Tips for taking sharper photos

[Darren Addy]

This thread is for anyone who wants to share their tips for taking sharper photos. Sharpness becomes more of a challenge the more magnification you use, or the slower shutter speed you need to use.

A wise person once said, "My tripod is my sharpest lens".
What monopod/tripod(s) do you use and why (what do you like/dislike about it)?

Birders have long known the stability advantage of car window mounts. Any chasers currently using one?

Using a remote shutter release can further isolate vibration/movement. While commercial units are made, it is surprising how easy (and inexpensive) one can be to make one yourself. (While the instructions are for Pentax, read the comments for how Canon users also did it).

Finally, old-skool shooters know how the vibration from the mirror slap can introduce unwanted vibration. If your DSLR supports mirror-lockup (prior to shutter trip) learn how to use it. Obviously, this is for tripod-mounted shots. My Pentax K200D offers mirror lockup in the 2 second self-timer mode. Check your manual — you may have similar capabilities that you are not yet exploiting.

What if you are without a tripod? Here are some tips for improving your stability sans-tripod.

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

Here's a few tips about window mounts for your DSLR that I had to learn the hard way. I appreciate well-composed/good contrast/focused/saturated pics as much as the next person. Maybe these experiences I put down may help you too.

1) Not all window mounts share the same quality of build. If you get one that has an inferior rubber on the mounting pads, it will squirm and fidget and be anything but consistent or reliable. If the rubber surface are too slick, try using some medium-rough sand paper and remove the smooth glaze on these surfaces, That helps a bit.

2) If you are using your window mount, you may find that turning off your motor will vastly increase the sharpness of your photos. I ruined a few shots that otherwise would have been some real keepers. I can never get them back now.

3) If you are taking night shots - like lightning w/prolonged shutter speeds - you might want to be sure that the vehicle lights (interior and exterior) are not affecting your shots ('amp glow').

4) Excessive movements in the vehicle by passengers or yourself can really mess up shots w/long exposures. Or even short exposures if excessive. Been there - done that...

 

[Cris Schroeder]

I use a Manfrotto 3021BPro tripod. Nice and stable, but not too heavy. I also have a pair of window-mounts but I use them for my point-and-shoots and my camcorder. The pan/tilt handle sticks out so far I can't look through the viewfinder of my XTi.

I also use my remote shutter release, combined with mirror lockup if I have the time. I give it three or four seconds to dampen out any vibrations, then fire the shutter.

If I really want sharp images, I pull out my Mamiya RB67.

 

[James Langford]

Cool topic, and great suggestions so far. I have a few things I've learned over the years from other photographers:

* First thing, IMO, is to learn how to sharpen your images in post processing. DSLR camera usually do much less sharpening in processing than Point and Shoots (or none at all if shooting RAW). Check out this set of actions for sharpening in Photoshop:
http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/TLRProfessionalSharpeningToolkit.htm
I use "Capture Sharpening" as one of the first steps of my workflow, and end with "Output Sharpening". These actions have different options for doing printing, or for display on the web. Tons of sharpness is lost from images when you downsize them to display on the web, and the action will help a lot there.

* Use a tripod if you can, or some kind of mount. Even a cheap tripod will help tons.

* For maximum sharpness, find out the "Sweet Spot" of your camera or lens. On my old F707, it was F4. On my Canon, it varies from lens to lens, but is usually F8 or so.

* Use a remote control if you can. If you don't have one, use the camera's timer function when taking long exposures. This generally allows any vibrations to dissipate before the picture is taken.

* If shooting with a DSLR, learn how to use the "Mirror Lock Up", or MLU feature. This locks the mirror in place before the picture is taken, reducing vibrations caused by the miror slap. You normally only need this at exposure times below 1/60 of a second or so.

* If you shoot a DSRL, buy good lenses, but not necessarily the crazy expensive ones. I personally don't think L lenses (for Canon) are as good as they are hyped to be, especially on a non full framed DSLR. I'm not saying they aren't good, and I don't want to have the "L" lens debate. Consider, though, that there are some very good, sharp lenses that will not cost you an arm and a leg. For example, for Canon:
* 20 prime
* 28-135 IS
* 50 1.8 prime
* 10-22
* 17-40L (fairly cheap for an L lens)
* etc

* Consider shooting with prime lenses, rather than zooms. Prime lenses tend to be much sharper, and cost less most times, than a zoom.

* Learn how to focus by understanding Hyperfocal Distance:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/hyperfocal-distance.htm

Wheh. Sorry for so many tips.

 

[Tarmo Tanilsoo]

When I am photographing the sky, I usually set manually camera's focusing to infinity mode. During daytime, in the bright light, when exposure 1/2000 seconds would work just fine, tripod is not so neccessary.

However, in the low light, tripod is a must. If you do not have a remote way of taking a picture, I'd recommend timed shooting. I should mention that I am using just a cheap point-and-shoot camera, but here is the way I do it:
1) Bright daylight = Short exposure = Without tripod will likely be fine.
2) When there is less light, and the exposure times will likely be longer than 1 hundredth of a second, then it is better to have a tripod. I personally use one cheap one, which is compatible with usual point-and-shoot's, and can be bought for less than $50.
3) When using tripod, using delay in shooting is recommended. Then you would not get fuzzyness from the moment you press the shooting button and thus inadvertently move the camera. I usually use two second delay between pressing the button and taking the actual shot.
4) Points 2 and 3 may not apply in windy conditions when the winds could shake the camera. Winds in excess of 30 mph could easily knock the camera over if you don't hold on to the tripod, though(assuming the tripod is quite lightweight).

 

[Cris Schroeder]

First thing, IMO, is to learn how to sharpen your images in post processing. DSLR camera usually do much less sharpening in processing than Point and Shoots (or none at all if shooting RAW).

This is a very good point. RAW images are soft. I use the Pixel Genious PhotoKit Sharpener plugin for Photoshop and my workflow is similar to James': start with capture sharpening, and finish with output sharpening. A properly sharpened output file looks "crunchy" to me on the monitor, but looks right on paper.

 

[Dick McGowan]

My tip for sharper photos: Buy a good lens, stop it down, unsharp mask in post processing. (Radius .9 -3.0 - Amount 50-350 % - Threshold 0-10)

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

Use Live View to set the focus to infinity if your cam has it. I've only had this XSi for 3 days now and find that feature just for focusing....rules.

Buy the best glass you can. Helps with more than just sharpness anyway, like contrast and clarity. I have the 17-40L, 10-22 EF-s, 50 1.8, and 100-400L. Each is capable of very sharp images when using the widest aperture. I've never gotten much more out of stopping down(other than depth of field obviously).

Don't use autofocus unless you absolutely have to. I hate autofocus. If you do I'd be sure to change the focusing point to just one, so you know where the thing is even focusing.

 

[Brett Roberts]

At time of capture:
- Tripod is a must for any exposure under 1/(2*focal length). I used a cheapo model for a couple years, then upgraded to a Manfrotto, and it does make a difference in some situations.
- Manual focus set to infinity for landscapes and storm shots. Even though it's difficult to get it perfect by looking through the viewfinder, I've found that's still preferable to leaving it to autofocus, at least on my 300D. In fact, I generally distrust autofocus in all situations, and use it only when absolutely necessary.
- Others have already mentioned stopping down to around f/5.6-f/8, but make sure not to stop down too much. I notice degradation of image quality due to diffraction effects as early as f/9-f/10, so I don't use any smaller than that unless the near-foreground absolutely has to be tack sharp (never really the case when chasing).
- And finally, the pricy option: buy good glass. Be aware that there is more to lens quality than sharpness, so there are instances in which a moderately-priced lens may be tack sharp, while a $1000 one may be only average in sharpness. Factors such as contrast, color rendition, and build quality may explain such discrepancies. Whether sharpness is more important than those is up to the individual user. For storm photography, I prioritize contrast and color rendition highest, with sharpness a close second.

Post-processing:
- If you shoot RAW and use CS3 or Lightroom, make use of the "Capture Sharpen" feature in the latest versions of Adobe Camera RAW. I like setting Amount to 30, and radius to 0.5.
- After resizing for the web, try applying Smart Sharpen with Amount=35-60, Radius=0.3.

 

[Darren Addy]

Don't use autofocus unless you absolutely have to. I hate autofocus. If you do I'd be sure to change the focusing point to just one, so you know where the thing is even focusing.

I'm a little surprised (but delighted) to hear you rail against autofocus. I probably sound like an old fart to say this, and maybe I need to give it more of a chance, but if there is one thing I don't want to turn over to camera control, it is focus. I'm surprised you didn't weigh about that on our earlier thread regarding manual focus lenses on DSLRs.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

I'm a little surprised (but delighted) to hear you rail against autofocus. I probably sound like an old fart to say this, and maybe I need to give it more of a chance, but if there is one thing I don't want to turn over to camera control, it is focus. I'm surprised you didn't weigh about that on our earlier thread regarding manual focus lenses on DSLRs.

Well, I've never touched a manual focus lens in my life. I thought there was more to them then just that, and didn't know enough to comment much about them. I was too busy on the thread jacking aspects of that one anyway, lol.

I'm not sure what is so surprising though, and now you are making me wonder, lol. I'm picky is all, and auto-focus often is not(picky). Ice storms and lightning at night has learned me a little. You'd think you could set it to auto focus, set it to one focusing point and put that on a bright object, or contrasty one and get it right. That is what I've always done, then flipped it right back to manual so it stays there. Ice is a bad thing to do that on, as I now know. But after a while, it seems like most anything is bad to auto focus on. Problem is it's often tough to tell exactly through the view finder with your eyes, especially our smaller dim ones. That live view thing, where you can zoom in 10x......well.....that is going to be hard to top for focusing. There's no reason for soft images with that stuff. To think I had that on my first camera back in 2002(Sony F707) and never missed that aspect until I got it back on the XSi. What has amazed me about it, is being able to see just how tight even my wide angle lenses are on sharp sharp focusing. It's quite telling to see that now, when compared with the number of locations auto focus picks on the ring marker after several tests on the same exact object.

 

[Darren Addy]

Your info is illuminating and your technique for using the live view (zoomed) to test focus is also interesting. While my K200D lacks a true Live View, it does have a unique Preview function, which "takes" a photo but does not write it to disk (only to the screen). I didn't really see a lot of use for it, but now that you mention it, it would be a great way to zoom in and check focus (etc.) before taking the actual shot, especially on a tripoded shot or one on which you had "locked the focus" on a particular point. Sort of like the old days of taking a Poloroid before exposing the film. It's not like cards aren't big enough to handle taking multiple images of a scene, but you do have to spend the time going back and deleting the bad ones. Would be nice to avoid bad/incorrectly focused ones in the first place. Very interesting!

 

[Patrick Boomer]

I use a tripod and remote whenever possible, or a window mount if there is no other way. The window mount has cost me more shots than it has gotten me, due to vehicle movement, but there would have been no shot without it so whatta ya do.

I use autofocus all the time with wide lenses in one shot focus mode with the center focus dot only. Find the furthest high contrast object you can(tree,barn,etc) and focus the center dot on it, compose frame and shoot.
I agree that it is very hard to get a shot in focus using all the areas, I have never had much luck using all the dots.

Wish I had live view for a few lightning excursions out in the dark boonies this year, with the only focus point being a single yard light 3 miles away.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

Yeah, with the window mounts I always shut the car off. If it is windy then yeah, I'd have to get out and use the car as more of a wind block than a tripod. The window clamp mounts are what I use 99.8% of the time when chasing(probably literally that number). I had to dig the tripod out for May 22 Collyer KS windy beast(or whatever town it was on I70, those 4 right there are like a lost cause and a bad dream to me now). If it is very hard to open the car door, then it's just too windy for the mount, lol. Hell I don't even think I dug out the tripod for that. I think I ISO'd up to 400 or 800 which didn't work so nicely on that low contrast thing. IS in a wide angle would have worked nicely on that one I bet. You'd need a damn heavy tripod in those winds, something I've never owned.

Anyway, I never bought the XSi thinking I'd use the live view at all. Now it's one of the best features of the cam to me, or probably the best. It essentially cures any focusing issues for me...as in precisely tuned focus. As the res goes up, the precise focusing through a view finder gets harder. Think about the LCD view alone even. You have a 3 inch view to focus instead of the small view finder. Well, then consider it lets you zoom in 10x. So instead of just having a 3 inch object, it's like having a 30 inch display. Leaps and bounds above squinting through the view finder. Your focusing down around pixel level. Again, it shocked the hell out of me how tightly you can turn either the 10-22 EF-s or 17-40L to get great focus, and therefor how easy it is to not have it right. The areas on the focus ring it would land on, at infinity, when using the auto-focus, made it look like a huge gap in there would work. So so so wrong. That was eye opening the other morning.

Taking the shot itself with it, as far as exposure, almost seems like cheating now! Live view with 3 channel histograms right there, letting you adjust so it's perfect before you snap it. That live view stuff is great for beginners though. I know it helped me along with the Sony F707. The thing I liked about that one was that cam tilted. You could hold it along the ground level and still look straight on the LCD without getting down there.

 

[Christine Hudnall]

One thing I learned as a nature photographer that might help others with vibration/bounce is what is called the long-lens technique.

http://www.moosepeterson.com/techtips/longlens.html

There is also the short-lens technique:
http://www.moosepeterson.com/techtips/shortlens.html

As far as tripods go, spend the extra money to get a good one, they really are worth it. Now, if you don't ever use it, then that is another story.

Mine is the same one that I use for nature photography: Gitzo G1325, and depending on what I am shooting and how far away I am, then I either use my Wimberley Head II or Kirk BH1 or BH3 for the heads.

When I don't want to use tripod or can't, I use this Wildlife Imaging Beanbag:
http://www.naturescapes.net/store/product.php?productid=233&cat=19&page=1

I just fill it with birdseed and I'm good to go. Can't leave it slung over window as your driving, obviously, but it is sturdy and stable enough to put a 500mm on it, and easy enough for my 28mm-75mm.