing. If you do not get your subject in focus, the entire picture loses it’s purpose. The smaller the aperture you use, the more depth of field you create, giving you a little breathing room. If you like to shoot with wide apertures, be sure that you know how to focus correctly. If you’re taking a picture with more than 2 people, and you want any depth, drop your f-stop down so that everyone is in focus.

Another thing that is helpful is to take your time! Sometimes when I want to absolutely know that I get what I want in focus, I will press the shutter release down half way while my focal point is focused, pause, and then without moving, focus it again. Make sure you are not moving and that your hands are steady. Don’t be afraid to pull out your handy tri-pod if you don’t feel like the situation will allow you to hand hold the camera.

If a picture is out of focus when it’s not supposed to be, it ruins the picture. Don’t ever underestimate the importance of proper focus!