Part 1 focusing

Sharp Series
1. Focus
2. Exposure
3. The Lens
4. Post Production
Sharpness of image is no accident it comes from understanding the components that make up a sharp image. Focus, lens, aperture, exposure and post-production are the key aspects of sharp images. It may sound like a lot to keep track of but it really is not that difficult and after this tutorial you will have to be careful not to cut yourself on your own super pin sharp photos.

What are you looking at!

Not just a great way to get into a fight at the local pub, what you are looking at makes a big impact on what you should be focusing on. First lets make sure your camera is in the correct mode. Most dLSR cameras have two auto focusing modes, single shot and continuous shooting mode.

As the names suggest one is for static subjects and the other for moving subjects, it is no good shooting a static subject on continuous mode and the same goes for shooting a moving subject on single shot mode.

When you are in continuous mode the camera will keep adjusting the focusing to follow a moving subject. When in single shot mode the camera will focus once, it is very important to have the correct setting for the shot. This is a basic fault that many photographers fall into leaving their camera on continuous mode and left wondering why most of their images are just not up to scratch.

Back to what are you looking at!

Most dSLR cameras have variable focus points it is imperative to be focusing on the correct part of your subject and this is another common cause of photos not turning out how you expected.

On the lower end of the scale a camera can have 3 focus points although more professional models may have 51 points like the Nikon D3. When you are shooting a stationery object and even more so portraiture it is best to have a single focus point active and normally the centre focus point, to be honest unless you are shooting moving objects it really is best to always shoot with a single focus point.

This is where my expression of what are you looking at is so relevant, often in auto focus mode and with multiple focus points active what you are looking at and what your camera is looking at are often worlds apart.

Manual or auto focus?

Anyone reading my articles will no doubt know my personal preference for the full manual mode across all settings of the camera, true this is my overall preference and probably comes from the days of manual cameras.

Now when I bought my first auto focus camera I must say I was excited, it took away a fundamental function to producing great shots and even better great shots in limited time. So actually I am a fan of auto focus, and as the years progress it has got better and better.

With that said though there are many shooting situations where auto focus just wont cut it. Portraiture is a classic example of when you should be shooting in manual focus mode. One of the favourite stuff ups of auto focus is to focus on the tip of the nose or on the eyelashes of an eye.

When you are shooting portraits with a fast lens at wide open, this little difference in focal point makes huge differences to the final result. If you are shooting portraits, shooting in difficult or low light situations, macro or with fast lenses wide open, then you should really be manual focusing.

This brings us to the end of part one; in the next series we will be covering aperture and exposure so stay tuned.
Until next time happy snapping and of course add your opinion below with the power of a comment.

Photo credits intro by melodysk