5 Things To Know For Sharper Images

In this video, photographer David Flores shares five tips that can help you acquire harper images, especially with the most recent high-resolution cameras.

The higher the resolution of your camera the more chance that you will encounter less than perfectly sharp images (the higher resolution helps emphasize every tiny flaw that might otherwise not as visible on lower resolution images).

Use faster shutter speed – this is one of the most common causes of less than perfectly sharp images – if you can freeze your subject you are more likely to get sharper images.
Use a tripod whenever you can – if you don’t want to shoot with very fast shutter speed – try using a stable tripod – it won’t help with freezing a moving subject but if your subject is stationary you can lower your shutter speed considerably and still get sharp images.
Stop down your lens – almost all lenses are sharper stopped down. Typically by about 2 stops or so from their widest open f-number (sometimes a bit more). If you can live with less blurred backgrounds – stop your lens down and get a bit more sharpness across the frame (don’t stop down too much though you might suffer from an effect called diffraction which reduces image quality starting typically from f/11 or so an onwards).
Use flash to freeze your subject – a flash can be used to fire a quick burst of light that will essentially freeze your subject and thus help with potentially making your image sharper.
Apply a little bit of post-production magic – if you exhausted all of the things that can be done in camera (or even with lighting) you can still improve your image in post-processing – either apply (a little) careful sharpness in post post or even apply anti-shake algorithms (which where recently added to Photoshop CC) to make your image just a bit sharper.

You can check out many more helpful photography tips on our Photography tips section here on LensVid.

Iddo Genuth

Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.