If I asked you what are the 3 things you look for in each of your photographs? I am sure that “quality” will be one of your answers.
Photo quality is something every photographer obsesses over: sharp photos, beautiful colours, as little noise as possible and perfect focus. But why is it so difficult to find the perfect photograph? Because there are certain factors that photographers who are just starting out in this wonderful art often overlook.
In today’s article we will review some of these factors or errors that, although they are usually easy to solve, can end up ruining your photographs:
- Exploit the full potential of your camera
- The more information the better
- Keep noise to a minimum
- Eliminate vibrations
- Use quality goals
- If you use filters, make sure they are of quality
- Hit the sweet spot of your target
- Lose the fear of editing programs
How to improve the quality of your photos?
Achieving the perfect quality in each of your photographs is not as complicated as you might imagine, it just requires that you do not lose sight of certain aspects that, if left to chance, can easily end up ruining your shots.
That is why I have prepared 8 simple tips and tricks so that the next time you go out in search of your next photograph, you can give your photos a leap in quality.
1. Exploit the full potential of your camera
The camera you have in your hands is much more powerful than you imagine. How is it possible? Most photographers overlook a simple yet powerful aspect: their camera manual. Although it is almost impossible to control the anxiety that comes from having your camera in your hands for the first time, it is important that you take some time to read the manual of your camera. Why? Perhaps without realizing it, you have overlooked some features that help you achieve sharper photos, such as noise reduction.
Before shooting your next photos, pay attention to the following settings:
- Color space: color space the ability of your camera to capture and recognize color information. It is something like the “number” of colors and color tones that your camera is capable of capturing in a photograph. You can work with RGB or Adobe RGB color space. I recommend using Adobe RGB as it is especially suitable for high quality images. Keep in mind that, even if you don’t notice the difference on the computer monitor, you will if you send them to print.
- RAW format: This image format, unlike the well-known JPG, is a file format known as “digital negative” and it contains all the information of the image just as you captured it when you pressed the shutter. Why use it? Because the higher quality the file (photo) that comes out of your camera, the less quality you will lose when editing it on the computer. The JPG format is a compressed image format, meaning it removes a lot of valuable information about the shot, so I don’t recommend using it. Anyway, if you prefer to continue shooting in JPG, try to do it with the lowest possible compression, that is, with the highest quality that your camera allows you to set.
2. The more information, the better.
The sensor of your photo camera converts the light that is reflected by the subjects and objects present in the scene and converts it into data that is stored in a digital file, that is, in a photo. So, light is information and the lack of light or darkness is not, so the more light you manage to capture, the more information will be stored in each of your digital files.
So how is it possible to maximize the amount of information in each of your photographs? Making a correct measurement and exposure in each of the photos. Do not worry, it is not complicated at all, it will only require a little practice and that you read the following article: “Detailed Guide: How to Make a Correct Measurement and Exposure in Your Photographs”.
If you want to achieve quality photographs, achieving correct metering and exposure will be essential, so I strongly recommend that, even though it is very comfortable, you abandon the use of automatic and semi-automatic modes (Auto, TV, PV, etc. ) since they do not take full advantage of the capacity of your camera’s sensor.
3. Keep noise to a minimum
In order to minimize the noise in each of your photographs, it is necessary to make a correct measurement of the light present in the scene in order to adjust the ISO sensitivity to the minimum possible:
“as low as possible” does not mean keeping it always at its minimum value, but adjusting it to the limit of what the lighting conditions of the scene allow you. First try to compensate for the lack of light by slowing the shutter speed or opening the diaphragm. But of course, always depending on what you want to achieve and transmit with your photographs. In this way we eliminate noise (Noise) and help the sensor to give us better resolution results.
If you are still not familiar with handling the ISO sensitivity of your camera or you want to refresh some concepts, I recommend that you read the following article: “How to Use ISO Correctly in Your Photographs?”.
In any case, although it is true that at higher levels of noise the sharpness and therefore the quality of the photographs decreases, the noise does not always ruin a photograph, but often even the power. Always remember that the tips you read here are just that, tips and in no way are they laws to be strictly followed. Dare to break the rules.
4. Eliminate vibrations
Among the factors that can most easily ruin your photos, unwanted vibrations are one of the main ones. No photographer is exempt from this threat, from an amateur to professionals, in a careless second, they can lose a spectacular snapshot thanks to the trepidations. But don’t worry, as easy as they can appear, just as easy they go. It will only be enough for you to take a few precautions before preparing to shoot your camera:
- Hold the camera: The way you hold your camera when taking a shot greatly influences the possibility of it ending up moving or not. Try to hold it with both hands in a firm way but at the same time allows you to maneuver it comfortably. Use your body as a living tripod: support yourself on your elbows, knees and above all else, when shooting it is important that you feel comfortable and relaxed, otherwise the tension will transfer to your camera and therefore to your photographs.
- Use a tripod: If you want to make sure that almost no vibration ruins any of your photos, carrying a tripod with you can be the solution. Don’t you have one? Don’t worry, after reading the following article you will be able to make one using materials that you would normally throw away: “DIY Photography: How to Assemble Homemade Photographic Accessories”.
- Stabilizer: today almost all lenses come stabilized. This is a great advantage since by activating this function, the possibility that vibrations can ruin your photographs is considerably reduced. However, stabilized lenses, by adding moving elements (crystals) inside, also reduce the quality of the photographs.
- Focal length rule: There is a rule in photography that says that if you want to avoid blurring in your photos, the shutter speed should not be less than the focal length you are using. That is, if you are shooting with a 50mm focal length, the shutter speed should not be less than 1/50. Again this more than a rule is a guide since it will depend on the situation and conditions in which you are shooting so that it works or not.
- remote triggers: If you use very slow shutter speeds, you will most likely need other ways to trigger your camera so that when you press the shutter button you do not move the camera causing vibrations. Try to get some remote trigger to prevent this from happening.
5. Use quality goals
While it is true that the quality of your lenses is limited by the budget you can allocate for their purchase, this does not mean that you should spend money on the first one you have on hand. Before you buy a lens, research its performance, find sample photos, download its manuals, and review other users’ reviews of it.
The lenses are primarily responsible for the quality of your photos, not the cameras.
If you want to maximize the quality of your photographs, it is very important that you look at the resolution of each lens at its different focal lengths, the number of elements (crystals) with which they are built, the aberrations they produce and if their distortion is compatible with what what do you expect from this The best way to choose a lens is by making comparisons and reading reviews from other photographers.
Zoom lenses or lenses with highly variable focal lengths, such as an 18-200, although they are very comfortable thanks to their versatility, are usually much less sharp than, for example, “prime” or fixed focal length lenses such as a 50mm. Why? Because the greater the number of crystals (elements) the quality of the photographs is reduced.
Dare to use fixed focal lenses: Thanks to their much simpler systems and with fewer elements, these lenses allow you to take much sharper photographs than zoom lenses. In addition, they are usually brighter and as if that were not enough, much cheaper. Of course, they are less versatile than zoom or variable focal length.
6. If you use filters, make sure they are of quality
This is a much more frequent error than you can imagine, especially since the placement of low-quality UV filters to protect the front lens of very expensive lenses has become common. It will be useless to have a goal of thousands of euros if you place a filter of dubious quality in front of it.
If what you are looking for is to achieve the highest quality and the photographs you are trying to take require the use of a filter, I recommend that you get one that honors your objective, even if it is expensive. It is not worth “investing” the money in super cheap filters that will only add halos, reflections and aberrations to all your photographs. He who pays badly, he pays twice.
If you want to know what brands I recommend, take a look at the following article: “8 Ways to Improve Your Photographs Thanks to a Filter”.
To protect your lenses, it will only be enough for you to be careful and place its protective cover every time you finish using it, you do not need any filter that reduces the quality of your photographs, no matter how expensive it may be.
7. “The sweet spot” of your target.
All lenses, regardless of their price or brand, have a…