Aperture

Sharp Series
1. Focus
2. Exposure
3. The Lens
4. Post Production
Commonly known as depth of field although you will know I prefer the term depth of focus, as it is more intuitive. Depth of focus controls what is sharp from the front of the frame to the rear of the frame. The depth of this sharpness within the frame is directly related to the size of the aperture being selected.

When we are shooting at wide-open apertures it is imperative to correctly focus on the point of interest. Let us use portraiture as an example, in part 1 of the series I spoke of manual focus and the need to shoot manual in many cases.

If we are using the classic portrait shot with a large aperture throwing the background out of focus even the smallest deviation from the correct focus point can ruin what was meant to be a first class portrait.

Often when shooting portraits we will focus on an eye, this draws the viewer into the shot, if we used wide-open aperture and auto focus there is a very good chance the camera is going to focus on the eyelash instead of the actual eye. This tiny variation of focus point will render the image slightly out of focus.  For most wide-open aperture shots choose to manually focus and be exact.

Shutter speed

Macro Shooting macro? Lock up your mirror, even the tiny vibrations from the mirror movement can destroy macro shots.Most modern dSLR cameras have a little warning symbol to warn the photographer the shutter speed they have just selected has the potential for camera shake.
Camera shake ruins many a photo, often it is not noticeable until you go to print your what you though was going to be a favourite shot. You may have noticed that most studios use tripods, even though there is allot of light, furthermore they often use cable release mechanisms.

Camera shake comes about from shutter speeds that are too long, often people with throw their camera onto a tripod and then scratch their head when the shot is still not sharp. Even pressing the shutter puts forces through the camera and often ruins the shot. If you need to use a tripod you really need to use a remote firing mechanism be it cable or infrared.

Another point to consider is image stabilisation lenses; they sound awesome cost more and guarantee better images at lower shutter speeds. Unfortunately there has to be a trade off and this is often marginal image sharpness. My rule of thumb is if a helper function has an off switch use it.  Of course do not let my own prejudices against auto modes and advancements in technology cloud your judgement experiment for yourself.

ISO

Noise Reduction Turn off noise reduction settings in your camera they just soften your images, it is just an in camera gimmickThere is a simple fact the higher the ISO the more noise that will be introduced into the shot. Even with top-end digital cameras such as the Nikon DX3 that has super high ISO there is a trade off in image quality. dSLR’s cameras that have a high ISO capability use software to manipulate the pixels, giving the illusion of sharpness while reducing noise.

Any time a camera introduces software manipulation in to the shot you are experiencing a trade off in quality somewhere it is just a simple fact. You will notice the more expensive the camera the less creative mode options you receive, this is because in most cases professional photographers want raw photo data not manipulated shots.
Personally I try never to shoot over ISO 100, if I have to shoot at a higher ISO there has to be a good reason for it. I could be using B/W film and it is the grain I am after, it could be I am inside and extra lighting is just out of the question.

Many live music photographers and cheering for the high ISO handling cameras, but blow their shots up into prints and you will soon discover the quality is just not there. You will notice I often refer to when you print; this to me is the main medium for photography. We can all take a shot that looks ok on a computer screen, but it is the 18x12 or even bigger hanged and framed that becomes the proof in the pudding.

It is quite simple for the sharpest shots turn it all off, turn off in camera processing, shoot in RAW, turn off noise reduction, use a tripod and cable release when necessary, shoot at the lowest ISO possible, focus with care and think about the image what is it you are trying to portray to the person looking at the photo, that is very important.