Keep it sharp
The best way to get a sharp image is by using a good tripod or monopod or placing the camera on a solid object. In this post I will run through some tips and tricks to keep that image sharp on a tripod.
Tripod |
Okay first off you can't really use a tripod for fast moving subject's it's a lot easier hand held, so when you think Tripod think landscape, seascape, portraits, products anything that isn’t moving through your frame, also there is an exception to every rule, there is nothing stopping you from setting up on a tripod, knowing your focal length and what coverage you have, fast shutter speed, camera in burst mode, step back from the camera use a wired or wireless trigger, and fire away when you see the subject about to enter frame, but for this exercise we will assume the subject isn’t moving.
I wont be covering composition in this post or anything unrelated to getting a sharp image, but I will be covering everything basic, intermediate and advanced in future posts.
Okay you found your composition the camera is on a tripod, if you want everything sharp there are a few ways to do this and it differs from sensor types, full frame and crop sensors are very different also every camera and lens combination has a sweet spot, so on a full frame 35mm I personally will not stop down further than F16 and on an APS-C or crop sensor F11, the reason is diffraction, due to physics and how light passes through your lens you may start to see and overall softening of the image if you stop down further.
So camera is on the tripod, a few things first, remove the camera strap if the wind blows this it can introduce blur, if your tripod has a center column make sure it is not extended this can introduce blur if its windy, if you hang something from the bottom of the center column to weigh the tripod down, don’t this can introduce blur if windy, the legs on your tripod are 3 different thicknesses, if you don’t need to be at full height only extend the thickest legs, much more stable.
Okay now lets look at the camera, I will assume you are using a DSLR and the viewfinder, you really need to set your camera up so the shutter release is not controlling focus and only takes the picture, this is called back button focus and once you try it you will never turn back the setup varies camera to camera but I urge you to google your camera and how to set this up, so once in focus your camera wont refocus every time you take a picture, even though my tests prove incorrect it may depend on the cameras stabilization system, so as a rule of thumb disable stabilization when on a tripod.
Lets take a picture, the objective is everything sharp, in one shot the best you can hope for is acceptably sharp what i mean by this is your camera and lens may be its sharpest at F4 - F5.6 on an APS-C camera, and F8 or 9 on a full frame but these apertures will not allow everything to be in focus so try to remember an image if its 100 images composited or 1 image its not real, its a 2D representation of something real, if you want the very best image your camera can deliver learning to focus stack and bracket an image is essential, if however you consider one shot as the way to go well its a hell of a lot easier that’s for sure, and depending on what your shooting you may only get one shot at it, so you can focus on the subject or imagine your whole scene from your feet to infinity and one third into that scene focus there this is called hyper focal distance and if you get it wrong it wont work, or focus on the furthest thing you can see and use F8 - 9 APS-C or F11-16 Full frame and if possible use a timer and a trigger to reduce shutter slap, if using live view or a mirror less system the timer and trigger are still recommended. Lastly focus stack, find your lens sweet spot then focus as close as you can to the foreground and take a shot, then move focal point out a bit, re focus and take another shot keep doing this to infinity or the furthest thing you can see, some cameras like mine can do this automatically D850, photoshop will allow you to align and blend all these images into one sharp image really easily.
Important side notes, always use the slowest shutter speed you can get away with, the more light that hits that sensor the better, always use the lowest or base ISO if possible, I try never to go above ISO 800 the reason isn’t just noise, a big reason is tonality the image loses millions of color tones after about ISO 400 and drops off drastically after that regardless of system used, even though pro cameras are rated to ridiculous ISO levels and some handle noise well, you still lose a lot in color rendition and tonal depth.
I know these tips will help you get a sharp image although this is very brief if you are a novice or intermediate you will probably learn something here, good luck and keep shooting.