how to take sharp photos ???

[jmaguireokm]

hi everyone,

i would like to know how to shoot a sharp and outstanding photos ??
is that based on the f stop or based on the shutter speed ?? mainly is on potraits :D hope to get some guidance from the master here ......

[Fishhook]

f stop only effect the dof. if your subject moving than surely a faster shutter speed will help otherwise sure will have movement blur effect. c whats your shutter speed,how teady your hand is also help,if not use tripod. other than that u want very2 sharp one your camera sharpness u can increase it. tht is all i can think of:)

[ShaolinTiger]

f stop only effect the dof.

Actually that's not true, f stop definitely does effect sharpeness.

No lens is sharp wide open, that means if it's an f/2.8 lens it will only usually be sharp from f/4 onwards.

Most lenses reach optimum sharpness at f/8.

If you want to increase sharpness on your lens, always stop down at least 1 stop from wide open.

If you want super sharp, shoot at f/8.

Shutter speed can introduce handshake and motion blur, so make sure your shutter speed is fast enough (1/focal length so for 200mm 1/200 for full frame and 1/350 for crop).

Also make sure ISO is lowest possible e.g 50/100/200 depending on your camera.

Make sure your focus point is correct.

Make sure depth of field is adequate enough to capture your intended target sharply.

And shoot RAW to preserve maximum detail and use USM (Unsharp Mask) or Smart Sharpen in Photoshop as they are smarter than the sharpening in camera.

So if you want a super sharp pic, shoot f/8 1/500s ISO100 and sharpen in PS :)

[noordin]

The master has spoken. :)

[macnpalm]

this is very enlightening... thanks for the tips... :bow_down::bow_down:

[seraphangel]

mm some interesting tips here, but what if it's in low light situation? Then f/8 will produce dark images right? not enough light going in.

[knytan]

mm some interesting tips here, but what if it's in low light situation? Then f/8 will produce dark images right? not enough light going in.

You can compensate the f/8 with the use of a sturdy tripod. Keep ISO at minimum as possible. After that do some PP with PS :D

[fulat]

a flash or a tripod will helps... or maybe IS(canon) and VR(nikon) will helps too~ :)

[norazhari.samion]

my apologies for being compact camera user...can i do these, at what being tips for with Nikon P80...intend to buy one, DSLR is beyond my budget...if not all maybe I can still control some of features and still get a good picture

[narrowband]

Some of ST's points are new to me. Thanks for the tip.

jmaguireokm, maybe you should learn what's the difference between f-stop and shutterspeed first.

my apologies for being compact camera user...can i do these, at what being tips for with Nikon P80...intend to buy one, DSLR is beyond my budget...if not all maybe I can still control some of features and still get a good picture
Here's my dua kupang:
I think there's not much you can do except focus on the subject/object and shoot. Of course steady hands is essential. Under low light condition I recommend using burst mode, and try to brace your camera against a hard surface (wall/table/pillar). Burst mode is aka continuous shooting in some cameras. The icon is universal (three rectangular boxes arranged in cascade). All new cameras should have this feature.

[tools4fools]

One more thing to add to ST list:

- LIGHT...shooting at 1pm with sun high, dry and misty will not get best results... Shoot late afternoon in sun after rain with beautiful light will make a big difference...

- aperture f4-f8 best indeed.

- don't let shutter speed to low, not only because of camera shake but model will move too! Nothing can compensate for that!

- For compact camera usually they do have one distance/zoom level which works pretty well. Test to find out where it is... Then focus accurately on eye and take pic. Preferable in nice afternoon light. Can get quite decent shots that way.
You got more limits on your compact camera so you need to know those limits to be able to get best out of it...to use it within its best perfomance range.
****
*****

[Mavik]

One more thing to add to ST list:
- LIGHT...shooting at 1pm with sun high, dry and misty will not get best results... Shoot late afternoon in sun after rain with beautiful light will make a big difference...


Even at 1pm you can get good or even best results. It all depends on what you want to shoot at or how you are shooting and how you basically see light. I think anyone can shoot at all times and still produce stunning images. :)

[sh4hr1n]

.. and also make sure the lens doesn't exhibit front or back focus problem. ;)

[blackburn]

So guys, how about auto focus and manual focus? Which one you used most? Sometimes the camera doesnt focus on the subject that you wanted to focus on. When I change it to manual focus on my subject, does the rest of the images becomes out of focus? I'm using canon 400D, there are 9 points there. So when the red dots lighted up, means it focus there, right? :?

[noruazumi]

So guys, how about auto focus and manual focus? Which one you used most? Sometimes the camera doesnt focus on the subject that you wanted to focus on. When I change it to manual focus on my subject, does the rest of the images becomes out of focus? I'm using canon 400D, there are 9 points there. So when the red dots lighted up, means it focus there, right? :?
LOL! You need to read & understand the user manual.
I don't know much about Canon but I think you can set the focus point to auto select or manual select.
Make sure you set to manual select so that you will have total control.
Turn on the beep sound.
Once it is in focus, it will beep.

[kiankheong]

Even at 1pm you can get good or even best results. It all depends on what you want to shoot at or how you are shooting and how you basically see light. I think anyone can shoot at all times and still produce stunning images. :)

From my recent experience of shooting under harsh afternoon lighting.

Most of the time the images look washout with overkilled contrast when viewed using the camera's LCD.

But I realise the colours are better once I have uploaded the pictures onto my desktop.

If the scene has almost the same dynamic range, and with proper metering, then the image will look alright.

[newdaddy]

So guys, how about auto focus and manual focus? Which one you used most? Sometimes the camera doesnt focus on the subject that you wanted to focus on.yes, this is one disadvantage of 9 point selection, sometimes it focuses wrong subject
When I change it to manual focus on my subject, does the rest of the images becomes out of focus? I think u mean the out of focus (OOF) bacground = bokeh. Yes, but how blur of background depends on the Depth Of Field (DOP). Lower aperture value like f1.8 to f2.8 give shallower DOP = more OOF background/bokeh
I'm using canon 400D, there are 9 points there. Try to use manual focusing point, be it center (most common) or others. At standby mode, press the top right zoom button, then press 'ok' to switch between the 9 point & center point, or use the arrow left right up down to select other focusing point
So when the red dots lighted up, means it focus there, right? Yes, once u use manual focusing point, u get the control well. Jz point it to the place that u want to focus, half press to lock focus, then recompose ur shot & shoot. [/quote]


[quote=narrowband;144513]

jmaguireokm, maybe you should learn what's the difference between f-stop and shutterspeed first.



jmaguireokm is a pro wedding photog now la... he posted this thread one yr ago adi...

[dinduboy14]

Actually that's not true, f stop definitely does effect sharpeness.

No lens is sharp wide open, that means if it's an f/2.8 lens it will only usually be sharp from f/4 onwards.

Most lenses reach optimum sharpness at f/8.

If you want to increase sharpness on your lens, always stop down at least 1 stop from wide open.

If you want super sharp, shoot at f/8.

Shutter speed can introduce handshake and motion blur, so make sure your shutter speed is fast enough (1/focal length so for 200mm 1/200 for full frame and 1/350 for crop).

Also make sure ISO is lowest possible e.g 50/100/200 depending on your camera.

Make sure your focus point is correct.

Make sure depth of field is adequate enough to capture your intended target sharply.

And shoot RAW to preserve maximum detail and use USM (Unsharp Mask) or Smart Sharpen in Photoshop as they are smarter than the sharpening in camera.

So if you want a super sharp pic, shoot f/8 1/500s ISO100 and sharpen in PS :)

why f8? for a zoom lens..won't that vary depending on what zoom range u're using? wouldn't f11 be better? :?

[blackburn]

me confuse too .... :?

[newdaddy]

If u checked those lens review that shows the MTF chart (for sharpness), most of the lens really achieve maximum sharpness at f8. thereafter sharpness start to decrease...
but higher f value like f11 and above give greater DOP.