If I asked you, what are the 3 things you are looking for in each of your photographs? I am sure that "quality" will be one of your answers. The quality of the photographs is something that obsesses all photographers: very sharp photos, beautiful colors, the least possible noise and the perfect focus. But why is it so difficult to find the perfect photograph? Because there are certain factors that photographers who have just started in this wonderful art often overlook. In today's article we will review some of these factors or errors that, even though 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 the noise to the minimum possible
- Eliminate vibrations
- Use quality objectives
- If you use filters, they are of quality
- Turn to the sweet spot of your goal
- Lose your fear of editing programs
HOW TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS?
Achieving the perfect quality in each of your photographs is not as complicated as you can imagine, it only requires that you do not lose sight of certain aspects that, if you leave them at random, can easily end up ruining your shots. That is why I have prepared 8 simple tricks and tips so that the next time you go out in search of your next photograph, you can give your photographs a quality leap.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 but powerful aspect: the manual of their camera. While it is almost impossible to control the anxiety caused by having your camera for the first time in your hands, it is important that you take some time to read the manual of your camera. Why? It may be that without realizing it, you have missed some functions that will help you achieve sharper photographs, such as noise reduction. Before shooting your next photographs, pay attention to the following settings:- Color space : the color space your camera's ability to capture and recognize color information. It's something like the "amount" of colors and shades of colors that your camera is able to capture 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 in the computer monitor, you will do so 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 in the image as you got it when you pressed the shutter. Why use it? Because the higher the quality of the file (photo) that comes out of your camera, the lower quality you will lose when editing it on your computer. The JPG format is a compressed image format, that is, it suppresses a lot of valuable information about the shot, so I don't recommend you use it. Anyway, if you prefer to continue shooting in JPG, try to do it with the least possible compression, that is, with the highest quality that your camera allows you to configure.
2. THE MORE INFORMATION, THE BETTER.
The sensor of your 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 lack of light or darkness is not, so the more light you 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 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 a correct measurement and exposure will be essential, so I strongly recommend that, even if 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 your camera’s sensor capacity.3. KEEP THE NOISE TO THE MINIMUM POSSIBLE
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 so that the ISO sensitivity can be adjusted to the minimum possible: “As low as possible” does not mean always keeping it at its minimum value, but adjusting it to the limit of what the lighting conditions of the scene allow. First try to compensate for the lack of light by decreasing the shutter speed or by opening the diaphragm. But of course, always depending on what you want to achieve and transmit with your photographs. In this way we eliminate the noise (Noise) and help the sensor to give us better resolution results. If you are not yet familiar with the handling of your camera's ISO sensitivity or you want to refresh some concepts, I recommend you read the following article: “ How to use the ISO correctly in your photographs? " Anyway, although it is true that at higher noise levels 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 advice you read here is just that, advice and in no way are laws to follow strictly. Dare to break the rules.4. ELIMINATE VIBRATIONS
Among the factors that can most easily ruin your photographs, unwanted vibrations are the main ones. No photographer is exempt from this threat, from an amateur to professionals, in a second of carelessness, they can lose a spectacular snapshot thanks to trepidations. But don't worry, as easy as they can appear, so easy they leave. It will only be enough to take some precautions before preparing to shoot your camera:- Holding the camera: the way you hold your camera when making a shot greatly influences the possibility that it ends or not moving. Try to hold it with both hands in a firm way but at the same time allow you to maneuver it comfortably. Use your body as a living tripod: lean on your elbows, knees and above all things, when shooting it is important that you feel comfortable and relaxed, otherwise, the tension will move 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 photographs, taking a tripod with you may be the solution. Don't you have one Do not worry, after reading the following article you will be able to manufacture one using materials that you would commonly dispose of: “ Bricofotografía: How to Assemble Homemade Photographic Accessories ”.
- Stabilizer: today almost all targets are stabilized. This is a great advantage since activating this function considerably reduces the possibility that vibrations can ruin your photographs. However, stabilized lenses, by adding moving elements (crystals) inside, also reduce the quality of photographs.
- Focal length rule : there is a rule in photography that says, if you want to prevent your photographs from moving, the shutter speed should not be less than the focal length you are using. That is, if you are shooting with a focal length of 50 mm, 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 shutters: if you use very slow shutter speeds, you will most likely need other ways to shoot your camera so as to avoid that, by pressing the shutter button, you move the camera generating vibrations. Try to get a remote trigger to prevent this from happening.
5. USE QUALITY OBJECTIVES
While it is true that the quality of your objectives is limited by the budget that you can allocate for the purchase of these, this does not mean that you should spend money on the first one you have at hand. Before buying a lens, research about its performance, look for sample photographs, download its manuals and analyze the reviews that other users have made about them. The objectives are primarily responsible for the quality of your photographs, not the cameras. If you want to maximize the quality of your photographs, it is very important that you look at what resolution each objective has in its different focal distances, the amount of elements (crystals) with which they are built, the aberrations they produce and if their distortion is compatible with What do you expect from this one? The best way to choose a lens is to make comparisons and read the reviews of other photographers. The zoom lenses or with very variable focal lengths, such as an 18-200, although they are very comfortable thanks to their versatility tend to be much less sharp than for example the "prime" or fixed focal lens such as 50 mm. Why? Because the greater the quantity of crystals (elements) the quality of the photographs is reduced. Encourage yourself to use fixed-focus 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 tend to be brighter and if that were not enough, much cheaper. Of course, they are less versatile than zoom or variable focus.6. IF YOU USE FILTERS, THEY ARE OF QUALITY
This is a much more frequent mistake than you can imagine, especially since the placement of low quality UV filters has been frequent to protect the front lens from expensive lenses. It will not help you to have a goal of thousands of euros if in front of it you will place a questionable quality filter. 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 you take one that lives up to your objective, even if it is expensive. It is not worth "investing" the money in super economic filters that all they will do is add halos, reflections and aberrations for all your photographs. He who pays badly pays twice.7. "THE SWEET SPOT" OF YOUR GOAL.
All objectives, regardless of price or brand, have a point called “sweet spot”. What is this? It is the aperture of the diaphragm in which the performance of the objective is maximized, that is, in which you can obtain its highest quality point. You can find this point, commonly, dividing the maximum aperture in half: If your target has a minimum aperture of f / 22, approximately f / 11 you will get its best performance and sharpness. Keep in mind that this will limit the blur you can achieve since, when using more closed diaphragm apertures (f / 11, f / 16, etc.) the depth of field will increase and therefore the blur will decrease. I recommend that you take a moment to read the following article: " Everything You Need to Know About The Focal Distance of Your Objective ".8. LOSE YOUR FEAR OF EDITING PROGRAMS
Once the shot is made you can correct or improve the quality of your photographs by editing them on the computer. Keep in mind that editing is not the same as retouching: in edition one adjusts certain parameters of the shot, such as sharpness, contrast or white balance without altering or adding elements that were not taken into account or, they did not exist at the time of taking the shot, unlike the retouching that is where the photographer modifies or alters the original photograph affecting it in its entirety. By editing your photographs, you can improve certain aspects that make the quality resulting from it such as focus, contrast, sharpness, lights and shadows, etc. You will only need to use editing programs such as Photoshop or Adobe Lightroom or the programs of each of the camera manufacturers, which allow you to edit these parameters.We have just reviewed some of the simplest ways to make the quality of your photographs improve considerably, but these are not all. There are as many ways as readers in the blog, therefore, I invite you to, in the comments, share with all of us as you manage to improve the quality of your photographs.
