Photography course: blurred or shaky?

My photos are not as sharp as others and seem a bit “muddy.” What could be the cause?

The causes of a lack of detail in an image are many. First of all, as we have often said, the quality of the lens plays a fundamental role in the final rendering of the photo.

It’s no coincidence that professionals invest at least two-thirds of their total budget in bright lenses with top-quality optics.

Then there is the sensitivity of the film (or sensor), which plays its part – the higher it is, the worse it gets – and finally the “steady hand” of the photographer, which is acquired only through experience and by holding the camera correctly.

Anyway, if we don’t have enough money to spend on a super sophisticated camera and even if we are beginners, adopting some simple tips we can greatly improve our photos.

First of all, we need to identify the problem and understand if the photo is out of focus or if it is blurry. The difference is often imperceptible and only by enlarging the image can we determine the cause of its poor quality.

Blurring

Excluding any gross focusing errors, generally the blurring affects only the subject we intended to capture, while other areas will be more or less in focus. The problem often arises with autofocus because the system works by measuring tonal differences and not the edges of the point framed, as happened with the focusing screen with image-splitting ground glass in old SLRs. To realize the limit of autofocus, just try to focus on the clear blue sky without clouds or a wall with a uniform tone: you will find that even the most sophisticated system will have difficulties and you will be forced to focus manually.

As we’ve previously seen, the problem can be reduced by stopping down the aperture more, but modern lenses also offer other valid alternatives such as multi-point autofocus, 3D tracking, continuous autofocus, or a focus range limiter which increases the speed and accuracy of the system, or even the electronic rangefinder.

Blurred photo

However, if the lack of sharpness is distributed over the entire frame and you even notice small streaks, then almost certainly the photo is blurry. The causes can be two: either the subject moved while we were shooting using a shutter speed that was too slow, or our hand shook a bit during the shot. In both cases, the solution is too obvious: you need to use a faster shutter speed.

The rule states that the shutter speed must never be slower than the focal length you are using, that is, with a 24mm you can shoot handheld using 1/20 of a second (in old SLRs the shutter speed was 1/15 or 1/30) and with a 300mm you should never go below 1/300 of a second (1/250 or 1/500 on old SLRs). Obviously, for very slow speeds, we are talking about 1/8 of a second or slower, it is essential to use a tripod or rest the camera somewhere.

The tripod

A trick when using the tripod is to raise the mirror before the shot and/or use the self-timer. Doing so will completely eliminate any risk of micro-shake. The problem, however, is widespread, and many manufacturers have added an anti-vibration system to compact cameras which is best kept always on, even if it consumes a bit more energy.

For DSLRs, however, there are lenses on the market with built-in gyroscopic stabilizers or camera bodies with a stabilizer mounted directly on the sensor. The effect is the same but the advantage of the second solution is that non-stabilized lenses are lighter and easier to manufacture than the others (and therefore cost less), and even if we change the lens the stabilizer remains in our camera.

Finally, it is worth remembering that a wide-angle lens will move much less than a telephoto because it is lighter and more manageable, and then geometry teaches that a small arc projected at a great distance becomes a large arc, so a movement imperceptible to us will cause a “blurry” effect much more evident on distant subjects than it actually is.

Complete photography course

1. Photography course: which camera to choose?
2. Photography course. The beginning: useful tips
3. Photography course: ISO sensitivity
4. Photography course: out of focus or blurry?
5. Photography course: the circle of confusion
6. Photography course: apertures
7. Photography course: the battery
8. Photography course: how to hold the camera