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Any tips for Maximum Sharpness?
#1

Most people like their photos razor sharp - sharpness implies detail and definition. So, how do you go about doing it? Buying good glass can go a long way, but do you have any tips or things that you do to ensure maximum sharpness when taking photos?

Also, once the photos come out, do you use any tools or post processing to enhance sharpness? What's your preferred method?
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#2

Three Words.....

Tripod, Tripod, Tripod!
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#3

I think Craig has said it all for *insuring* sharpness.
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#4

Bad focus cant be fixed in post processing but I often use a high pass sharpening action the sharpen parts of the image such as the eyes in a portrait.

Canon 50D.
Redbubble
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#5

canon 100mm macro

I stay away from any post-processing in terms of sharpening, I think information that wasn't there to begin with cannot be calculated artificially
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#6

Some thoughts in no particular order:

- buy good glass.
- don't use filters unless they're very good and very necessary.
- use a tripod and head that's rated for more than the weight you're supporting.
- don't use the centre column on your tripod.
- with a tripod use the mirror lock-up if your camera has it, a self-timer if it doesn't.
- with a tripod avoid shutter speeds between 1/4 and 2 seconds.
- choose an f-stop, somewhere around f/11 or f/16, that offers a good trade off between depth of field and diffraction.

matthewpiers.com • @matthewpiers | robertsonphoto.blogspot.com | @thewsreviews • thewsreviews.com
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#7

Matthew, what does this mean? "with a tripod avoid shutter speeds between 1/4 and 2 seconds."
Is it related to mirror-slap vibration?

My own tips:
Brace your hands or elbows or the camera on something solid whenever possible. If I'm in a shutter speed area that's too slow, I will compromise a "perfect" composition for one that allows me to get a solid platform.

When the wind is blowing too hard, come back another day.

Google "unsharp mask" and learn what you can, then do it again 3 months later.
I still don't consider myself competent with this tool, but I get better over time.
Then I get lazy...
USM can be very precise or very forgiving, and there are many settings in-between that work well, but the truth is that every image deserves it's own sharpening method, so experience is key. Practice!

Yell at the people in the frame to stop jerking around and stand still or you'll throw a can of corn at them!
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#8

shuttertalk Wrote:Most people like their photos razor sharp - sharpness implies detail and definition. So, how ......
To have good lenses and use it for the purpose they were made for counts a lot. I have read that prime lenses are better in this area, and from what I read the T&S would be the best to have... anyway lenses are a great part of the success.

Also to use a tripod with all good recommendations we have read above. But there are times when you don't use a tripod for the simple reason that you don't need it. Let's see if you are taking a landscape and you have 1/1000 of a sec. I wouldn't consider to use a tripod to get my picture sharper.

What I have read and I have seen and experimented is that light is very important to get sharp pictures. As it was said in the original question, sharpness implies detail and definition. I have taken pictures in cloudy days when the light is poor and diffused and I get definition in my picture but not detail in the wood or ground, there is no texture. If I take my picture in daylight and the sun has certain position, like in the morning when the sun is not so bright, the light gives me interesting shadows in my landscpe I will get texture and definition.

Some landscapes, need to be taken in a bright day, to get nice texture due to the shadows, and the position of the sun gives interesting contrast in the overall landscape like in the pyramids or ruins...

To ilustrate in pictures what I think I have this picture. The first one had a very soft light, no heavy shadows and the texture didn't have as much detail as it has my second try, when the light was in a lower position and directed to the shell. None of those pictures were sharpened with any filter afterwards.

About post processing I think if you start working with your contrast/brightness, in some cases you might not need to use any filter to sharp your picture. It has happen to me in some of my pictures. It doesn't mean I don't use filter to sharp my pictures, yes, I do, but first I work with the contrast.

So, to me light is also a very important factor to have pictures with good texture and definition.

You all know I am a learner, and I might be not quite right. However I wanted to participate in the topic with my thoughts.

A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.
Paul Cezanne
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#9

KeithAlanK Wrote:Matthew, what does this mean? "with a tripod avoid shutter speeds between 1/4 and 2 seconds."
Is it related to mirror-slap vibration?
Mirror slap is the general idea, but there's a number of other things going on when the shutter trips, even on non-SLRs. P&S cameras and rangefinders still have mechanical shutters, and I was once in the bad habit of tripping the shutter and then taking a couple steps to get out of the light. On most floors, vibration can still transmit through tripods. Apparently the wood ones are the best for avoiding this, but I've never used them.

The basic idea is that shutter speeds over 1/4 second are not likely to be affected by minor vibrations, and over 2 seconds gives the camera enough time that it will settle down and the majority of the light will be recorded with the camera stable. In reality, this is getting a little extreme, but for maximum sharpness everything helps, right? Even cans of corn...

If you have a bag of frozen corn -- more useful in my winter than your climate -- you can use it to dampen vibration as well. I've read the suggestion of using a 1lb or 2lb sand bag across the tripod mount on telephoto lenses to add stability. (The sand bag actually gets draped across the lens.)

...remember, also, that I'm the person who will hand-hold a 1/4 second exposure at night. It helps when the camera weighs three pounds, but it's still a far cry from an effort to get maximum sharpness. These are all techniques that I would use if I knew that I'd really be pushing the resolution limits with my final output, and I'll use one or two (good glass, no filters) on a regular basis, but I'm not actually all that picky.

matthewpiers.com • @matthewpiers | robertsonphoto.blogspot.com | @thewsreviews • thewsreviews.com
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