Hand-Holding the Camera and Sharpness

This happens: I get back to the computer and find that the shot I took is not sharp. I was shaking while taking the photo. Arrrrgh! But why? I’ll tell you my problems so you can avoid them yourself.

Maximum Lens Sharpness – The “Sweet Spot”

What is a lens’s “sweet spot?”

Everybody wants sharp and focused photos. You can get good sharpness near to far in a photo by hyperfocal focusing, but what are the limits of sharpness of your lens? At what aperture (f-stop value) will you get the sharpest photos? This is also known as the “sweet spot” of the lens. Here is a simple test you can do to find out where your lens is sharpest. But first, some basic rules…

General Rules for Lenses

The rules are about the same for every lens. Here are the general ones:

A Great Camera Strap – The BlackRapid “Curve” (RS-7)

The BlackRapid RS-7 Camera Strap

The BlackRapid “Curve” (a.k.a. RS-7) camera strap is the most useful accessory for my photography that I have ever bought. It gets the camera off of your neck, relieving stress, while 

How Sharp is Sharp Enough?

When it comes to your photos, how sharp is sharp enough? Almost everyone wants crisp, detailed photos without blur and in good focus. In addition some sharp edges look great in the right places. But how to achieve all of this?

Camera Lens Filter Effects You Can’t Get From Post-Processing

Software can do a lot to post-process your photos, but it can’t do everything. Sometimes, you just have to use a filter on your camera to achieve certain photos. Here are what filters you will absolutely have to have on hand in order to get those shots! (click to tweet)

Lightroom Sharpening – Where to Start?

Adobe Lightroom has some good sharpening tools built into it, but what are the best settings to use? It is not an easy question, but I’ll tell you what I do and hopefully make it easier to get started.

Using a Cable Release and Intervalometer with the Tripod

When doing time lapse work using a cable release or intervalometer (like the PClix XT) with my camera on my tripod, there is a simple thing I do to minimize vibrations that might blur my shots. I’m sure you’ve run into the problem before where even with mirror lockup on, you sometimes get some blur. Of course you don’t notice it until later because its nearly impossible to see on the camera’s built-in screen.

Preventing Motion Blur

I hate having to correct for motion blur in post processing. It’s easy enough to do with programs like Focus Magic, but it frustrates me because it could all have been avoided if I’d have just set-up my camera correctly! Motion blur happens when the camera is moving and the shot is taken, but there are some simple rules I have that can help.

The rules I use are as follows:

Camera Focusing Modes

I couldn’t write it better…so I won’t. Here’s a link to a great article on focusing modes.

This is one item that has tripped me up more than once. There’s nothing worse than going for a shot and having it ruined by bad focus. More than once I’ve been perplexed by my camera and why it won’t focus on what I want it to focus on!

Focusing Modes | Understanding Autofocus Modes.

via Focusing Modes | Understanding Autofocus Modes.

How to Photograph Flowing Water

What’s the correct way to photograph flowing water (waterfalls, streams, oceans, etc.)? It turns out there is no correct way – it depends on who you are and what you like!

In my photographs, I like to show what it would look like if I were actually right there looking at it. I want realism. I like that. So I usually shoot water so I can see almost every drop and ripple – a snapshot in time just as if I were there. But, that’s me.

The overwhelming majority of people like to see water as a blurred, fuzziness without drops or ripples. I’ve heard it termed “silky” or “flowing.”

No problem, I’ll show you how to do both:

What is your steadiness limit?

Who wants to use a tripod all the time? Sure it gets you blur-free shots, but how awkward carrying the thing around. Some places don’t even let you bring one (certain parks, monuments, busy areas, etc.). But how do you know if you’re going to get blur (camera shake) if you’re hand-holding your camera? You have to know your “steadiness limit.” Here’s how.

Lightroom + Focus Magic Workflow

Focus Magic Rescues Blurred Photos

When I have a photo that needs to be corrected for focus or motion blur, I use the stand-alone version of Focus Magic. I also use Lightroom first and have integrated Focus Magic into my workflow shown below. Please use it whole or in part as you need. I’m not going to show you each detail, but all the information you need will be in here. The part that is different from my standard Lightroom workflow is shown in bold.