6 Tips to take Sharp Photos every time

Get sharp photos no matter your camera gear!

Learn how to take sharp photos with these simple to follow tips!

Jiggie Alejandro, in this tutorial, shares 6 things you can do to get sharp images every time no matter what your camera or lens is.

Take sharp photos every time with these six easy beginner tips!

Sharp photos are very clear and focused. There isn’t a lot of blur and you can see the subject and composition perfectly. It’s easy to get sharp photos by following these simple tips!

How to take Sharp photos Tip #1: Stance

The way you are standing is really important to making sure the camera isn’t moving. If the camera is moving at all, the images won’t be as sharp.

Especially when you have a heavy lens, make sure you stabilize the camera with both of your hands and even tuck one arm against your body. In this way, you are creating a tripod with your body.

Don’t start to move the camera to take your next shot too early either, or else you will get a lot of motion blur.

Give your stance and camera a good stabilization to take each photo, holding the camera tightly and supported like Jiggie shows in the image below:

How to take Sharp photos Tip #2: Shutter speed rule

To get sharp images without using image stabilization from the camera and shooting objects that aren’t moving, use the shutter speed rule. 

The shutter speed is how long in seconds it takes the camera to capture the photo. The longer the shutter speed, the more motion blur you might capture.

The rule is that your shutter speed should be about 1 over your focal length for shorter lengths, and then increase with the longer lenses.

For example, using a 16mm lens your shutter speed could be set at 1/16 to get nice sharp photos.

The longer the focal length, the faster the shutter speed you want to use. So if your lens is say 150mm, you would want a shutter speed more like 1/300. 

For a moving subject, your shutter speed will be dependent on how fast the objects are moving (standard people walking around good shutter speed is about 1/160)

Without the auto image stabilzation maybe on older cameras or lenses that don’t have it, this rule is very helpful.

How to take Sharp Photos Tip #3: Don’t shoot wide open

What is wide open? It’s referring to your lens aperture, or the width of the pupil-like opening on the end of the lens that can open wider or close smaller. When the aperture is set as open as it can go, it’s referred to as ‘wide open’. 

While wide open shots can be nice and soft in some circumstances, even adjusting the aperture down by one stop (level of openness) will give you a sharp clear image.

A very high end lens might have a ‘sharp wide open’ selling point, at which point you can shoot wide open. But for those of you beginners on budget lenses, use this trick to get great sharp photos!

How to take Sharp Photos Tip #4: Use the flash!

There are many technical reasons why, but using flash gives you sharper images than natural light.

Flash gives your image that ‘pop’ and sharpens the focus on the subject.

How to take Sharp Photos Tip #5: Set the point of focus

In portrait photography, it was always said to focus on the eyes as the sharpest part of the photo. You would have to focus on a point and then move the camera to get the focus onto the eyes with older cameras. 

Cameras these days are intelligent enough to find the focus point and lock on. 

You can simply move the focus point on the camera to where you want the focus to be and set that focus point.

How to Take Sharp Photos Tip #6: Shoot in AFC

What is AFC? It’s a setting on cameras called ‘Autofocus Continuous’. When turned on, this setting will set a focus point and then continue to lock onto that point even when the camera and subject are moving.

For example, in portraits the AFC will lock the focus onto the subjects eyes and keep the focus on the eyes while the subject moves poses and the camera repositions for different angles. 

This setting ensure ultra sharp and focused images every time.

No need to upgrade your camera or lens to get sharp photos! 

Simply apply these six easy tips to take sharp, clear images every time!

Want to improve your photography even more? Check out this full photography upskill guide!

Which of these sharp photo tips will you apply to your photography THIS WEEK?

Comment below!