Yes, my shirt is not ironed. I know it's "Ironic" that I'm talking about sharpness while simultaneously not looking the "sharpest." Anyway, thank you all for your comments, likes, shares, and subs. We really appreciate it! 😀

Young man I have been a professional photographer since 1980 and I have to tell you that is one of the best videos I have seen on how to get sharp photographs!👏👏👏

This may have already mentioned in the comments but I would like to add one more thing. New photographers don't know to set their focus mode. There's one for stills and one for tracking moving subjects. Nikon and Canon call their single focus mode AF-S or One Shot. It will only focus your camera the one time when you press the shutter button. This is great for landscape when nothing is moving. It's the wrong mode to use for moving subjects. For moving subjects you will want to use AF-C or AI Servo. As long as your shutter button, or back button, is half pressed/pressed, your camera will continue to track the subject until you press the shutter button. Back button focus is the best option to use because it disconnects the function of focusing from the shutter button. You can always keep your camera in continuous focus mode. If you have a still subject just press the button once. If your subject is moving you just hold the button down until you take the picture. Good video by the way.

If you all want a video on the other (less common) reasons your images might not be tack sharp, let me know in the comments!

I always chose lower iso over shutter speed. Now I understand perhaps why I lacked sharper photos. Great practical info

Thanks for guiding me back to basics. After all my years you have made more sense on this important topic than I have ever experienced before. I hope I see better sharper images in future . I will also turn off the stabiliser and only use it as you have described.

Great points in this video. For a long time, I was scared of increasing my ISO because of the fear of noisier images, but I came to find out that it's almost always a small price to pay in comparison to an image that isn't sharp.

There's one thing I think that may have been good to mention in this video -> Depending on the angle that you shoot at, it's possible for the camera to autofocus on the subject's closer extremities, rather than their eyes or torso (or whatever you desire). It's most common in up-close shots, and I've been guilty in the past of shooting a session where some of the photos are OOF because the focus was on their nose or shoulder and I was shooting at a downward angle. An easy trap to fall in.

Simply the best, better than all the rest. I loved how you made something that sounds quite complicated sound so simple. Thank you and good luck.

I am rewatching this video several months later and the shutter speed advise has improved the quality of my photos I still have work to do but absolutely helpful.

You are the first person to really explain it that no one ever has and in a way I haven't understood before. This helps so much! I had these struggles with shutter and images not being in focus properly when I zoomed in the subject was blurry. Thank you so much!

Forrest, I wish I had seen this video long ago. You've made it crystal clear. Its going to solve the problem for me. Thank you.

It was a fantastic video and really brought into mind what it means to be sharp over in focus. Not only was this video clear, no pun intended, you come off as such a likable teacher that kept me watching the entire video. You have a new subscriber!

Thanks so much for all your great advice Forrest! We are always learning from your expertise! So good to see you even if it is virtual! Parker and Carla

This was super helpful! I’ve been having issues with images being hit or miss with regards to images being sharp. I can’t wait to apply what I just learned from you.

Good information, great delivery. Broke it down really well for this novice. Thanks man.

Great tips. I know it's a compromise, but I'll usually take a sharp image over noise. My tip I'll give I was actually told by another pro when shooting presentations/podium shoots - 125 shutter is bare minimum, Yes, in low light situations you sometimes have to push the ISO further than you'd like but it's worth it. I photographed some executives recently doing a presentation and I was seated so I said "1/60 is OK". Guess what? - when I previewed a few during the shoot I realized too many weren't sharp enough. When I pushed the ISO to give the one extra stop going to 1/125 the results were consistently better. Sometimes it is a game of inches - little things do make a difference.

Good advice on shutter speed. I'm trying to use old manual lenses - so no stabilisation - so my strategy is to use Shutter Priority with Auto ISO with an upper limit of say 3200, as the old lenses have an aperture ring. Then I can keep my shutter speed at the high end and the ISO will compensate automatically. That gives me full control over shutter speed and aperture.

Brilliant. You took the relatively complex and made it digestible in a single run. THANK you.

This the first video on taking sharp photos with dslr, that has truly benefitted me. Thanks...

Amen, Brother! I've ruined a lot of potentially great shots by working in Aperture priority to get just that perfect DOF only to discover later that my shutter speed was just a bit too slow and the critical bits of the image weren't sharp - especially the eyes! This can be so disappointing. Your suggestions are spot on. A quick suggestion for experimenters: 1. put your camera in manual mode 2. set ISO to automatic 3. dial shutter speed to something manageable based on your intended shooting for the day and light conditions - 1/125, 1/250, 1/400 Now, your shutter speed should compensate for any hand-held shake and you can simply dial in the f-stop based on your desired DOF keeping an eye on your light meter. I've personally found that I can get very good results in post even when I've shot underexposed at -1.0 EV and some up to -2.0 EV as long as I'm not asking too much of it. Just a thought. Crackin' great video and excellent explanations. Many thanks! Cheers, mate! J

I've never heard of the rule at 2:37, about keeping shutter speed faster than 1/[focal length]. Thanks, that's already a huge help!

Excellent straightforward explanation. Thank you.

Stumbled upon this video, a very well-articulated explanation of the topic with a practical situation that makes it so much easier to relate and learn from you. Thanks for making this. Keep it up!

Great video. It seems like my photos are always not very sharp. Now that I've experimented with your suggestions, my photos are better(sharper) with higher shutter speeds. Thanks so much.

One thing I would have appreciated is mentioning using shutter speed artistically, you don't always need to get everything completely tack sharp, especially things like moving water looks really nice with a slower shutter speed because it shows the movement of the flowing water, in the same sense for the basketball example I think you could make some really nice shots if you were be able to get the players tack sharp but have the ball with some motion blur to show movement.

Yeah I have been really enjoying experimenting with "how to get my nature photos sharp even in different lighting situations" I've learned that I really like when I can get a sharp photo as well as a sorta dark esthetic vibe to my photos, that's my favorite area to be working in currently. It's really a balancing act of balancing shadows, bright spots, crisp detail with your focus that's not overdone from too high of ISO or something that creates noise (static type effect). So I started playing and testing things and it's funny, you get everything dialed in, but, that's for that specific spot, so you sorta learn this process of letting go and being okay with being adaptive and flexible when exploring and taking photos in manual mode. Once I find I can use a shutter speed of 1/80th- 1/100th to take a picture on the forest floor and it being sharp focus, while also giving me room for playing with my aperture, because I love getting a good depth of field in a photo when you can, so I found I'm going to take a picture of a mushroom that's in the shade from the forest canape blocking the light. So then I had to up my ISO, which I pushed up to 1600-3200, or sometimes I can use 400-or 200 iso if I'm in good lighting. Then you just play around with your aperture setting and that's half the fun I've been learning since i started using fully manual Nikkor lense's and manual mode on my Nikon D3300 DSLR. It gets me by decently for a camera that wasn't that expensive. I just wish it was a full frame sensor camera. I really want one of those because they can go with a lot of different lenses and I love to get old lenses from thrift stores or what not. I appreciate this video, it's going to help a ton of people with something that is really good to know how to do, and at first it really is a odd thing to try to get used to but once you fiddle with it enough it starts to eventually find it's flow, and you get this sorta approximated understanding of which direction you need to go (with your settings) and that feels cool. It's like learning another language or something.

Thanks. Sound advice. Took me a while to figure the best speed for fast flying birds. Motor sport a little easier, but I'm seeking a degree of blur when panning as when wheels 'frozen' a race car can just look parked. Not so bad with bikes as they lean around bends. Separately understanding DOF is useful too, as is focusing on hyperfocal point to help maximiser DOF in landscape work. Or alternatively learn how to focus stack.

Excellent advice.... especially about checking the sharpness before an event. I thought I was good at one point and shot an entire game only to have to throw out 50% of the photos. Some blur can be cool but sparingly of course. Thanks for the good, well explained subject matter.

Most camera systems have either in-body or in-lens stabilisation which is a great help to get sharp pictures - with my Olympus E-M1 I can hand hold with a 35mm equivalent 50mm prime at up to 2 seconds with no camera shake - and I drink coffee and I'm over 60 years old! The stabilisation also helps manual focusing because the camera shake is neutralised and you see more clearly through the viewfinder.

Thank you for these golden tips, which I didn't know for years. I learned from my father that taking an analog picture should start at 1/60sec or higher, unless you put it on a tripod. It's only with modern gear and stabilization that you can shoot slower. I once saw a video of a guy so proud to have learned his 5 year grandson to successfully take flying birds at 1/500sec, the photos being sharp. I couldn't take anything with these kind of settings (with an 450D) and a Sigma 170-500mm (no stab), even at 400mm. Ok, that kid had a 5D with a Canon pro/prime lens. When I learned I should start at 1000-2000 for anything that is moving wildlife, I finally came home with brilliant pictures, even with this old slow lens and out of hand. And don't forget: you need to compensate for many things on crop sensors.

Your video was so good I didn’t notice your shirt. Thank you. It’s nothing a drier sheet can’t fix. Your presentation was very clear and easy to understand.

As a former photo instructor, who has given this lesson many times, Great Job!

There are more factors that can make photos unsharp. The aperture: Lenses are generally sharper two stops from maximum aperture. i.e. f5.6. Stopping too far down (f22 or f32) will cause diffraction and loss of sharpness. Exposure: Especially with film, overexposure can cause a loss of sharpness.

A book I read pointed out that you often don't want a too fast shutterspeed as to capture motion. For example a photograph where you're capturing people walking, you don't want to completely freeze the frame but rather want some motion in the image which is achieved by having a slower shutterspeed like 1/60. Flowing water is also a nice example but there both sides of the spectrum, while completely different, are very desirable.

Great video. Very different in its perspective to most aperture, shutter speed and ISO videos you can find and helpful on such a different level. Thanks

Great video - Kai W put out a video recently about freezing high speed action with flash, as often even higher speeds don’t actually freeze the motion as effectively as a flash! (But flash isn’t always an option )

Very helpful video! This makes a lot of sense! I've always been so hesitant to increase the ISO because I didn't want to introduce a bunch of noise into my photos, but then the photos of my kids indoors would all be so blurry and i would discard at least half of them. So finally, at the next birthday party I increased the ISO so i could increase the shutter speed and I was MUCH happier with the photos as a whole!

Very helpful video, thank you! I like to shoot with a 70-300mm lens and I often forget to change the shutter speed as I change focal lengths, this will help with figuring the shutter speeds I need to be using

I have a lot of vintage manual focus lenses and I find that getting 100% accurate manual focus, especially when shooting wide open, is very hard because the focus indicator in the viewfinder (Nikon D600) lights up when the focus is only approximately correct. To get it just right can only happen by sheer luck. That is why I mainly use the vintage lenses when I shoot on a tripod and I can use the live view feature on the camera's display at maximum zoom to actually see the focus at pixel level. Which is of course only possible when you shoot at inanimate objects.

Great breakdown of the difference between focus and sharpness. I like your teaching style with good real world examples, easy sub for me.

I always suggest to new shooters and even enthusiasts; 1/125 unless you have to bring it down no less than 1/60 for wide angle/default lenses, and then lenses above 50mm 2.5xlens focal length to be on safe side or faster if moving.and use the lens aperture of 2 stops over the lenses specified widest aperture. but that's just the basic rule i use along with ISO 100 outside, 400 shaded/inside 800 or higher in darkness.

Omg! I could just hug you for this video. This, this, this! This was the answer I was looking for! ❤

i remember when i first learned manual photography i always overexposed my photos but when i started editing my photos that was a game changer

Hey brother, I just subscribed to your channel from both of my accounts. I've been trying to get sharp photos for weeks and I watched so many videos with so many techniques yet I still couldn't achieve total sharpness that is until I stumbled across your video. You explained it so simple and so straight forward. I applied what you said and just like that super sharp photos! I'm extremely impressed and will be forever grateful! You Rock!!! Thank you. Definitely should have more views than you have!

For newbies as myself I did not understand alot of this. It would have been easier if you showed us on the camera step by step of what you where talking about. It would take more time for you to make this video. But more understandable for us who don't no anything about cameras. Thank you for doing this video though.

Clear and to the point. Thank you 👍🏻

This is genuinly the best video about solving a problem I have had without understanding that I have had it. Thank you!

The lore is that the 1/(focal length) rule for shutter speed came from old school, medium format press photographers. And that generally works on my RZ67. But for a 35mm size digital/film camera that's not enough. Thus, his advice to add an additional stop of shutter speed is sound. For 35mm I use 1/(2x focal length) if using a non-stabilized lens, I try to use 1/125 for a 50mm lens on FF, and also for my RZ67 with the 110mm lens.

What about crop camera ? On a Fuji using a 35mm lens is it recommended to use 1/35 or do we need to consider the crop factor ?

Excellent! You’re such an awesome instructor! Thanks as always for for excellent explanation of our craft! 🤙🏼🤙🏼

Nice work, clearly and simply explained. Well done.

You can add about shutter speed that if you use a tripot or fix the kamera in another way then remember to stop the built in stabilasation. If it is on the camera will wibrate when you take the picture.

Great vid. Wouldve appreciated if you had included some examples, but the explanation was flawless.

You are good at explaining complex subjects! Concise, and not too fast/not too slow/just right! Whether someone has some photography experience refreshing their knowledge or are just hearing this for the first time, there is something for everyone in the well-done video. 👍

I'm just beginning my journey on being a photographer. Your advice will really help me alot . Thanks so muc.

As a motorsport photographer. The shutter speed doesn't seem to apply for panning shots. Sure a 200 mm set at 1/200's with show a sharp motioned image but won't give a good sense of speed.

Don’t worry about the shirt-the content was so good I didn’t notice! And I would love to see a video on the less common reasons. Thank you for your videos!

You touched an important matter! Thank you for your detailing this and showing us how to solve these problems with blurry photos!

It’s rare that a UKposts video would have simple, step by step, basic English instructions. I learnt a lot. THANK YOU!

1:54 "That shake is gonna pickup if my shutterspeed is too slow" simple yet brilliant. The way you said that made something click (no pun intended)👍

This is a great video and I agree with everything said. One additional thing to add: sometimes you just need a better camera. I shoot wildlife photography mostly. I used a Nikon D3300 (entry level DX camera) for years and I just wasn't happy with the results. Getting better lenses helped but I still struggled in shady areas and later in the afternoons (or early mornings). Getting ISO high enough to get sharp images meant the images had a ton of noise and were unusable. I upgraded to a camera with a better sensor and better low light capabilities and it made a huge difference. Now I can follow the tips in this video and get results I'm happy with.

Incredible video! So informative and easy to understand! Thank you!

This was really helpful, thank you!

Re: The Shirt. So what! It's the subject matter that counts. Good job. I've only seen a few of your videos but those have been helpful. Thanks for the effort.

I'll say that I absolutely love the images that a Mark IV can produce but if you want something almost foolproof the Canon R6 is way easier to get a sharp picture for a beginner. I speak from experience!

Wish I had this video when I was new to photography! Best instructional video on photography I’ve seen 🙌

Woohoo!! Thank you so much. You explained that so well that I understood perfectly. I get alot of blurry images and it is mostly too slow shutter speed. Cheers.

There’s also another aspect which you missed, pixel count. Having a 61mp image with say a 85mm lens is an equivalent of using a 135mm lens on a 20-24mp camera (roughly I don’t know the exact formula) because when you view it at 1:1 pixels it’s tighter in.

So based on your basketball game example if you adjust SS to 1/2000, thus losing light. Would it be benefit you to increase ISO and bringing more noise into the shoot ?If so can you explain. I am trying to understand this based on your teachings from your beginners video("Increased ISO will add more noise to an image". So how will this sharpen the image if it brings more noise. Thanks

7:51 i cant unsee it lol. I've had something like that happen to me in a podcast (still a newb) i appreciate this info you putting out my man. super valuable and explained it better than i could lol.

Incredible explanation. Thanks for the content.

Great video, but the fractional ratio for shutterspeed might be a bit of a dated fallacy, left over from the days of shooting film, for relatively small print production, this is especially evident with higher resolution sensors, and images that are often blown up large or cropped in on. There is a real consideration that must be taken for the level of detail that you aim to freeze. Shooting with more than 30mp may result in an image with details at 24mm that are visible at pixel deapth that expose the kind of movement that might be more of a concern at 200mm, and shooting with more than 50mp might make even shooting macros of flowers seem difficult to capture under a 1/500th sometimes. I jumped into the comments here early, admittedly to advise you about the value of an IRON, LOL, but am still watching the video while I type and will concur, the science to be cognizant of is the movement itself, and how fast across the frame, it will step across the pixels recorded while the shutter is open. What you've shared is great practical advice for those seeking better understanding for sure. That said sometime motion blur can be an artistic or intentional capture and design element.

It might be worth mentioning that lenses have best sharpness at certain apertures

Thank you, this was something iI have been struggling with myself. Will take these tips and apply on my nest shoot. Shooting with a Canon R5 with 15-35 2.8, 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8.

Omg thank you! Very simply explained!

The one thing I never see is a "deep dive" into a picture that looks sharp so we can see how sharp it is when we magnify it as much as we can. When I go deep... the picture NEVER looks "tac sharp". Therefore, I can never say the picture is sharp. (edit) It has been a year. I think I have unrealistic expectations of myself.

This is really good info - But dam iron that shirt, the perfectionist in me could not take my eyes off those wrinkles -

Thank You. This video answered a few of my Q'S already 🤗

Great video. Lots of things to learn from it. Thanks man.

How you gonna tell me how to shoot sharp Pics when your shirt looks beyond wrinkled lol ok

Thank you for this!

Excellent guide and tips for photographers

Thank-you for making this explanation simplistic yet concise, on how shutter speed affects photography.

You explain really well thank you.

This is an amazing explanation. Thank you so much for this!

I appreciate the way u present .very lively and I straight away subscribe and ring the bell ! Thank you

Thank you so much for your enthusiastic and very helpful tips, much appreciated ❤. Going try them out tomorrow

Amen, my brother, amen! I was having issues with blurry photos using a 50mm 1.8 but when I saw this video (thank God I did -- instant subscriber btw) and tried the never going slower than 1/focal length, boom, epiphany! I agree also on having a little noisy photo but tack sharp than to have a very clean one but blurry. Thank you for this awesome video and more power to you.

Aaaahhhhh this is awesome! I keep wondering why my pics have been "blurry" and I've been getting frustrated with this!! definitely giving these tips a try! thank you!

Thx power of ur message is worth every bit

Great video, seriously. Honest, detailed AND easy to grasp information. You know what you’re talking about. You don’t edit your video with a ton of cuts every second. And one of my pet peeves you avoid- you pronounce “photographer” correctly! 😂 UKpostsrs that say “phurtography” then say “photo” make me stop the video immediately- you don’t. Much praise, sir. Cheers.

Your presentation is really really pinpointing... Superbly excellent.

I learned so much here, even things I didn't expect to learn. I really appreciate your thoroughness and care for your audience. Thank you so very much.

Great man! Great video! Really clear and very informative. Thank you so much for all your work!

Great video, got me thinking, and subscribed. Thanks!

Excellent share! One of the best explanations I’ve heard. Thank you!

Absolutely brilliant video. The way you speak and clearly articulate your message is outstanding.

that was very helpful, thank you!

Great Reminder! Thanks Forest!