We’ve talked about choosing lenses – how lenses allow different focal length, max apertures and how lens choice is an artistic choice based on how you want to capture your image.
But unless you are a human tripod – in which case I will be totally jealous – there is still one universal rule that will help you get sharp images, regardless of what lens you choose. It’s called the “one over focal length” rule.
Don’t shoot any slower than the focal length of your lens for sharp images.
If you have a 50mm focal length, this means try to shoot faster than 1/50 second.
If you have a 200mm focal length, you’ll want to shoot faster than 1/200th second.
Keep in mind, this rule can be broken artistically at your choosing, and applies to hand-held images. You may find that you are steadier than the rule the rest of us have to abide by. Or if you’re like me, you may find that bending this rule results in soft focus.
My experimentation has shown me I can’t hand-hold much slower than 1/60 second. Even with my 50mm. Even at a focal length of 24mm. I am not steady enough to pull off those shots without a tripod.
What does this mean? Generically speaking, it means the longer the lens, the faster you have to shoot it to get tack sharp images.
Photo Tip, Day 6: Shoot at 1/focal length or faster to help get sharp images.
Try it. Get your longest focal length lens, and see how slowly you can shoot and still nail focus. Come back and let us know how your experiment went!
I remember you and I talking about this almost a year ago. This one tip has stuck with me in many situations. I have learned that I can shoot at 1/40 pretty darn sharp. But anything lower I need my tripod or a hard surface to lean on. I also know that unless my elbows are tucked way into my body and I steady myself – I get soft focus. I’m a person who talks with her hands and arms – so when some is infront of me I have to remember to tuck them way back in and stop moving. he he he!!!
me too – this was one of the tips that has totally stuck with me too from last year!
I’m still having so much trouble getting tack sharp images. I even checked the calibration on my lenses. And my skintones are not as “bright” as I want them either… so frustrating.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share all of these great tips! I appreciate it so much!
Loving your tips!!! Thanks for sharing them!
you’re awesome! and funny that we were both thinking in focus today!
Perfect timing, Darcy!! This morning I took advantage of the great weather to go out with my camera. Reviewing them this afternoon, I was disappointed. Then I read your blog post and now know the shutter speed was not on the best option. A lesson learned….Thank you very much for sharing helpful tips.
I am so wanting the 70-200 f2.8 lens, but right now the pocket book says I don’t think so. A friend let me borrow theirs and wow what a difference when taking pictures of my daughters water polo game.
Thanks for the tips in photography. I might retain some of it yet. I keep trying anyway.
I have to say that I only ever get satisfying sharpness with shutter speeds of 1/400 and above! Granted, the two lenses I use is one kit 18-55 and one 70-300. I find that it’s worth it to hit ISO 400 and a slightly wider aperture so that I can get speeds of 1/640 and the like, those are the only really sharp images I get.
By far the most useful accessory I’ve used yet is my trusty flash unit. I use a speedlite 480 in many lighting conditions to allow me to even out light, fill flash and above all crank up the shutter speed. It’s a lot cheaper than a faster lens, too.
Wonderful article! I cannot wait to get my camera out tomorrow morning and play with the settings to figure out what works best for me personally. Every article on this site is awesome and full of useful information.