"Why are my photos not sharp?" is one of the questions I get asked the most, and it's so frustrating when you get home from a shoot and your photos look soft or blurry. The good news is that it's usually one of a few simple things, and once you know what to look for, it's easy to fix.
In this post I'm going through the 6 most common reasons your photos are not sharp and how to fix each one. They apply to any camera, from mirrorless to DSLRs. I've split them into two groups: external reasons (your gear) and internal reasons (your camera settings).
Why are my photos not sharp? The quick answer
Most blurry or soft photos come down to one of these six things:
- Dirty gear: fingerprints, dust or mist on your lens or sensor
- Filters: a low quality UV, ND or polarising filter
- Your lens: some lenses are softer than others, especially wide open
- Aperture: a very wide or very narrow aperture
- Motion blur: from your camera, your subject or a long focal length
- Focus settings: the wrong autofocus mode for what you're shooting
Edited with my Amalfi Lightroom preset pack.
External reasons your photos are not sharp
1. Your lens or camera is dirty
This is the easiest one to fix, and something you should do before every shoot: clean your camera gear. Even if you're really careful, using your camera and changing lenses means it will get dirty eventually. Fingerprints, dust, dirt or a fine layer of ocean mist on your lens will all stop you from getting the sharpest photos possible.
I clean my lenses before every single shoot. When you clean yours, check both the front and back element, because both sides can get dirty.
Unedited
Edited with Wildfern
Unedited (left) and edited with Wildfern (right).
2. Your UV filter (or any lens filter)
If you use a filter on your lens, whether it's a clear UV filter, an ND filter or a polariser, it could be making your photos softer. Depending on the quality of the filter, it can add extra lens flare and reduce sharpness.
How to test it: put your camera on a tripod at home and take the same photo with and without your filter. Compare them side by side on your computer at 100% to see if the filter is softening your images.
When you clean your lens, also check the space between the lens and the filter. I rarely take my UV filter off, so I don't clean behind it before every shoot, but if you change filters often, wipe that area down too.
Edited with my Earthy Lightroom preset pack.
3. The lens you're using
Different lenses have different levels of sharpness. Vintage and older lenses are fun to shoot with and can give you interesting results, but many weren't designed for today's high resolution sensors. Even when you nail focus, zooming in to 100% can show a lack of fine detail. In the video I show an extreme example with a vintage lens on the Sony A7IV.
How to fix it: if your lens isn't tack sharp wide open, try stopping down the aperture to find its sharpest point. I often shoot at f/2 or f/2.8, which gives me very sharp images while still keeping a soft, blurry background.
Unedited
Edited with Rosewood
Unedited (left) and edited with Rosewood (right).
Internal reasons: camera settings that cause blurry photos
4. Your aperture is too wide (or too narrow)
If you're shooting wide open at f/1.2 or f/1.4, you might be expecting too much. A shallow depth of field looks beautiful, but it's tricky: depending on your focal length, your angle and how close you are to your subject, only a very thin slice of the photo will be in focus. On a close-up portrait at f/1.4, the eye can be tack sharp while the eyebrows are already going soft.
How to fix it: if you'd like more of the face in focus, use a slightly smaller aperture, such as f/2 to f/3.5. You'll still get lovely separation from the background, with more of your subject sharp.
At the other end of the scale, going all the way to f/16 or f/22 for maximum sharpness can backfire. Very small apertures cause diffraction, which makes the whole photo look softer again. The sharpest aperture is different for every lens, so put your camera on a tripod and take the same photo at different apertures to find your lens's sweet spot. My video on how to choose the best aperture goes into more detail.
Unedited
Edited with Meadow
Unedited (left) and edited with Meadow (right).
5. Motion blur
Motion blur is one of the most common reasons photos aren't sharp, and it can happen in three ways.
Camera shake. If the subject and the background have the same blur, your camera moved. This happens when you hand hold at a slow shutter speed, take photos while walking, or bump your tripod. It's more common on DSLRs, since most mirrorless cameras have in-body stabilisation (IBIS). To fix it, use a sturdy tripod for still subjects, or use a faster shutter speed when hand holding. Some people can hand hold at 1/60s, but I move around a lot while I shoot and direct my subject, so I've worked out that 1/200s is the slowest shutter speed I use for sharp portraits.
Subject movement. If only your subject is blurry and the background is sharp, your subject moved. To freeze them, use a faster shutter speed. I can get away with 1/200s if I ask my subject to pause between poses, but for walking shots I go faster.
Focal length. The longer your lens, the more any movement shows. A good rule of thumb is to keep your shutter speed at at least double your focal length. At 200mm, that means 1/400s or faster. As it gets darker, I often switch to a wider lens because it gives me more room with shutter speed.
If balancing aperture and shutter speed feels confusing, my manual mode for beginners tutorial walks you through it.
Edited with my Mountains Lightroom preset pack.
6. The wrong focus settings
The last reason is your autofocus mode. Every camera has two main options: single-shot autofocus (One Shot on Canon, AF-S on most other brands) and continuous autofocus (AI Servo on Canon, AF-C on most other brands).
- Single-shot AF: half-press the shutter to lock focus, then recompose. Great for still subjects and landscapes.
- Continuous AF: focus keeps adjusting as you or your subject move. Best for portraits, moving subjects and hand-held shooting.
I use continuous AF for portraits because, unless you're leaning against something solid, you naturally sway a little while shooting. At f/1.2, moving forward by even a centimetre can throw your subject out of focus, so letting the camera keep tracking makes a huge difference.
On Sony cameras I also adjust settings like subject shift sensitivity and focus transition speed, which help at weddings and events when people walk through the frame. I explain them in my Sony A7IV photo setup and autofocus settings video.
Unedited
Edited with Hibiscus
Unedited (left) and edited with Hibiscus (right).
Quick checklist for sharper photos
- Clean the front and back of your lens before every shoot
- Test your filters on a tripod, and remove them if they soften your photos
- Stop down a little (f/2 to f/2.8) if your lens is soft wide open
- Avoid very small apertures like f/16 to f/22, which cause diffraction
- Use a shutter speed of at least double your focal length, and faster for moving subjects
- Use continuous autofocus for portraits and moving subjects
Edited with my Fall Lightroom preset pack.
Sharp photos FAQ
Why are my photos blurry even when I focus?
If your focus point is correct but the photo still looks soft, the most common causes are camera shake from a slow shutter speed, a very shallow depth of field, a dirty lens or a low quality filter. Try a faster shutter speed and a slightly smaller aperture first.
What shutter speed should I use for sharp photos?
A good rule of thumb is to use a shutter speed of at least double your focal length, for example 1/400s at 200mm. For portraits where you're moving around, I use 1/200s or faster, and faster again for moving subjects.
What aperture is sharpest?
Most lenses are sharpest a stop or two down from their widest aperture, often around f/2.8 to f/8. Very wide apertures give a thin plane of focus, and very small apertures like f/16 to f/22 can soften photos because of diffraction.
Do UV filters make photos less sharp?
They can. Lower quality filters can reduce sharpness and add lens flare. Test by taking the same photo on a tripod with and without the filter.
Should I use single or continuous autofocus for portraits?
Continuous autofocus (AF-C or AI Servo) is usually best for portraits, because it keeps adjusting focus as you or your subject move slightly. Single-shot autofocus works well for still subjects and landscapes.
Does IBIS help with sharp photos?
Yes. In-body image stabilisation reduces blur from camera shake, so you can hand hold at slower shutter speeds. It doesn't freeze a moving subject, so you still need a fast enough shutter speed for movement.
All the photos in this post were edited with my Lightroom presets. You can browse every pack in my Lightroom Presets for Portraits collection, and if you're stuck between a few, you can buy any 3 presets and save 10%.
0 comments