Helpful Hint #1: Use Correctly-Placed, Selective AF Points
Bottom line, if you want to get perfect focus every time, learn how to see and accurately focus your lenses manually. That’s the only sure fire fix for consistently perfectly focused images. Of course, it’s a serious skill that takes study and a lot of practice. But for those of us who need a faster focus than manual will give (or just don’t want to hassle with it), there are a few things you can do.
When you’re shooting in automatic focusing mode (AF), many people leave it up to the camera to choose what it wants to focus on. And for most people in general shooting situations, this works just fine. However, when you’re on a professional shoot, close enough just doesn’t cut it. You need to get your focus right nearly every time. Most DSLR’s will allow you to force the camera to focus on a specific focal point within the camera. This is something I do every time, on every shot. I tell the camera exactly where I want the focal point to be, covering the area with the red focal point I’ve selected. It takes some time to train yourself to change focal points without having to think about it too much. But once you do, you’ll find your fingers automatically changing the focal points as you shoot to get the focal points exactly where you want them to be.
As you do this, realize that focus almost always falls back from the focal point selected. So focus on the object that is closest to you that you want to be in focus. The focal depth will fall back from that point. Don’t plan on anything in front of the focal point being in sharp focus, though usually the focus will gradually become blurry as it fades forward. For a large group portrait, I place the focal point on the person’s face who is closest to the camera, not grandpa who is sitting in the middle of the group. If you place your focal point on grandpa, only the people who are behind him in the focal plane will be in focus. All the people in front will be varying degrees of blurry.
Additionally, I know a lot of professionals who use back button focusing. I personally don’t use back button focusing as I’ve never felt the need for it, but I know many love it and feel that it really helps them achieve sharp images. You can google more info about it, if you’d like.
Helpful Hint #2: If the Eyes Are Sharp, Everything Looks Sharp
This is the most basic tip for achieving a seemingly sharp image. People look at the eyes of the subject in a photo first; it’s a natural human instinct. Therefore, if the eyes of the photo are sharp, the rest of the photo will be deemed technically sharp. If the eyes aren’t in focus, the photo will usually be considered technically out-of-focus. When shooting, getting properly focused eyes are my #1 priority.
But how to do this?
Well, for a portrait, I place the focal point (see hint #1 above) between the person‘s eyes. That way, the eyes, lips and usually nose will be in focus. I also do some selective sharpening in Photoshop to enhance an already adequately sharp image.
Helpful Hint #3: Use Selective Sharpening in Photoshop
After working to get focus right in camera, there are a few things you can do in Photoshop to enhance an already adequately sharp image. From the start, however, please note that really nothing can make a blurry photo look well-focused. Photoshop can “fix” a lot of problems, but poor focus is not one of them.
If you shoot RAW, your image will not have any in-camera sharpening applied to it. Additionally, I suggest keeping in-camera jpeg sharpening parameters low. I prefer to apply digital sharpening myself in Photoshop and not artificially in camera. Generally, when bringing a RAW photo into PS, I will apply a little sharpening to it in Adobe Camera RAW or Lightroom (like sharpening of 25). Such sharpening at this stage acts as a “defog” or a gentle cleansing of the lines, removing some of the fogginess that is inherent in digital images. From there, I will edit the photo in Photoshop, applying a boost to contrast among other things. The contrast boost further helps to separate visual elements and also enhances sharpness.
