SHARPEN UP YOUR SHOTS

Address focusing and blur errors to achieve crisp, detailed images, whatever subject you're capturing. Jon Adams and Andrew James show you how

- Jon Adams and Andrew James

As a photographer, if there's one Abar you have to hit it's the ability to capture a sharp shot - and that means an image with crisp, well-defined edges on the subject or area you want to be sharp. By 'sharp', we mean that there's no trace of blur or double image ghosting on the in-focus area. With today's sophisticated and quick autofocus systems, this doesn't sound like it should be too much of a challenge, but if you've critically inspected your images, you may have noticed that a significant percentage are not pin-sharp in the places where they should be.

This lack of sharpness occurs for various technical reasons, all of which we'll explore over the coming pages. Along with the reasons why that crispness is lacking, we'll also explain how you can overcome these problems to ensure that your shots hit the mark and deliver super-sharp results.

With all this in mind, the first thing you need to do is identify the specific type of blur problem your shot has. If you know what this is then it's relatively easy to find the appropriate fix, and then revisit your technique and/or camera set up to make sure it doesn't happen again.

THE DEVIL'S IN THE DETAIL

Consider your setup and settings for super-sharp landscapes