You just get back from a vacation or that trip of a lifetime, sure you nailed that once in a lifetime shot. You arrive back home, upload your pictures on your big screen only to fined that the photos are soft or not quite in focus. Has this happened to you? I am sure that if you have been shooting long enough, you can relate. So, how do you ensure that your photos are going to be sharp?

AF-S versus AF-C

This is one of the first things that I would check. As a wildlife shooter, I am primarily in AF-C primed for faster moving subjects. When I shoot landscapes, I have to remeber to shift top AF-S as the landscape is not moving. One common mistake I hear about and often see is not changing this setting. The camera usually searches on AF-C and with subjects that are not moving, their is no need for the camera to search so AF-S is preferred.

High ISO

Another issue that I see happening to folks is that they have a high ISO set. Now I am not talking necessarily about your usual ISO’s. In fact, I did a post on why. you should not feel afraid to increase your ISO on today’s camera bodies. Your can find that post here. I am talking about HIGH ISO settings like 12800 or 25000 types of high ISO. This will inevitably create noise and when rendered on a large view screen it will look soft and as good as AI is nowadays removing noise, it may still be soft. I am not saying you cannot crank up the ISO, just be aware of what it may do to compromise your sharpness.

The 1/focal length rule

On of the best tips I have learned over the years, especially when handholding, to get sharp photos is to make sure your shutter speed is at least equal to your longest focal length. For example, if you have a 70-200mm lens, and you are handholding, make sur eour shutter speed is at lease 1/200 second. This really helps increase your chances of sharp photos. Having said that, you can use VR or IS on your camera to help reduce the shutter speed somewhat, but implementing the above rule is one of the best ways to go.

Shoot at the lens sweetspot

All lenses have a preferred sharpest aperture. You may have to play around with this on your given lens, but in general, the sharpest point in a lens is 1 to 2 stops above wide open. This will also help promote sharper photos. With primes that are engineered for crisp, sharp photos shooting wide open, this may not be as relevant but it is something to consider.

Remove the strap on tripod

This is a biggie for landscape photographers. Hving the camera strap on the camera, while on a tripod can introduce camera shake from teh wind. If you are mounting on a tripod, take the camera strap off. This will ensure that nothing is introduced for vibration from the strap itself.

Use the timer

Setting the timer delay or shutter delay will make certian that movement is minimal. Sometimes even depressing the shutter release can introduce movement and that is enought to make the image soft or out of focus. Setting the timer takes that out of the equation to help with sharp images.

Proper handholding / long lens technique

This is one that has been covered ad-naseum on the internet for how to get sharp photos but it is so true. Providing a stable platform for your camera is the foundation for getting sharp images whether handholding or when I a tripod.

Following these tried and true simple suggestions can help you ensure that the next time your are out looking for that once in a lifetime photo you will come away with some images you will be proud of and most importantly, they will be sharp.