If there is one thing that frustrates me the most, it is when I get home from a trip or vacation, look at my photos and some of them are soft. I realized that it is not the cameras fault, but rather operator error on my part. Here is what I have learned over the years that made a huge difference in the sharpness of my photographs, especially, landscapes.

I know I was making this mistake, and still do at times if I am distracted, but your camera by default uses all of the focus points it can, especially in AF-C mode, which by the way, is a sure way to not have everything in focus with landscapes. Here’s why. In AF-C, the camera is searching for the closest thing to the camera or areas of high contrast. In the scene above, plenty of contrast between the water and the rocks as well as rocks closest to the camera. If I had shot this in AF-C, it would have been searching all over resulting in soft image with parts of the frame not in focus.

So, how do we setup ourselves for success each time we go out to shoot? First thing you can do is change the camera from AF-C to AF-S with a single focus point. This allows you to be in control of exactly where and what you want the camera to focus on. Everyone asks about f/stop. I generally use anywhere from f/8 to f/11 and have found those to be the sweet spots on my lease. May differ a bit on yours, but you can experiment.

The second thing you can do is focus about 1/3 of the way into the scene. In the image above, the focus point was on the rock about one third into the scene. This allowed for the foreground, middle ground and background to be in focus bringing depth to the photograph. Also, use your LCD to check critical area of focus in the scene. This is usually the bottom of the frame, the middle and back, not necessarily the fringe edges.

We have so many tools on the camera nowadays to help with getting sharp images. One last tip would be to use your focus peaking if your camera has this feature. To activate it use the focus ring on your lens. Focus on a point in the scene, turn the manual focus ring and the peaking should show you what is in focus. A great way to ensure your camera is focusing on what you want. Those three things can really increase your chances of improving your photo sharpness.

I would love to hear your comments on what works best for you. If you stop by and read my post, leave a message.