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5 Pro Techniques For Sharper Shots: U T R E F E A
5 Pro Techniques For Sharper Shots: U T R E F E A
5 Pro Techniques For Sharper Shots: U T R E F E A
LANDSCAPE PERFECTION
Achieving sharpness is important
for most genres, but particularly
landscapes and portraits. A
landscape that has front-to-back
sharpness will be more striking
than one that does not
ll photographers strive to sharp as possible can help your work correct shooting, and the focusing
A produce sharp imagery, but
sharpness issues often plague
to stand out from that of your peers.
Over the next few pages you’ll
considerations that must be made in
order to produce sharp shots.
even the most skilled photographers. discover how your equipment Shooting techniques are only part
Tack-sharp imagery is often the most can affect the sharpness of your of the sharpness process, so you’ll
striking and memorable, especially shots, and why keeping your kit also learn essential Photoshop editing
in the landscape and portrait genres, stable is essential. You’ll also learn techniques, as well as important
and ensuring that your images are as about the importance of using the Lightroom edits and adjustments.
F E A T U R E
he quality and condition of your elements there are, the better the of dirty windows, and the difference
T kit is the most obvious reason
for your images not being as
image quality will often be.
Pro photographer Paul Ewing (500px.
that cleaning will have on the amount of
light that’s able to shine into the room.
sharp as you’d like. The quality of the com/paulewing5) says the correct Having a clean sensor is also extremely
lenses you’re using will have an effect equipment is essential to ensure sharp important, as dust particles can soften
on how sharp your images are; this is images. “Get the best lens you can the image too – any dust or marks on
down to the amount and quality of glass afford,” he advises. “I always make sure the sensor will become noticeable
found in the lens, and how the light is that the lens is clean and clear of any between f/16 and f/22.
able to pass through it. Generally, prime grease, smudges or spray from water, Another factor that’s worth
lenses will produce far sharper images and I clean my camera sensor regularly.” considering is that lenses are not at
than cheaper zoom lenses, because Both before and during any shoot, ƋĘåĜųƤŸĘ±ųŞåŸƋƋŅƵ±ųÚŸƋĘåÏŅųĹåųŸţ
prime lenses have fewer internal lens you should make sure that your To work around this, you can either
elements. The quality of light will lenses are as clean as possible: any compose your images so that key
deteriorate slightly as it passes through smudges or dirt found on the front details are positioned away from these
each element, so the fewer internal or back element will cause problems areas, or you can stitch multiple frames
with the sharpness of your imagery. together, avoiding the corners of each
Dirt smudges or grease will soften the frame in the final composite. This takes
image. If you eliminate any smudges a little more time in the field and in post-
CALIBRATE and grime on the lens you’ll actually production, but many pros consider the
YOUR LENS increase the amount of light getting into extra effort worthwhile for the increased
If your lens is not correctly your lens – imagine trying to look out clarity they can achieve.
calibrated, you may find that you
encounter back or front-focusing STITCH FOR SHARPNESS
issues, especially visible on In this capture, Stefan Lackner
high-resolution cameras. In your (www.stefanlackner.at) has skilfully
camera’s menu, look for AF taken a series of images and
Microadjustment (Canon) or stitched them together to create
AF Fine-Tune (Nikon). one super-sharp capture
© Stefan Lackner
F E A T U R E
LOW-PASS FILTER
Here you can see the softness in the image
ŸƋų±ĜčĘƋŅƚƋŅüƋĘåϱĵåų±Ø±ĹÚƋĘåÚĜýåųåĹÏå
that sharpening it in post has made
REDUCE INTERNAL
VIBRATIONS
Learn to limit the effects of your
camera’s mechanisms
© Gene Oryx
you shoot at one over the focal length
of the lens, so if you’re shooting with
a 200mm lens, your minimum shutter PORTRAIT PERFECTION Getting your settings correct for portraiture is extremely
speed should be 1/200 sec, and so on. important, as any blurring in the facial features will become incredibly obvious. Gene
Obviously, the faster the shutter speed Oryx ( www.geneoryx.com) has perfected the settings here
that you use, the sharper your images
will be, as there will be less chance for
any movements to affect the capture.
However, it’s not always possible to
shoot at speed, and you may have to
compromise with the other settings if
you want to shoot faster.
The only real exceptions to this
traditional formula are when you’re
using modern higher-resolution
cameras. You’ill be capturing far
© Paul Ewing
ny camera movement that “I always use a good strong tripod tripod, as this should securely hold the
A occurs as the shutter is pressed
can result in an unsharp image,
when taking every image, which
ensures there is absolutely no camera
camera – we’d recommend using a
ballhead, as it allows for a smooth and
so it’s vital that you keep your kit as shake,” says Paul Ewing. “I use a fluid movement while enabling you to
stable as possible. Manfrotto 055 with a Manfrotto 498RC2 securely lock the camera in place.
The most straightforward way to head. It’s a little bit heavy when carrying It’s extremely difficult to get a
stabilise your kit is to attach it to a it up a hill, but it’s rock-solid.” tack-sharp shot when you’re shooting
tripod, but Stefan Lackner says it’s Using a sturdy tripod is important handheld, especially in low light. Even
important to remember that stability when you’re shooting a long exposure the most minimal of movements can
is reduced the higher the tripod is or are in low light, as any knock to the soften the lines in your imagery, so
raised. “One should therefore avoid the camera will cause the image to blur when you’re shooting handheld it’s
middle column, because it costs a lot of and create an unsharp image. When important to adopt a sturdy stance.
stability,” he explains. choosing the right tripod for you, it’s Hold the camera securely, keep your
Keeping your tripod as compact as important to consider the weight of your arms tucked in, and if possible lean
possible will also help you to maintain kit as well as the terrain and conditions back against a wall to steady yourself.
the stability. “Also it’s recommended you’ll be using it in. Some tripods have As mentioned previously, a high ISO
that you closely observe the ground. feet with spikes on them, which will setting can give you the high shutter
For example, small vibrations on ensure that they can dig into the ground speeds needed to capture a scene
ÆųĜÚčåŸÏ±ƚŸåÚÆƼƤƋų±üüĜÏϱĹʱųĵ to limit the risk of slipping. A tripod sharply, but a high ISO setting can
ƋĘåƤŸĘ±ųŞĹ域ØŰX±ÏĩĹåų±ÚÚŸţ head is the most essential part of the ŅüƋåĹƤŸŅüƋåĹƋĘåĜĵ±čåţ
F E A T U R E
HAZARD ROCKS
Matt Reynolds says: “If not for the DoF
properties of a 14mm focal length on
full-frame camera, I would have had to
MONOPODS focus-stack to make this image work.
At 14mm you can get very close and
If a tripod is too restrictive,
© Matt Reynolds
still have good focus front to back. The
consider using a monopod wider the focal length, the easier full
üŅųåƻƋų±ŸƚŞŞŅųƋţeƤĵŅĹŅŞŅÚ ÚåŞƋĘŅüĀåĬÚÆåÏŅĵåŸŰ
isn’t suitable for long exposures,
but it’s a great choice to help
ƵĜƋĘƤĬŅƵěĬĜčĘƋŞŅųƋų±ĜƋƚųåرŸ
ƵåĬĬ±ŸƤ±ÏƋĜŅĹŞĘŅƋŅčų±ŞĘƼØ
where you’ll be using fast
shutter speeds.
lot of sharpness issues come your scene that you would like to
A from failed focusing, or a lack
of understanding when it
be sharp, then adjust the focus until
å±ÏĘƤųåŧƚĜųåÚåĬåĵåĹƋĜŸĜĹüŅÏƚŸţ
ADJUST THE DIOPTER
Customise what you see through
comes to focusing correctly. Modern Getting to grips with the hyperfocal the viewfinder
cameras generally have impressive distance of your lens will help you to
We don’t all
autofocus capabilities, but for absolute ensure that your imagery is as sharp have 20/20
precision you really need to master as possible. The hyperfocal focusing vision, so what
manual focusing. distance is the focal distance where we see through
“I greatly prefer manual focus for the depth of field is maximised for ƋĘåƴĜåƵĀĹÚåų
might not
landscapes,” says Matt Reynolds. “I a given aperture and focal-length
always be an accurate representation of
think many new users are afraid of combination. In order to get front-to- ±ĹĜĵ±čåűŸŸĘ±ųŞĹ域ţa±ĹƼƴĜåƵĀĹÚåųŸ
manual focus and hesitant to use it, but back sharpness, beginners are usually enable you to adjust the diopter to suit
at closed-down apertures it’s actually told to focus a third of the way into your vision. The easiest way to tell if you
not complicated and, after some the scene, but this guideline doesn’t need to make adjustments is by looking
ƋĘųŅƚčĘƋĘåƴĜåƵĀĹÚåųôĜüƋĘåčųĜÚŸ±ĹÚ
experience, can even be faster.” take the focal length and aperture of
digits are sharp, but the image is not, then
“Mirrorless cameras have some your lens into account, which is where the camera is out of focus; but if the grids
built-in focus aids to help with manual the hyperfocal distance comes in. The and digits themselves are out of focus, the
focus, such as focus peaking and focus easiest way to work out the hyperfocal diopter needs to be adjusted.
magnification. For me, the most used distance is by downloading a chart
and helpful is focus magnification, from the internet or downloading
where I can zoom into the scene and an app; then you can work out the This involves pre-focusing your camera
check focus at my current aperture desired focusing distance using the to a certain distance away, and then
settings with an assigned button.” focal length and aperture that you are using the depth of field to create a
Similarly, on a DSLR you can use shooting with. zone of focus, which should mean that
XĜƴåƤĜåƵƵĘåĹƚŸĜĹčĵ±Ĺƚ±ĬüŅÏƚŸ Another manual focusing technique whenever your subject enters the zone,
and zoom into specific points in is zone focusing for moving subjects. it will be in focus (see next page).
ŸĘŅƚĬÚʱƴåÆååĹƚŸåÚØÆƚƋƋĘåĀĹĜŸĘåÚųåŸƚĬƋ
ƵŅƚĬÚĹŅƋÚĜýåųĵƚÏĘţŰeŞåųƋƚųåüxŎƅſüŅϱĬ
length 55mm; taken with a 55mm prime
F E A T U R E
© Paul Ewing
OPT FOR BACK-
BUTTON FOCUS FORTH BRIDGES When your subject is not central in the frame you may need to consider the
Lock focus with this trick focus-recompose technique, or experiment with manual focus
ometimes post-processing is micro sharpness to the image overall, Knowing where you plan to use an
S essential for producing sharp
shots. Photoshop has an array
without creating a ‘crunchy’ look, since
you’re only applying at a Sharpening
image is important when it comes to
sharpening: you’ll potentially need
of particularly effective sharpening figure of 40. The last step for import to sharpen the image differently
tools that you can use to enhance your sharpening is to use the Masking slider, depending on whether it’s for print or
imagery: these include Unsharp Mark, as you don’t want this sharpening to be online use. “Output sharpening is also
Smart Sharpen and the High Pass applied to sky or water.” important,” says Reynolds. “I find the
sharpening filter. Sharpening selectively is important, standard preset amount in Lightroom
Matt Reynolds uses Lightroom to as elements like water and clouds when exporting a file is quite good… For
sharpen his imagery, however. “On should be soft. You might start to see print, I typically use the Nik Sharpener
initial import in Lightroom, I apply a unwanted outlines on objects that have plug-in and use the presets in place
Sharpening setting the range of 40 to been sharpened too much, so in these by Nik. I find it does a really good job
most landscape images,” he explains. situations it’s best to work in Photoshop especially on larger prints.”
ŮFƤƋĘåĹÆųĜĹčƋĘå±ÚĜƚŸÚŅƵĹŸĬĜčĘƋĬƼ on a separate layer or by using the Landscape photographers often use
– in most cases to 0.7. If I was using Masking slider in Lightroom. focus-stacking to ensure front-to-back
a lens known for being the sharpest Just as with selective sharpening, sharpness. This involves combining
available, I would go down to 0.5; if I you can remove noise selectively. multiple images of a scene shot at
was using a kit lens or one known for When you remove noise from an image different focus distances to give the
being not sharp, I would stay at 1.0. I you’re essentially losing detail, so final image a greater depth of field.
always bring the Detail all the way up you’ll want to mask out areas that are ¥ŅƚϱĹƤüŅÏƚŸěŸƋ±ÏĩĜĹXĜčĘƋųŅŅĵØ
to 100. This will give a nice amount of becoming unnecessarily soft. Photoshop or in dedicated software.
CLARITY
SLIDER
The Clarity slider adds
contrast to the midtones,
which results in more edge
detail and definition, whereas
Sharpening works on the
åÚčåŸƤŅüĬĜčĘƋ±ĹÚÚ±ųĩŞĜƻåĬŸţ
Clarity is designed to create
more definition and add
less noise.
PANORAMIC SHARPNESS
ųå±ƋĜĹ豪±ĹŅų±ĵ±ĜŸ±ĹåýåÏƋĜƴå
© Stefan Lackner
Ƶ±ƼƤŅüĵåųčĜĹč±ŸåųĜåŸŅüĜĵ±čåŸ
together to create a wider angle of view
with more than one point of focus
F E A T U R E
USE DEHAZE
IN LIGHTROOM
This slider canƤnow be found in
many raw editing applications, and
can help to improve sharpness
© Gene Oryx
sharpen your image.
1 UNSHARP MASK
Convert the background layer to a Smart
Object and view your image at 100%. Go to
2 HIGH PASS FILTER
Convert the background layer to a Smart
Object and go to Filter > Other > High Pass.
3 SMART SHARPEN
Convert the background layer to a Smart
Object, then go to Filter > Sharpen > Smart
Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask. If you take Move the Radius slider to see how the details Sharpen. Here you can create presets for
Amount too high you’ll see a halo around are picked up. Change the High Pass layer’s sharpening in the future, or select Custom to
some edges. Keep Radius between 1 and 2. blending mode to Overlay or Soft Light. ±ŞŞĬƼ±ÆåŸŞŅĩååýåÏƋţ