sharp photos

[rokstomper]

Hey guys I am wondering how you guys get such sharp perfectly focused pictures. Is it my equipment holding me back or is it a problem with me not knowing what I am doing? I have a Nikon d3100 with the 18-55 vr kit lens and a 55-200 vr lens. Is it possible to get perfectly focused and super sharp pictures with this camera/lens setup?

 

[The_Traveler]

yes, certainly

post pictures with exif attached and maybe we can help.

 

[djacobox372]

You're equipment is not the issue.

• Stop down 2 stops from wide open (rule of thumb, depends on the lens)
• Focus and meter accurately
• Shoot at the lowest ISO setting possible (try to keep it under ISO 800 on the D3100)
• Turn noise reduction down or off
• If hand-holding make sure your shutter speed is at least twice that of the focal length (1/100 for 50mm, 1/400 for 200mm)--VR can help reduce this requirement as a very steady hand holding technique

 

[rokstomper]

yes, certainly

post pictures with exif attached and maybe we can help.

How can I post a picture with exif data?

 

[Dao]

If you upload the photo (without striping the exif data) to a photos hosting site such as flickr and do not instruct flickr to hide the exif data, people can then view the exif data from that photo (via software of add-on for browser)

 

[rokstomper]

Here is a picture strait out of my camera.

When i try to use the url it keeps saying invalid file.

 

[The_Traveler]

this is sharp

 

[jrizal]

It is combination of both skill and equipment. This does not mean your gear is poor. I myself have the same camera lens. And you have shown that you can take sharp photos. Of course better lens can help such as a prime. I will not pretend to be an expert but do follow the advice given above, do more research on photography and maybe perhaps in the future and when budget permits get additional glass.

 

[rokstomper]

Can any one tell me what went wrong with this and also thanks everyone for helping me get better. you guys are awesome.

 

[Patrice]

When you are taking a photograph while handholding the camera don't jab the shutter. Gently half press to get focus and meter reading and then let out half a breath and roll your finger gently down for the shutter release. Hold your camera up to your eye and rest it against your forehead a bit, have your left palm supporting the camera body and your left fingers working the lens. Your left elbow should be jammed solid against your chest. Your feet should be about shoulder width apart with your left foot slightly forward and supporting a bit more than half your weight.

Good camera technique will improve your keeper rate.

 

[jrizal]

Again I am not claiming to be an expert but IMO the plant and the small both grab attention from your dog. I would experiment with the composition, adjust focus on the desired subject and adjust aperture to a shalllower DoF to get the best possible shot which IMO would be your dog being the focus of attention and against a slightly blurred background. There may be limitations to the shallower DoF from the 18-55mm as that is due to the nature of the lens. So do not be afraid to experiment and it's not as if you are shooting with film which can be rather expensive. More exprerienced users can provide better suggestions, comments and techniques. But that's just my take.

 

[KmH]

The image sensor in most digital cameras have an anti-aliasing (AA)/low pass filter in front of the them.
How aggressive the AA filter is varies by camera make and model.
The AA filter sharpens focus.
Lens quality, camera holding technique, shutter speed, depth-of-field, focus mode, focus area mode, and other factors affect focus sharpness.
How Do I Use My Digital SLR?: How to Get Sharply Focused Images

Consequently, most digital images need to be sharpened post process.
Sharpening is not a straight forward process. Many factors have to be taken into account when deciding how, and how much, sharpening can be applied to a specific image.
many of use do sharpening in 3 stages:
1. Global (the entire image) capture sharpening. Capture sharpening is often done using a parametric (non-destructive) Raw conversion application like Adobe Camera Raw (ACR).
2. Local (only portions of an image) sharpening. There are many local sharpening techniques - UnSharp mask (USM), high-pass filter sharpening, luminosity sharpening, Photoshop Sharpen Tool, and others.
3. Output sharpening. Prints can usually be sharpened more than images destined for electronic display.
Real World Image Sharpening with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Lightroom (2nd Edition)

 

[rokstomper]

The image sensor in most digital cameras have an anti-aliasing (AA)/low pass filter in front of the them.
How aggressive the AA filter is varies by camera make and model.
The AA filter sharpens focus.
Lens quality, camera holding technique, shutter speed, depth-of-field, focus mode, focus area mode, and other factors affect focus sharpness.
How Do I Use My Digital SLR?: How to Get Sharply Focused Images

Consequently, most digital images need to be sharpened post process.
Sharpening is not a straight forward process. Many factors have to be taken into account when deciding how, and how much, sharpening can be applied to a specific image.
many of use do sharpening in 3 stages:
1. Global (the entire image) capture sharpening. Capture sharpening is often done using a parametric (non-destructive) Raw conversion application like Adobe Camera Raw (ACR).
2. Local (only portions of an image) sharpening. There are many local sharpening techniques - UnSharp mask (USM), high-pass filter sharpening, luminosity sharpening, Photoshop Sharpen Tool, and others.
3. Output sharpening. Prints can usually be sharpened more than images destined for electronic display.
Real World Image Sharpening with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Lightroom (2nd Edition)

Thanks this really helps a lot. This is exactly what I needed also a great write up of advice in the first link.

 

[Designer]

First shot: As Lew wrote; it looks sharp as it is, however you shot that at focal length of 160mm, and the shutter speed was only 1/250. So you're pushing your ability to hand-hold at that focal length.

Another thought; do you have any auxiliary lenses or filters on the front? Sometimes a UV filter is affecting the sharpness.

Can any one tell me what went wrong with this and also thanks everyone for helping me get better. you guys are awesome.

I am a poor judge of focus in posted images, but it could be that your camera was focusing on the wall blocks or the fence, or the figurine attached to the dog's butt. When you have a cluttered background, and can't improve the composition, notice where the camera is trying to focus, and either change the focus point or lock focus before tripping the shutter.

 

[rokstomper]

I use to use uv filters but found that they actually hurt image quality so I no longer use them. I also only shoot in jpeg not Nef. I have been wanting to switch over but am not exactly sure how because of memory and conversions. I feel like like raw or nef would help having better pictures.