Sharpness

[JoanieA]

Does anyone know how I could make my images sharper?? Is it my settings? Or my equipment? This is a picture I took and I just think it is not as sharp as it could be. Any tips in this area would be much appreciated.

Here's what I used:
Nikon D90
f/4
1/125 sec.
ISO-320
50 mm lens
metering Center Weighted Average
Aperture Priority Mode
No Flash

[edbayani]

when i bought my camera 3 years ago,my photos turned out the same and since i was used to having sharp images when i was using film, i realized it was my eyes so i adjusted the diopter in the eyepiece of the camera and that did it.

[RichardTaylor]

It doesn't look sharp to me either.
Your settings look ok.

Did you have a filter on the lens?
If so then try it without it.

Was the pic shot as a jpg (and in camera sharpening applied)
Or
Was the pic shot in RAW and if so was it sharpened when post processing (usually they need to be)?

[MrJones]

first I thought you were out of focus but now I'm quite sure it's motion blur from the way you were holding the camera. are you holding it right?
your shutter speed in neither slow of high, try using a faster shutter speed and see how it goes.
regarding focus, move your focus points in the camera so you'll point to the eyes, try and minimize the movement of the camera when focusing.

[BigFuzzy]

Agree with MrJones, in these situations, it's almost always poor camera holding technique as opposed to settings/kit. If you had a larger sample of images, we might be able to discern what the issue is.

Are you manual focusing or auto?

Are you never able to get sharp photos? Or is it just occasionally that you have sharpness issues? I ask because if you are able to get sharp shots out of the image at any other time, then it's very unlikely that it's your kit and more likely technique.

Typically 1/125th is fast enough, but if your technique is poor, it could still be blurred.
Make sure you're elbows are tucked in to your sides and that you pull the shutter softly and opposed to smashing it down. Do some searches on google about camera holding, lots of stuff out there for you to see if there's anything you're doing wrong.

let us know how it goes.

[JoanieA]

Thanks! I do get sharp images a lot of time. I’ve found that they turn out a lot sharper when I’m closer to my subject and not worrying about the background. Mostly the larger groups or shots are less sharp.

No filter was used. I shot in RAW+Jpg, I’m not positive if in-camera sharpening is turned on. I did not sharpen the RAW image, though. I’ll try that.

My technique is probably poor. I’ll do some research in that area. I use auto focus. I was focusing on one of their faces in this.

The reason I asked about the kit is because of the problem I have with larger groups being sharp. Does anyone else have this problem?

[Vagebond]

Have you checked "set picture control" in the menu system -standard, neutral, portrait, vivid, landscape? You can adjust standard sharpening there, which affects only JPG. As already mentioned, RAW images have to be sharpened in post.

[Ottor]

If your Nikon has 'live view', enlarge the pic on the lcd screen and manual focus until it's as sharp as you can get it.. then snap away..

r

[kristenh]

if you are using autofocus, how do you have it set? i am pretty new to this, but have found that setting it to focus only on one spot- the middle- works best for me. i put whatever i want in focus right in the center of the screen, push the button halfway down till it beeps, then, while still holding halfway down- compose it the way i want it and then push all the way down. for me, with two people in the shot the way you have here, if i didn't do that, the camera would focus, at least some of the time, on the background, and neither person would be sharp. with these two folks, b/c they are both in the same plane- ie same distance from you- you could focus on one or the other, then recompose and it should work. if they are in different planes (one is closer to you than the other), then you'd need to use a smaller aperture (bigger f stop#) to have them both sharp.

other thought is- i have read that lenses have their own particular "sweet spots" where focus is sharpest - i believe for most it would be apertures of 8 or 11- in this photo, where the DOF doesn't matter so much (b/c they are up against a wall), you could try those apertures and see if that helps.