Photos of sunrises and sunsets are always fun to take and beautiful to view later, but pointing your lens directly at the sun may damage it. Focus your pictures slightly away from the sun to help prevent damage. Also, in between photos, turn off your digital camera and place a lens cap over your lens to protect it from too much light.

A digital camera lens is in some way like your eye; too much direct sunlight may damage it. Take photos in spurts, and then protect your digital camera lens by covering it up.

Back up from your subject, and use the ZOOM! You will have less problems with any distortion from trying to stand too close to take pictures and you will get much more natural pictures when your photographing live subjects – especially children.  You will also get a lot less “background” in your pictures – instead they will be filled with your subject and are much more interesting (this will also reduce the amount of editing you will need to do).

Increase the number of photos you take of a single scene or subject, using a number of different settings and angles to take the shot. This will greatly increased the odds of you getting the perfect shot that you need for a specific project.

4. Aperture

Aperture impacts the depth of field (the zone that is in focus) in your images. Decreasing your aperture (increasing the number – say up to f/20) will increase the depth of field meaning that the zone that is in focus will include both close and distant objects. Do the opposite (for example moving to f/4) and the foreground and background of your images will be more out of focus and you’ll need to be more exact with what you focus your camera upon. Keep in mind that the smaller your aperture the longer your shutter speed will need to be – which of course makes moving subjects more difficult to keep sharp.

5. ISO

The third element of the exposure triangle is ISO which has a direct impact upon the noisiness of your shots. Choose a larger ISO and you’ll be able to use faster shutter speed and smaller aperture (which as we’ve seen help with sharpness) but you’ll suffer by increasing the noise of your shots. Depending upon your camera (and how large you want to enlarge your images) you can probably get away with using ISO of up to 400 (or even 800 on some cameras) without too much noise but for pin sharp images keep it as low as possible). 

6. Image Stabilisation

Many cameras and lenses are now being released with different forms of image stabilisation (IS) which won’t eliminate camera shake – but can definitely help reduce its impact. I find that using IS lenses that it will give me an extra two or three stops (ie I can use slower shutter speeds but 2-3 stops) when hand holding my camera. Keep in mind that IS helps with camera movement but not subject movement as it allows you to use slower shutter speeds (not good for moving subjects).

7. Focus

Perhaps the most obvious technique to work on when aiming for sharp lenses is focussing. Most of us use ‘Auto Focussing’ with our cameras but don’t assume that the camera will always get it right. Always visually check what part of the image is in focus before hitting the shutter and if it’s not right try again or switch to manual focus mode. This is particularly important if you’re shooting with a large aperture (small depth of field) where even being slightly out can result in your subject being noticeably out of focus.

8. Good lenses

This one is for DSLR owners – if you have the budget for it invest in good quality lenses as they can have a major impact upon the sharpness of your images. For example shortly after buying my DSLR I was in the market for a everyday zoom lens that would give me the ability to have both wide (ish) and telephoto zoom capabilities. I bought a Canon EF 28-135mm lens. It was a good lens (and reasonably priced) but it wasn’t as sharp as some of my other lenses. A few months later I borrowed a Canon EF 24-105mm L-Series (the professional series of lenses from Canon) lens from a friend and was amazed by the difference in sharpness between the lenses. While the first lens was good for what I paid for it I ended up going for an upgrade and the new lens is now almost permanently attached to my camera.

9. Get your Eyes Checked

Since I was young I’ve worn glasses but in recent years I’ve been a little slack in getting my eyes checked. Recently I got them tested for the first time in a number of years and was surprised to find that they’d deteriorated significantly. Getting new glasses improved a number of areas of my life, one of which was my photography. Also connected with this is checking the ‘diopter’ on your camera (if it has one. The diopter is a little adjustment that you can make to how your viewfinder works – it’s particularly useful for people with poor eye sight – it’s usually a little wheel next to your viewfinder.

10. Clean equipment

Recently my wife and I went on a window cleaning frenzy at our place. Over the previous months the grime on our windows had gradually built up without us really noticing it. When we did clean them though we were amazed at how much more light got through and how much better the view outside was. The same can be true for your camera’s lens. Keep it clean and you’ll eliminate the smudges, dust and grime that can impact your shots. Similarly – a clean image sensor is a wonderful thing if you have a DSLR as getting dust on it can produce noticeable blotches in your end images.

Update

11. Lens Sweet Spot

Lenses have spots in their aperture ranges that are sharper than others. In many cases this sweet spot is one or two stops from the maximum aperture. So instead of shooting with your lens wide open (ie where the numbers are smallest) pull it back a stop or two and you might find you get a little more clarity in your shots.

Photo by Dale (Ling Gondaeng)

Getting your digital images perfectly sharp is something that most photographers want – however clean, crisp, sharp images can be difficult to achieve.

Perhaps before we start exploring how to improve sharpness it would be good to talk about the main causes for lack of sharpness:

• Poor Focus – the most obvious way to get images that are ‘un-sharp’ is through having them out of focus. This might be a result of focussing upon the wrong part of the image, being too close to your subject for the camera to focus, selecting an aperture that generates a very narrow depth of field or taking an image too quickly without checking it is in focus.
• Subject Movement - another type of ‘blur’ in shots is the result of your subject moving – this is generally related to shutter speed being too slow.
• Camera Shake – similarly you can get blur if you as the photographer generate movement while taking the image – this often relates to either shutter speed and/or the stillness of your camera.
• Noise – ‘noisy’ shots are ones that are pixelated and look like they have lots of little dots over them (get up close to your TV and you’ll get the same impact).

1. Hold Your Camera Well

A lot of blur in the photos that I see is a direct result of camera shake (the movement of your camera for that split second when your shutter is open). While the best way to tackle camera shake is to use a Tripod (see below) there are many times when using one is impractical and you’ll need to shoot while holding your camera. 

2. Tripods

Regular readers of this site will have seen my recent series on tripods and know that I’m a big fan of them as a way to reduce (and even eliminate) camera shake. While not always practical, the result you’ll get when you do go to the effort of hauling one around can be well worth it.

3. Shutter Speed

Perhaps one of the first things to think about in your quest for sharp images is the shutter speed that you select. Obviously – the faster your shutter speed the less impact camera shake will have and the more you’ll freeze any movement in your shots. As a result you reduce the likelihood of two of the main types of blur in one go (subject movement and camera movement). Remember the ‘rule’ for handheld shutter speeds:
Choose a shutter speed with a denominator that is larger than the focal length of the lens.

So:

• if you have a lens that is 50mm in length don’t shoot any slower than 1/60th of a second
• if you have a lens with a 100mm focal length shoot at 1/125th of a second or faster
• if you are shooting with a lens of 200mm shoot at 1/250th of a second or faster

Keep in mind that the faster your shutter speed is the larger you’ll need to make your Aperture to compensate – this will mean you have a smaller depth of field which makes focussing more of a challenge.

Every photographer has that need to shoot that perfect sunset. But first you need to understand a when is the correct time for you to shoot it! A sunset is such a great sight that’s its tempting just to wait until passers by are out of the frame, then just plonk the sun in the centre of the shot and then just hit the shutter. You’ll find that if you do that you’ll end up with a shot which any Tom Dick or Harry can take, and you’ll find it’s pretty dull when you look back in a few years time.

What great photographers do is capture the atmosphere of the great scene. When you’re taking this photo try to capture what’s around you, as you can see in my photo I’ve captured the beautiful mountains in the back ground, you also need to try to frame the scene so it captures some of that.

What you’re looking for when your taking your sunset photo is the silhouette in the foreground. This is because the sun is such a dominant light source for every photo. All the new cameras now a days have a built in options which helps you get the exposure perfect, which gives you that dark moody foreground.

Another great tip here is try and avoid shooting the sun altogether, and make sure it’s out of the frame or obscured by an object or person. This way you’ll give your shoot less extreme lighting for your camera to cope with, this effect gives you more of an even transition between the foreground and background.

Something else to think about when your taking a portrait shot is, there face or faces will come out as a silhouette, or even with very dark faces. You could try switching the flash on just to try and lift the foreground in your photo. Another great tip here is trying and think about white balancing. You can set this manually and make sure you set your balance to daylight this way it gives you that warm tone of the sun. Most people who this set to automatic and the default setting for this is a little on the cool side, this compensate for to much red and yellow in your photo, but you need to understand that this type of photo has to have reds and yellows because it’s exactly what your after.

One of the common problems that many new digital (and film) photographers have is ‘camera shake’ where images seem blurry – usually because the camera was not held still enough while the shutter was depressed. This is especially common in shots taken in low light situations where the shutter is open for longer periods of time. Even the smallest movement of the camera can cause it and the only real way to eliminate it is with a tripod.

Adding to camera shake is a technique that is increasingly common with digital camera users of holding the camera at arms length away from them as they take shots – often with one hand. While this might be a good way to frame your shot the further away from your body (a fairly stable thing) you hold the camera the more chance you have of swaying or shaking as you take your shot.

Tripods are the best way to stop camera shake because they have three sturdy legs that keep things very still – but if you don’t have one then another simple way to enhance the stability of the camera is to hold onto it with two hands.

While it can be tempting to shoot one handed a two hands will increase your stillness (like three legs on a tripod being better than one).

Exactly how you should grip your camera will depend upon what type of digital camera you are using and varies from person to person depending upon preference. There is no real right or wrong way to do it but here’s the technique that I generally use:

1. Use your right hand to grip the right hand end of the camera. Your forefinger should sit lightly above the shutter release, your other three fingers curling around the front of the camera. Your right thumb grips onto the back of the camera. Most cameras these days have some sort of grip and even impressions for where fingers should go so this should feel natural. Use a strong grip with your right hand but don’t grip it so tightly that you end up shaking the camera.
2. The positioning of your left hand will depend upon your camera but in in general it should support the weight of the camera and will either sit underneath the camera or under/around a lens if you have a DSLR.
3. If you’re shooting using the view finder to line up your shot you’ll have the camera nice and close into your body which will add extra stability but if you’re using the LCD make sure you don’t hold your camera too far away from you. Tuck your elbows into your sides and lean the camera out a little from your face (around 30cm). Alternatively use the viewfinder if it’s not too small or difficult to see through (a problem on many point and shoots these days).
4. Add extra stability by leaning against a solid object like a wall or a tree or by sitting or kneeling down. If you have to stand and don’t have anything to lean on for extra support put your feet shoulder width apart to give yourself a steady stance. The stiller you can keep your body the stiller the camera will be.

Gripping a camera in this way will allow you flexibility of being able to line up shots quickly but will also help you to hold still for the crucial moment of your shutter being open.

Another quick bonus tip – before you take your shot take a gentle but deep breath, hold it, then take the shot and exhale. The other method people use is the exact opposite – exhale and before inhaling again take the shot. It’s amazing how much a body rises and falls simply by breathing – being conscious of it can give you an edge.

Of course each person will have their own little techniques that they are more comfortable with and ultimately you need to find what works best for you – but in the early days of familiarizing yourself with your new digital camera it’s worth considering your technique.

One last note – this post is about ‘holding a camera’ in a way that will help eliminate camera shake. It’s not rocket science – but it’s amazing how many people get it wrong and wonder why their images are blurry.

You don’t have to settle for the software that came with your camera or scanner.

All digital cameras and scanners come with some kind of software bundle to get you started with photo editing. Almost always, these are very limited, basic programs or pared down "special" editions of more powerful software that is available.

The bundled software may get you by for the most basic of tasks, but to truly enjoy the full potential of digital photography, you should consider upgrading this to a more flexible and mainstream photo editing software. In additon to having more power, you’ll save time, have access to more learning resources, and be more likely to find an active online community of other users to help you out and share their collective knowledge.

To choose the right software for your needs, determine how you plan to use your photos. Are they going to be put into digital media format (i.e. slideshows for your DVD player), will they be part of a family Christmas card, will they need to be edited and re-touched? There are a variety of programs that have already been mentioned here that you can use. However, before you go out and spend the cash, figure out how involved you will want to become and how much time you can invest in learning the program so you can accomplish your goals.

Don’t Neglect Digital Photos in Your Backup Routine

You do have a backup routine, don’t you?

Some people will save film negatives for generations, but when they make the switch to digital, they may never even consider the idea of making a second backup copy of their images.

Believe me, any kind of digital storage is susceptible to failure. It can’t be predicted, but you can certainly plan for it. Please get in the habit of making at least monthly backups of your digital pictures–and by backup, I mean a second copy. Archiving your photos to a single CD and then deleting them from hard disk is not a second copy.

Currently, the most convenient backup solution is a second, removable hard drive (typically what is known as a thumb-drive or a stand alone external hard drive). The most affordable solution is recordable CD and DVDs (your choice will depend on the size of your photo folder).

For the best protection, consider making duplicates of all your archive CDs and pass one copy along to a family member or put it in a safety deposit box or fire-proof safe. Then, even in the event of a fire or theft, your precious photographic records and memories will not be lost.

Landscape photography is one of the hardest photographic disciplines to get right. As far as the technicalities of camera settings are concerned, though, there isn’t too much to the basic technique. To be sure of getting a sharp shot with the whole scene focus, (see the photo to the right) you can drop the camera into aperture priority mode and select a small aperture.

Remember that a small aperture means a large F-Number. In a digital compact, the max available will be something around the following; f5/6; in a digital SLR f/11 or f/16 are good bets. The added benefit of a small aperture is that most lenses will produce sharper results with less distortion at smaller aperture. Remember that small aperture often means a slow shutter speed, so the primary weapon in most landscape photographer’s armoury is a tripod.

The second aspect to remember is that you want to get as much crisp detail as possible, so make sure your camera is set to its lowest ISO setting. Again, this will tend to mean slow shutter speeds, but low ISO will produce less noise in your photo and maximum detail. In fact landscape shots are one of the areas where it’s a real help to have a DSLR and a decent lens, this is because DSLR’s capture detail better.

You’ll find one of the luxuries of photographing a landscape is that you don’t need to hurry. So you’ll have plenty of time to find that perfect result.

You must also consider that the timing of the day has to be right. The conventional wisdom in landscape photography is that you should suffer for your art: They say the few minutes before dawn and after dawn are the most flattering. This is because the light is at its softest. You’ll also find that if the sky is brilliantly sunny and clear you can get a style of photo which is called "Super Vibrant" this is best in the middle of the afternoon.

You’ll notice that if you shoot in the middle of the day you can enhance the vibrancy of a clear sunny sky by using a polarise filter. Polarised filters give you that effect of deepening your colours and also giving you a more vibrant photo. After great time of the day to shot landscape is when the sun is getting lower, this will give you the effect of dramatic skies and also you’ll get mist into the equation, all this helps for your perfect landscape photo.