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Another Reason To Press the Shutter Button Halfway First

April 25, 2018 by Steve Berardi 2 Comments

Pressing the ButtonIn a previous article, I talked about a few things to keep in mind when pressing the shutter button. One thing I mentioned was to press the button halfway first, wait half a second or so, and then press it down the rest of the way. Doing this helps prevent the camera from shaking, which results in sharper photos.

After writing that article, I realized there’s another reason to press the button halfway first. With some lenses, the stabilization system isn’t always active. Sometimes it’s only activated by pressing the back-button autofocus and/or the shutter button. And, when the lens stabilization is first activated, sometimes there’s some noticeable jitter before the lens really stabilizes and is ready to take a sharp image. [Read more…] about Another Reason To Press the Shutter Button Halfway First

Filed Under: Tips Tagged With: button, IS, lens, sharp, shutter, stabilization

Sharpness – Relative vs Absolute

August 30, 2017 by Steve Berardi 9 Comments

ManzanitaThe more I photograph nature, the less I’ve been concerned about sharpness. It’s not out of laziness, but from the realization that relative sharpness is much more important than absolute sharpness.

Absolute sharpness is about making your subject as sharp as possible, within the limits of your camera and lens.

On the other hand, relative sharpness is about making your subject as sharp as possible relative to other elements in that image.

This also applies to depth of field, and in this article when I mention sharpness I also mean depth of field/focus.

For example, here’s a photo with a lot of absolute sharpness: [Read more…] about Sharpness – Relative vs Absolute

Filed Under: Close-Up, Macro, Tips, Wildflowers, Wildlife Tagged With: butterfly, depth of field, dragonfly, focus, sharp, sharpness, wildflowers

How to Reduce Noise in Your Photos

March 18, 2014 by Steve Berardi 9 Comments

Noise is that ugly discoloration that makes your photos look “grainy” (like in the image on the right, where the noise has been exaggerated to make it more clear). It’s one of the most annoying things you’ll have to deal with in digital images.

Although you’ll never get rid of noise completely, there are a few things you can do to reduce it so it’s barely noticeable by the viewer: [Read more…] about How to Reduce Noise in Your Photos

Filed Under: Tips Tagged With: despeckle, exposure, grain, grainy, histogram, how to, iso, long exposure, noise, noisy, photos, ratio, reduce, reduction, sharp, sharpen, signal to noise, speck, speckle

4 Tips For Getting the Most Out of Your Tripod

October 2, 2013 by Steve Berardi 5 Comments

Tripods are one of the most important tools of nature photography. Not only do they help you get sharper images, but they also have a tendency to force you to consider your composition more carefully.

And, although they may seem like really simple pieces of equipment (especially when compared to your camera), there’s actually a few things you should keep in mind when using them in order to maximize their effectiveness: [Read more…] about 4 Tips For Getting the Most Out of Your Tripod

Filed Under: Tips Tagged With: accessories, accessory, ansel adams, bubble level, center post, collar, l bracket, level, sharp, stable, tripods, wind

Three Great Tripod Accessories

July 22, 2013 by Steve Berardi 4 Comments

Sometimes it can be really annoying to get your tripod in the EXACT position you need it. Just when you think you’ve got it set up how you want it, you lock in the ballhead, and realize your camera just moved down half an inch, which totally ruins your composition.

Well, luckily there are a few accessories that can help make your life easier: an L-bracket, a tripod collar, and a bubble level. [Read more…] about Three Great Tripod Accessories

Filed Under: Landscapes, Tips, Wildflowers Tagged With: accessory, ballhead, bubble level, collar, gear, head, items, l, l bracket, sharp, support, telephoto, tripod

The OTHER Reason To Use a Tripod

April 29, 2013 by Steve Berardi Leave a Comment

tripod_equipment3You hear it all the time: if you want sharp photos, you gotta use a tripod whenever possible.

Well, if that isn’t reason enough for you, here’s another benefit of using a tripod: it forces you to think more carefully about your composition.

When you handhold your camera, there’s a tendency to snap away photos as soon as you spot your subject. Then, after you got a few shots, you’ll just move on.

But, add a tripod to the equation, and all of a sudden you’ll be carefully adjusting those knobs until the camera is exactly where you want it. Sometimes this will take a considerable amount of time, but during this extra time there’s a good chance you’ll notice something new about your subject that will take your composition into a whole new direction. [Read more…] about The OTHER Reason To Use a Tripod

Filed Under: Landscapes, Tips Tagged With: camera, composition, landscape, reason, sharp, still, tripod, why

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