How To Capture Sharp Photos With Your Camera

In this blog post, I’m going to go over 5 points that I think are worth thinking about when trying to achieve sharp photos for your photography.

SHUTTER SPEED

Setting up a proper shutter speed on your camera is essential for getting sharp photos. Even when I’m shooting landscape or a stationary object, unless I’m using a tripod, adjusting the shutter speed is one of the first things I consider if I’m aiming for a crisp image.

I generally don’t follow any specific rule when it comes to how fast my shutter speed should be in relation to the lens’s focal length. When I’m photographing a fast object like a speedy car, I’ll bump up my shutter speed to a much higher amount than I would in a portrait session with a model posing.

This photo of the moving train was captured at a shutter speed of 1/800 sec.

This portrait was captured with a shutter speed of 1/400 sec

Looking through my photos, I usually start anywhere between 1/320 to 1/640 with my current camera equipment and adjust from there.

Ultimately, the best way to figure out the best shutter speed settings that works for you is to be out taking photos and experimenting with your gear. Being able to adjust camera settings on the fly is an amazing asset for any kind of photographer.

UNDERSTANDING FOCUS

When I first started photography, I left the focus mode of my Sony a7R III camera on “Wide” because I would just let the camera do the work. While this is a focus mode that I still use for some of my photography, taking the time to practice other focus modes was incredibly helpful in getting more consistent and intentional sharp photos.

Learning the ins and outs of your camera can help you understand how continuous autofocus works with moving subjects or how using manual focus can provide a sharp image of a subject through a transparent surface (like glass). 

An important tip I learned when doing lifestyle portrait photography (or any kind of photography that involves getting the model in focus) is to always do a few test shots before fully starting the session, and check the images to see if the focus is perfect. Make sure that your focus settings are what they would need to be when your model is moving. Relying on the camera to do all of the work and taking a bunch of photos without checking is a risk not worth taking.

Wide-angle of lifestyle portrait shot. Focus Mode: AF-C. Face/Eye Autofocus ON. Focus Area: Large Flexible Spot.

Close-up angle of lifestyle portrait shot. Focus Mode: AF-C. Face/Eye Autofocus ON. Focus Area: Large Flexible Spot.

APERTURE

The aperture affects the range of sharpness in your image. A large (or wide) aperture such as f/1.4 allows a lot of light into the camera sensor and has a small range of sharpness. Conversely, a small (or narrow) aperture such as f/16 allows very little light into the camera sensor and produces a larger range of sharpness across the image.

With that in mind, you’ll want to adjust your aperture accordingly depending on what you’re going for. Unless I’m taking a landscape photo and want the entire image to be in focus, or photographing interiors, I usually don’t go above f/7.1. As I mentioned above, I think it’s always best to go out and experiment with different apertures to see how you like to adjust it in correlation to your shutter speed since everyone’s different.

There are photographers that might like to shoot portraits at the widest aperture possible, like f/1.4. I usually end up starting around f/4.0 because I like including the environment in a portrait and I don’t want there to be too much foreground-background separation. At an aperture like f/4, it gives me enough light to be flexible with my shutter speed, as well.

Taken with the Sony A7R III & Sigma 35 mm f/1.4 DG DN Art. Aperture is at f/4.0 to capture the buildings in the background.

USING A TRIPOD

If you have a tripod in your camera gear, it’s a great tool to use to get sharp images out of landscapes, cityscapes, and interiors. With a tripod, you don’t have to worry about camera shake that would cause a blurry image with a slower shutter speed. I like to use a remote and connect it to my camera so I can press the shutter without touching the camera once it’s set up (I’ve found this especially useful for taking self-portraits since you can half-press the shutter to establish focus).

Using a tripod allows you to get sharp images for long exposure shots (like a sharp landscape beach shot with the motion blur effect of the water, or a sharp landscape shot with light trails from cars passing by) by using a slow shutter speed and narrow aperture.

Alternatively, if you don’t have a tripod, then you can lay your camera on any surface or brace your arm on a surface to gain stability. This was a trick I had to use in London when I didn’t bring my tripod with me.

LENS QUALITY

The quality of your lens is also an important factor to think about when trying to get sharp images. You don’t need the most expensive camera lens to get sharp images, but it’s worth browsing through photos produced by different lenses to get an idea of their image quality.

Sigma prime lenses and Sony zoom lenses have been what I’ve used to deliver sharp images. But ultimately, the best lens might not make much of a difference if you’re not familiar with your camera settings or how to set up proper focus.

I started off with a used camera kit lens and practiced street photography, playing around with the settings until I had a good understanding of how to get the best images that I could. One I upgraded to my current equipment, it was much easier to improve since I understood the camera basics.

I hope this blog post provided some useful advice and gave insight into how I try to get sharp images in each photoshoot. Feel free to leave any questions or comments below.

Until next time, thank you for reading!

Explore more of my website!

• See my travel photography across different countries

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