Ok, so in my last post, I identified 2 potential problems
with focus: poor metering and equipment malfunction. Once you’ve got a handle
on those two problems, there are still other things you can do to get sharper
focus to your images.
Helpful Hint #1: Use Correctly-Placed, Selective AF Points
Bottom line, if you want to get perfect focus every time,
learn how to see and accurately focus your lenses manually. That’s the only
sure fire fix for consistently perfectly focused images. Of course, it’s a
serious skill that takes study and a lot of practice. But for those of us who
need a faster focus than manual will give (or just don’t want to hassle with
it), there are a few things you can do.
When you’re shooting in automatic focusing mode (AF), many
people leave it up to the camera to choose what it wants to focus on. And for
most people in general shooting situations, this works just fine. However, when
you’re on a professional shoot, close enough just doesn’t cut it. You need to
get your focus right nearly every time. Most DSLR’s will allow you to force the
camera to focus on a specific focal point within the camera. This is something
I do every time, on every shot. I tell the camera exactly where I want the focal
point to be, covering the area with the red focal point I’ve selected. It takes
some time to train yourself to change focal points without having to think
about it too much. But once you do, you’ll find your fingers automatically
changing the focal points as you shoot to get the focal points exactly where
you want them to be.
As you do this, realize that focus almost always falls back
from the focal point selected. So focus on the object that is closest to you
that you want to be in focus. The focal depth will fall back from that
point. Don’t plan on anything in front
of the focal point being in sharp focus, though usually the focus will
gradually become blurry as it fades forward. For a large group portrait, I
place the focal point on the person’s face who is closest to the camera, not
grandpa who is sitting in the middle of the group. If you place your focal
point on grandpa, only the people who are behind him in the focal plane will be
in focus. All the people in front will be varying degrees of blurry.
Additionally, I know a lot of professionals who use back
button focusing. I personally don’t use back button focusing as I’ve never felt
the need for it, but I know many love it and feel that it really helps them
achieve sharp images. You can google more info about it, if you’d like.
Helpful Hint #2: If the Eyes Are Sharp, Everything Looks
Sharp
This is the most basic tip for achieving a seemingly sharp
image. People look at the eyes of the subject in a photo first; it’s a natural
human instinct. Therefore, if the eyes of the photo are sharp, the rest of the
photo will be deemed technically sharp. If the eyes aren’t in focus, the photo
will usually be considered technically out-of-focus. When shooting, getting
properly focused eyes are my #1 priority.
But how to do this?
Well, for a portrait, I place the focal point (see hint #1
above) between the person‘s eyes. That way, the eyes, lips and usually nose
will be in focus, assuming you've chosen a suitable aperture for the depth of field needed in the shot. I also do some selective sharpening in Photoshop to enhance
an already adequately sharp image.
Helpful Hint #3: Use Selective Sharpening in Photoshop
After working to get focus right in camera, there are a few
things you can do in Photoshop to enhance an already adequately sharp image.
From the start, however, please note that really nothing can make a blurry
photo look well-focused. Photoshop can “fix” a lot of problems, but poor focus
is not one of them.
If you shoot RAW, your image will not have any in-camera
sharpening applied to it. Additionally, I suggest keeping in-camera jpeg
sharpening parameters low. I prefer to apply digital sharpening myself in
Photoshop and not artificially in camera. Generally, when bringing a RAW photo
into PS, I will apply a little sharpening to it in Adobe Camera RAW or
Lightroom (like sharpening of 25). Such sharpening at this stage acts as a “defog”
or a gentle cleansing of the lines, removing some of the fogginess that is
inherent in digital images. From there, I will edit the photo in Photoshop,
applying a boost to contrast among other things. The contrast boost further
helps to separate visual elements and also enhances sharpness.
Once I’m satisfied with my edit, I will usually apply a
little selective sharpening. I apply sharpening selectively to just those parts
of the image that must be sharp, usually not the entire image. The reason for
this is simple: digital sharpening adds noise to the image. And I want to keep
noise to a minimum. Also, hair, fur, grass or anything close to it should NEVER
be sharpened beyond a general defog. Such elements easily show digital
pixilation when overly sharpened.
Using USM or smart sharpen (depending on your version of
PS), I duplicate my background layer and then lightly sharpen the image,
focusing on the eyes. From there, I paint out all sharpness from the layer,
leaving just those elements that I wanted to be a little sharper. This is
usually eyes, but also nose and sometimes lips.
Most of my action sets include a selective sharpening action that sets up the layers for you to do this.
Another little trick, oftentimes you will have one eye that
is slightly more in focus than the other. Or two people where one person’s eyes
are in better focus than the other. When this happens, I will sharpen just the
eye(s) that are not as sharp, making them look the same sharpness as the eyes
that are more sharply focused. This uniformity of focus will generally make the
entire image seem sharp.
Helpful Hint #4: Sharpness Is Overrated!
Ok, after this big, long discussion of focus, realize that
in most instances, razor sharp focus is overrated. Yes, your photos need to be
adequately sharp and free of technical blurriness, but after that, a slightly
out of focus eye does not necessarily ruin a photo. Look at professional
magazines and you’ll quickly see what I mean. A good number of photos in print today, even those in publications that pride themselves on their photography like National
Geographic, are not perfectly focused. Oftentimes, the emotion and composition
of the photo override any slight technical problems.
So realize, in the end, that a bland, technically perfect
photo is never preferable to a dynamic, wonderful photo that though not
perfect, is good enough.
So that's my basic lowdown on sharpening. You can get insanely technical with it, but in reality, there's a huge range of acceptability when it comes to sharpness. I like to keep my photos more natural looking, and hence, I like to make my images sharp in camera, instead of relying on digital sharpening, which can make a photo look a little too digitized.
On another topic, stay tuned for more news! I'm launching some new Flourish products on Monday (think brushes, textures and even some borders!), so take time now to opt in to my newsletter on my Flourish site (oh, and if the form states that it can't add you, then that means that you're already on the list!). I'll be sending out an announcement email and maybe even a coupon or two! So stay tuned!!
