Help...I've tried everything for sharp images!

[Erich1B]

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[Gautam]

For static objects a shutter speed of 4000 is unnecessarily high. Using a slower shutter speed and a lower ISO would give a cleaner image. You could also use the DoF preview to make sure that the main subjects are all in focus and adjust the aperture accordingly.

[Rick Waldroup]

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[poloman]

F8...also research high pass sharpening.

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[wildmaven]

While the others are helping you on your shooting technique, it doesn't help the images you have already shot. This was done using Topaz' deNoise and an increase in saturation.

[R. House]

Agree with what others have advised. As far as Processing, Mask to separate subjects from background w/ feathering, on subjects... adjust levels, contrast and color then sharpen. On background...darken and crop to eliminate dead space and tighten composition. You could also get closer and use portrait orientation.

[moonrakerz]

Originally Posted by poloman

F8...also research high pass sharpening.

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#16 on this list:-

Free Photoshop actions

does it all for you !

[moonrakerz]

Had a "play" !




Photoshop Elements 9:

Opened as Camera Raw:
Clarity & Vibrance increased
Recovery & Fill light adjusted to remove highlights

Opened in Elements:
Auto Fix
Auto Contrast
DeNoise 5
Panosfx high pass sharpening - 50%

Saved in PSD, exported as jpeg 800 X 600

Agree with previous comments on DoF. Toddler is OK, Mum is borderline, Dad is out.
I would also be tempted to crop out some of the lighter elements in the top of the photograph.

Nice photo though !

[dmthompson]

Originally Posted by Allorymal

I'm having a hard time getting razor sharp images (that also allow skin to look creamy) especially on overcast days. I've tried everything from changing up my iso, Shutter speed, and Aperture to being as still as possible while hitting the release button. If I slightly over expose there are blown out areas and if I slightly underexpose there's tons more grain! The pictures will look decent at 25% or further away but any closer of a zoom on a picture, you can basically see the edges of each square pixel! I end up having to slightly blur the images and then they look semi fake. I"m afraid one of my clients will want a large print or canvas at some point and it's going to turn out awful since there will have enlargement of some form. If anyone can shed some light on what's wrong I"d greatly appreciate it! I"ve tried attaching an image but dont know if it worked!

First of all let me reassure you that a D90 will take razor sharp photos. I have many 16x20s and you cannot see noise even if looked at from 2 feet away. As other have said, you do not need a shutter speed of 1/4000 nor a ISO of 400 although ISO400 should not be a problem with a D90. Find a decent background for your shots and stop down a stop. That lense is going to perform better stopped down. Just how ae you viewing your photos? If you are using the LCD on the back of the camera you are not going to get a very good idea of how it's going to look. Just how large (percentage) are you trying to veiw them? You would have to go to about 500% to get square pixels. Make sure you see the auto-focus lock on before you take the shot. I would recommend you reset everything back to the default on the camera and start over.

Dwight

[patterfr]

Wanna see where the plane of focus is?
Look at the grass. It will always tell and the kid is in the plane of focus and the tree and adults are not.
It's that simple.

To make sure there is no motion blur, you probably don't need anything faster than 1/250, so say 1/500 to be safe with little ones. So 4000 to 2000 to 1000 to 500 is 4 stops of light.If you stopped down your aperture 4 stops they would have all been within the plane of focus from that distance likely.
Try that.
Post-processing should never be the answer for focused photos. Better to blur the bg a little in post than to have to oversharpen the subject in my opinion.Certainly all digiital images can improve with some selective sharpening.