One of the most hateful comparisons we make with other photographers has to do with the sharpness of the photographs, especially in landscape photographs that are so spectacular and no matter how hard you try, you can’t… Well, that’s why we’re here, to throw you a cable
Because there is a part that has to do with the quality of the equipment, let’s not fool ourselves, a professional equipment is not the same as one for beginners or amateurs. But it is not all the equipment, there are many other factors and actions that intervene when it comes to getting an extremely sharp photo, and if you do not control them, you can already have the most expensive equipment in the world that will not achieve a photo even half as sharp that you can achieve with a beginner camera.
Most likely, you are in the second group and, for now, if your economy does not depend on photography, you do not need more, what you really need is to take advantage of yours. That is why I am going to tell you how to achieve maximum sharpness with the camera and the lenses you have. Let’s go there!
1. Clean targets
The first thing you should do, if you want to get a very sharp landscape image, is to clean the lenses you are going to use. Dirt, blur and movement are the number one enemy of sharpness. Start at the beginning, leaving your team like the spurts of gold. Here are some recommendations.
Keep your equipment clean
2. Remove the filters
On more than one occasion, from the blog we have encouraged you to use filters in landscape photography, as there are numerous benefits they offer. However, I have to warn you that a filter can dull your photo. It is okay to protect your lens in some situations, but in this case, to achieve maximum sharpness, it is better to remove it, especially if it is a good lens and the filter is an accessory that you have bought “cheap” to get by, because the only thing What you get is to subtract quality from the lens. If you want to use a filter, make sure it’s at least one that’s up to your target.
3. Use a tripod
In portrait photography you can make the excuse that you can’t use a tripod because you have to follow your model who moves. You don’t have that excuse here. The landscape doesn’t move, it’s not going to run away or anything like that. Here you have to use it yes or yes if you are looking for the greatest sharpness in your image. The slightest movement will blur the photo. If you haven’t got one yet, you should start thinking about adding the tripod that your SLR camera would like to have to your photographic equipment.
But not only do you have to worry about putting a tripod, but you also have to be careful that it does not move. Avoid placing it on any surface that vibrates (a bridge, for example) and if it is windy place a weight to prevent the air from moving the camera. If you don’t have a weight you can hook your backpack.
A tripod is essential
4. Use a remote shutter release
You have your camera on the tripod, you have put some weight to prevent the air from moving the camera and now you go and to shoot you press the button on the camera… meeeec!!!! (horn sound). Big mistake, dear reader. That movement when you press the round button on your SLR has just ruined the sharpness of your photography.
How do you fix this? Well, using other forms of shooting, such as the remote trigger, which is a very cheap accessory and saves you from this trouble. If you don’t have and can’t spend the ten euros ok, you can use the trick to activate the camera’s timer (although I warn you that it’s a bit of a hassle, the shutter release is more comfortable, of course 😉 ).
5. Turn off the image stabilizer
Some cameras and lenses have an image stabilizer. This is useful in many cases, but not precisely in this one. If you already have your camera planted on the tripod, the stabilizer will only detract from the quality of your photography.
6. Block the mirror
Your camera may not have this feature, but if it does, don’t hesitate to use mirror lockup, as mirror movement also causes minimal vibration that will affect the result. This is not something you should do every time you shoot a landscape, but it is something you should do every time you want an extremely sharp landscape.
7. Adjust ISO value
The ISO value should be as low as possible. Here you also have no excuse that there is little light because you can use slow speeds and compensate for this lack. You will not be able to compensate for the noise caused by high ISO in any way, there will be no editor to save your landscape.
very low ISO
8. Switch to RAW
It is not always advisable to shoot in RAW, as it has its drawbacks, but in this case it will be very useful. For extreme sharpness, you are not going to get rid of the processing and for this, the more information the image contains, the better results you will obtain, that is why you need your file in RAW and not a JPG that compresses the information.
Shoot in RAW
9. Compose in the moment
Don’t expect to experiment with compositing by cutting comfortably from your chair in front of your computer because all the work you’ve done so far won’t do you any good. The more you cut, the more quality your photo will lose. Do all the compositional tests «in situ» and take home the photo already cropped.
The composition is done in the same scene
10. Focus
And here comes the part that can be a bit more complicated but in reality it is not so much when they explain it to you 😉 and that is what the blog team likes to do, make things easy for you.
You have two options:
- use hyperfocal This is a very ugly “word” but it is perfectly explained and clarified by our friend Alexa in this article).
- focus bracketing, another weird word that actually consists of taking several shots with different focuses and then stitching them together with an editor. Find the sweet spot of your lens, the one that allows you to get the maximum sharpness and that is usually in intermediate apertures; Take several shots with different approaches and then join them with the editor you normally use.
11. Processed
Whether or not you use bracketing, it doesn’t hurt to run your photo through the editor and increase the sharpness with the unsharp mask and make some contrast and saturation adjustments. Do several tests until you get a result to your liking.
If you use any online editor you can find this sharpening function as “Sharpen” or “Sharpness”.
And remember, if you haven’t followed the steps above, don’t expect an editor (no matter how good) to improve your photo, they work wonders but not miracles 😉 Get the sharpness in front of the landscape and improve it on the computer. It is the only way to achieve an impeccable result.
Practice makes a master…
This should be your maxim, don’t expect to get spectacularly sharp photos by reading hundreds of articles, better read just one or two and start testing. You can do the first ones from home, you don’t need to find the best landscape, but practice. Once you see that your photos have improved in sharpness, go find some pretty scenery. I’m sure you’ll be less lazy that way 😉
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