Taking Sharp Photos with Sony Cameras

You’ve just had a fun, full day of photography. You come home, transfer the pictures to your computer and are just… a bit disappointed with the results. How the heck do you get sharp pictures?

Photos always look good on the tiny LCD of your camera, but sometimes when you look at them on a larger screen, they’re soft and lack that “oomph” you thought you were capturing.

In this guide, we’ll be going over various methods you can take to get sharper pictures next time you go out to shoot. While this is somewhat generic advice, some of it is specifically tailored to Sony cameras.

Let’s dive in!

Getting sharp images takes some practice.

Why are my pictures not sharp?

Before we get rolling, let’s go over the four main reasons your photos might be coming out blurry.

Camera Shake

First up, the most common reason for lackluster photos comes down to camera shake.

You see, your camera’s shutter is open for a certain amount of time, and any movement during that time will disrupt the exposure.

If you’d like to learn more about camera shake and shutter speed, check out my in-depth articles on the subject (for a6k series and for a7 series cameras).

rope bridge in forest — _{Even a tiny bit of camera shake can ruin your shot (like if you’re taking a picture on a bridge and someone walks on it, thus shaking it and you).}

Shallow Depth of Field

The second reason is that you may be shooting at too wide of an aperture.

To put it simply, the “higher” the aperture (F-stop value), the more of your image will be in focus and, thus, “sharp”.

If you’d like to dig deeper into depth of field and aperture, I also have various articles that cover the subject (for a6k series and for a7 series cameras).

out of focus shoreline — _{You may have just not tightened your F-stop (aperture) enough, thus not capturing the full depth of field you wanted.}

out of focus water — _{You may have just not tightened your F-stop (aperture) enough, thus not capturing the full depth of field you wanted.}

Inaccurate Focus

Third, you may just have inaccurate focus.

Generally, most modern lenses and cameras have incredible autofocus systems, but they can still sometimes trip up.

It’s worth digging into the autofocus settings on your camera (read more: a6k series, a7 series) and making sure everything looks good.

Typically, keeping the “focusing mode” on AF-S or AF-C and the “focus area” on wide should do the trick.

out of focus girl on beach — _{And sometimes, autofocus just trips up.}

out of focus birds — _{And sometimes, autofocus just trips up.}

Dirty Lens/Sensor

Finally, the last major reason is that your lens or camera sensor might just be a bit dirty.

Cleaning a lens is simple. Take a microfiber cloth (please make sure it’s clean) and wipe off the front (and if needed, rear) element of the lens.

Then, use a lens blower to blast off any excess dust.

Cleaning a sensor is a bit more complicated and risky, but anyone can do it!

Petapixel has a great article about it and, if you’re too nervous, it’s always possible to take the camera into a photo store to have it done professionally.

sony camera near puddle at night — _{Sometimes you just need to wipe off your lens!}

sony camera covered in water — _{Sometimes you just need to wipe off your lens!}

Taking Sharp Photos

So, now that we’ve got the main causes of soft photos out of the way, what actionable steps can we take to get sharper pictures?

In-Camera Settings

Use a Fast Shutter Speed

First up, let’s talk about in-camera settings.

As mentioned earlier, camera shake and handholding at slow shutter speeds is typically the number one cause of blurry pictures.

Always ensure that your shutter speed is set to something that you can comfortably handhold.

man holding camera — Shooting handheld at slow shutter speeds is often the main cause of “slightly blurry” photos.

I have naturally shaky hands, so I tend to shoot at 1/100th of a second (or slighter faster, like 1/60th if I’m using in-body stabilization).

Typically, I aim to always shoot with a shutter speed that is 2x the focal length of my lens.

As an example, I’ll usually shoot at 1/100th if I’m using a 50mm lens (once again, I have shaky hands).

cute dog in city — _{Always aim for your shutter speed to be at least double your focal length. (1/50th for 25mm, 1/100th for 50mm, 1/200 for 100mm, etc.)}

Use A Tight Aperture

As for aperture, if you’re looking to create an image that’s entirely sharp all the way through, you’ll need to shoot with a higher F-stop (generally F8 is the sharpest on most lenses).

Higher aperture values allow more light into the lens, thus getting more of your composition into focus.

Again, if you’d like a more thorough explanation of F-stop/aperture, read here.

blurry soccer field — Low F-stop value equals thinner “depth of field”.

park with river — Low F-stop value equals thinner “depth of field”.

Try Not to Use High ISO (unless needed)

Finally, try not to use an extremely high ISO.

Shooting as close to “Base ISO” (the lowest ISO your camera can go) will always provide the absolute best image quality.

With that being said, don’t be afraid to push your ISO up when needed.

When handholding images, it’s more important to have a non-shaky shutter speed versus low ISO.

In low light, always increase your ISO before you resort to lowering your shutter speed below a reasonable level. We don’t want noise or grain, sure, but we also don’t want a shaky image due to improper shutter speed.

grain field — _{Wait a minute, not that kind of grain…}

Remember the Exposure Triangle

Expanding upon the previous advice, it’s important to always remember that all three settings (ISO, shutter speed, and aperture) work together to create perfect images.

Always try to find the best balance of settings.

For example, if you’re shooting landscapes during mid-day, you’ll likely use ISO100, 1/4000th shutter speed, and F8 aperture.

mountains on a sunny day — _{These mid-day landscapes were shot with: low ISO, very fast shutter speed, and a tight aperture (around F11).}

mountain and lake on a sunny day — _{These mid-day landscapes were shot with: low ISO, very fast shutter speed, and a tight aperture (around F11).}

On the flipside, if you’re shooting a portrait at sunset, you may want to use ISO500, 1/100th shutter speed, and F1.8 aperture.

It’s all relative to the scene that you are currently working with.

CapturetheAtlas has some INCREDIBLE infographics that explain this concept more.

man sitting on building at night — _{These dark night portraits were shot with: wide (low F-Stop) aperture, a somewhat slow shutter speed (1/60th) and moderate ISO.}

Physical Technique

Next up, physical technique plays a much bigger role than you’d expect.

Proper Handholding

Properly holding your camera can do wonders for reducing camera shake and blurriness in images.

Holding the Camera Close

This first tactic is what I usually use. Assume a split stance, and put the viewfinder up to your eye.

You can now lock your elbows into your chest, and this will form an incredibly rigid stance that will allow you to shoot with a lot more stability.

Bonus tip: “hug” stuff like light posts, trees, etc. for more stability.

Using a Neck Strap

Alternatively, you can use a neck strap to create stability.

Extend the camera out and pull the strap tight around your neck.

This will provide natural leverage and should (in theory) allow you to shoot more stable pictures.

Hold Your Breath

When employing either of these tactics, holding your breath can help your body stay just a little bit more still.

Seriously, I’m not joking. It’s like playing a sniper in an FPS.

man in ghillie suit — _{Pretend you’re this guy (hold your breath when taking photos).}

Upgrade Your Gear

I wanted to save this for last as I don’t really believe in telling new photographers to “go buy new crap!” but in this case it’s kind of true.

You can do a lot with a basic and cheap kit, but there are limitations.

Use a Tripod

The absolute cheapest and most simple gear upgrade you can get is a tripod.

A tripod provides a platform that is completely stable, allowing for extremely long shutter speeds and eliminating any potential of camera shake.

Lugging a tripod around can be a pain, but that’s how many photographers get amazingly clear and crispy images.

man with tripod — A tripod is the most foolproof way of insuring your images are sharper.

You can cheap out and get a budget one (clunky but does the job) or, personally, I’d suggest picking something a bit more in the mid-budget category.

Heck, I just use a Gorillapod most of the time. It was a bit pricey, but I can stuff it in my backpack easily and there is really no “setup” involved.

Bonus tip: when using a tripod, put your camera on a 2-second self timer to remove any possible shake from you physically hitting the shutter button.

Yep another bonus tip: if your camera has stabilization, turn it off when using a tripod. Sometimes IBIS can cause blur… ironically.

My Personal Suggestion

Generic Mid-Tier Tripod

I've been using this generic mid-tier tripod for a long time and I haven't had any issues. It may not super fancy, but it has a smooth, useful head and I've never had issues with stability.

Check Price on Amazon

Get Better Lenses

Although using gear as an excuse is a bad habit to get into, the simple truth of the matter is that the kit lens is often very limited.

Upgrading to a razor sharp, wide-aperture lens can do wonders for beefing up your picture quality.

If you’re looking for a budget pick, I would suggest the Sigma 30mm F1.4 (I’ve owned it for about 5 years) for Sony a6k series users and the Sony FE 50mm F1.8 for full-frame users.

lineup of sony lenses — Better gear is rarely the solution, but sometimes certain lenses are just bad (typically: the kit lens that came with your camera).

Get a Stabilized Body

Finally, upgrading to a camera with built-in stabilization can do wonders.

My old a6000 is a fabulous camera and I still adore it, but the lack of built-in stabilization is a big downside.

Upgrading to the a7iii changed the game for me. I can shoot handheld in lower light, it’s nice and stable for videos, etc.

sony camera — _{Although I don’t like to encourage new photographers to chase gear, upgrading to a stabilized body helped me a lot.}

Conclusion

Shooting sharp photos isn’t necessarily difficult, but it can take a lot of practice along with trial and error.

As for upgrading your gear, my advice is to just practice as much as possible with what you’ve got.

woman with camera on tripod — Push your gear’s limits and learn with what you have before considering upgrading. You can do a lot with a cheap setup (look at all the amazing smartphone photographers out there!).

Expensive gear does not equal skill. Seriously, I can’t state this enough: expensive gear isn’t critical for getting sharp photos.

To recap real quickly, here are the absolute basics of getting sharper pictures:

Make sure your camera sensor and lens are clean
Use a fast shutter speed
Ensure you have enough depth of field (high aperture)
Use high ISO only if you have to (remember the exposure triangle!)
Stabilize the camera (use a tripod, keep it close, hold your breath, etc.)

Like I mentioned earlier, if you’re looking to delve deeper into your camera’s manual controls and learn more, go check out my articles on shutter speed (a6k, a7) along with aperture/F-stop (a6k, a7).

Thanks for reading, now go take some sharp pics! 🙂