What are the secrets for clear and sharp photos?

[unpopular]

unpopular

you seem to have another way, but it is ISO 100 I shouldn't see noise right? this made me wish to have ISO 50....
I am using Adobe Camera RAW for my processing.
Can the temperature affect image noise? because the temperature is about 40C+.....
But not to this point (the first image is unprocessed)
Thanks​

Well, the further in any direction from the sensor's native ISO (the sensitivity of the image sensing elements) the less dynamic range you'll get. My Sony has a native ISO of 200, so I actually get more slightly less shadow noise at ISO 100 than I do at ISO 200, despite having slightly more general noise. But being that I ETTR, noise at ISO 200 is just never a problem, even with my noisy a350. However, this is not the shadows and you shoot canon, which, iirc, has a native ISO of 100.

Temperature can affect noise performance, and 40°C is pretty hot, especially if you were out shooting for a long period - it I'm not sure if it's THAT hot. And it should be noted that both the 40D and the 1000D are older bodies, but not ancient. Coupled though with poor technique and prolonged high temperatures, this may contribute to the noise problem you're seeing.

 

[fjrabon]

why are you sharpening the sky in the first place?

 

[Solarflare]

Start with good glass, shoot in raw, use solid post processing techniques.

Um, what about getting the object of interest into focus first ?

 

[fjrabon]

Start with good glass, shoot in raw, use solid post processing techniques.

Um, what about getting the object of interest into focus first ?

OP seems to mostly be talking about the sky, which nailing the focus on the sky isn't really a concern.

 

[unpopular]

Blue/Cyan also is going to be noisier than Yellow/Red. Digital cameras have always had trouble in this area.

Of course, in that part of the world blue skies are pretty typical.

 

[fjrabon]

Though I dont think it's what the OP was talking about (wince his issue seemed to be mostly due to sharpening and adding contrast to the sky, instead of selectively adding sharpness and contrast where it was needed), but these tips are helpful nonetheless, and they just popped up on my facebook feed:

5 Simple Steps to Sharper Photos

 

[sovietdoc]

you sharpened the picture too much

 

[msaha]

Thanks everybody, this has been helpful to the most extent.
Now I think I know the problem I am facing which seems to be "sky sharpening".
How can I sharpen everything but the sky, I mean what if there where clouds?
Should I use USM "unsharp mask" rather than Adobe Camera Raw sharpening?
Any useful tips or even walkthroughs on how to sharpen everything but the sky?
I have been a pain in the knee for what I know
Thank you all this is very helpful!

 

[unpopular]

I always sharpen after the RAW is processed. Make sure that you are outputting as a 16-bit image if you are planning on doing additional processing, this will ensure greater flexibility. I also never use USM. It's very crude. Instead look up Highpass Sharpening and place the highpass layer on Overlay or Soft Light for a more subtle effect. I believe (and others might disagree) that 8-bit images are more noisy upon editing than 16-bit images.

I also tend to use multiple highpass layers, each with decending radi and increasing opacities. So I'll have the first one with like 12 pixels on soft light and maybe 20% opacity, the next layer on overlay or soft light mode with 6 pixels, and 30-50% opacity, 3 pixels on overlay with 70-100% opacity and 1 pixels on overlay with 100% opacity.

More basic information here on this principle:

High-Pass-Sharpening

If you are stuck on USM, the problem is too much amount and too small a threshold (radi looks OK from here). Obviously you needn't sharpen areas without detail in teh first place, but to avoid increasing noise over all, make sure to use a threshold large enough that noise is not sharpened but edges can still be detected.

 

[KmH]

Hopefully, understand that sharpening can be done both locally and globally within an image.

I often use USM. USM can be used in a very precise manner, both in ACR (Camera Raw/Lightroom) and in CS5. USM saw some significant improvments starting with CS4.
Not only can USM be used for sharpening, it can also be used to adjust local mid-tone contrast.

Anyone thinking that USM is crude may not yet know how to use USM effectively.

No doubt, there are several valuable shapening techniques, and the key is understanding which techniques are best used with which image, or part of an image in the case of local sharpening.

 

[unpopular]

All of this is true of HPS as well, and teh two techniques are extremely related and similar.

Though, I also haven't used PS in forever.

 

[Solarflare]

Sharpening is a process that looks for structure that might not have been there in the first place.

Its a guesswork and a crutch. Anything will look unnatural with too much sharpening.

The really thing one would want to have is something like 3ccd or these Foveon X3 fotochips or the 3ccd on a chip patent of Nikon (not realized yet): actually know for each pixel of the image what color it had for real.

 

[unpopular]

well. it more amplifies structure that may not be readily visible. The a99 is rumored to be a 3mos configuration, but I'd think 3mos in a full frame SLR would be WAY too large.

I've always liked the idea of the Foveon, but until now it lacked in physical resolution (though some cite that it performs better optically). Though this has changed with the Sd1, and the price is now somewhere near normal.

Still, as cool as Foveon is, it seems equally as sharp as the a55 in this test, and not as sharp as the M9, which also lacks an antialiasing filter:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/sigma_sd1_review.shtml

 

[TCampbell]

Thanks everybody, this has been helpful to the most extent.
Now I think I know the problem I am facing which seems to be "sky sharpening".
How can I sharpen everything but the sky, I mean what if there where clouds?
Should I use USM "unsharp mask" rather than Adobe Camera Raw sharpening?
Any useful tips or even walkthroughs on how to sharpen everything but the sky?
I have been a pain in the knee for what I know
Thank you all this is very helpful!

You're still thinking on a larger scale than most photographers. Don't sharpen "everything but the sky". You can control depth-of-field for a reason. There are often just a few areas in a photo that you want sharp. Say your taking a portrait. Typically you'd want very sharp eyes. You usually want the facial skin to be smooth and soft... so sharpening the model's skin may not achieve a flattering effect.

Rather than sharpening everything (but the sky), be _very_ selective. Sharpen a detail for a specific reason as sharpness everywhere is not necessarily better.

As for how to do it. In Photoshop, the chant is "You have to select it, to affect it." There are a LOT Of ways to create a selection in Photoshop. I've noticed that part of being good at Photoshop is to be adept at the use of the various selection methods.

I use Aperture, which allows nearly any adjustment to be "painted on" - this is easier since you don't need to make a selection, just use a mouse or stylus and "paint on" the adjustment. It's pretty easy to just sharpen... "eyes" for example... without sharpening an entire image. I never apply sharpening globally to an entire image. I don't have Lightroom, but I'm fairly certain it has the same feature (Aperture is made by Apple so it only runs on Mac - Lightroom is Adobe and it runs on Windows or Mac).


I still have Photoshop, but I don't use it for the vast majority of adjustments and this really speeds up the workflow.

 

[greybeard35 7]

1) good glass
2) good focus
3) steady hands or a tripod.
4) reasonably low iso (depends on your camera)

As for #1 (good glass), the better the glass, the better chances you have of that tack sharp look over a broader range of apertures. The cheap stuff (like I use) will usually give you good results but over a narrow range of apertures. My 18-55 is good over only a 2 f/stop range (f/8-11) from about 24-50mm. My 55-200 however is pretty descent from f/5.6-16 ..... 55-150mm. If you have to go cheap, go prime like a 35 or 50mm. Let your legs do the cropping.........lol

#2 Sharp focus means taking your time and finding out how your cameras auto focus really works. In my case with the d5100 is choose the mode that uses only one spot in the center of the frame. I pre-focus with that spot and then compose my shot. This works very consistantly for me. This is for stationary objects of course.

#3 Goes without saying, steady hands....faster shutter speeds or a tripod. The best glass in the world can't help much if the camera isn't steady.

#4 The lowest possible ISO.........This is a balancing act because the higher the ISO, the faster the shutter speed you can use. This is something that only experience with your camera can provide. My old Sony F828 really sux at any ISO over 200 but, my Nikon D5100 holds up pretty will at 1600. (depending on the amount of crop)