how I get my photos to be super sharp 

I don't know if you will see this comment, but I watched this video right before a senior session and it was a complete game changer. I have been struggling with getting sharp images for some time now, so it was nice to see this "step-by-step" video. You are truly an amazing photographer, and I absolutely love and appreciate your videos!! Thank you!

Make sure you focus on the eye closest to the camera if the model is at an angle, also it's also a good idea to shoot at 2.5 to 2.8 to ensure focus, 1.2-1.8 or extremely shallow and very easy to miss focus. Also make sure your shutter speed is high enough, usually 1/100 of a second at the minimum for portraits. Once your aperture and shutter speed are where you want them adjust the ISO to ensure proper exposure, if necessary. One more tip, every once in a while during the shoot, zoom in on model's face on the back to check focus.

Been watching Jessica since 2012 when I first picked up my camera, can't believe how far she's come since then. I can say to this day she's still the same Jessica that I fell in love with over the mutual loving of photography. She's amazing and she rocks and she's the reason I'm the photographer that I am today. Shout out to Jessica!

For some reason if you don’t have an F1.2 - the reason is poverty 😅

My tip: TAKE YOUR TIME! If you're shooting portraits, you in no rush. Sometimes I'll go into live move and focus manually to MAKE SURE I get the crispiest photo.

"If for some reason you don't have a 1.2". Really, REALLY?

here's a tip! little bit of a hassle but it works! another way to make sure your photos are tack sharp is to shoot in live view mode, use the zoom button on the body of your camera (i use canon) to zoom in on the eyes of your subject and focus on that and shoot!

1.Have a super sharp lens. 2. Focus correctly. 3. Done.

Why is it that the best shot of my shoot is the one that's out of focus? 😩

Another tip that could boost your sharpness; Lenses never are their sharpest wide open. Id suggest trying to close down your aperture at least one maybe two f stops. Sharpness increases a lot especially on cheaper equipment like the 50mm 1.8. Shoot that lens at f2 or f2.2 and you will be a lot happier with the results!

The old school rule was to match the shutterspeed with the focal length + crop factor. Now it seems to be to set the shutterspeed double or more than that of the focal length. Even if you have to up your ISO, it's still better than a useless blurry picture. You can reduce grain, but blur is final.

Also I'd like to add dont be afraid to stop it down a little. Alot of time you can get almost the results shooting at 1.8 or 2.0. I use a canon 50mm 1.4. I usually shoot it at 2.0 when I'm trying to get sharpest quality image

Single point auto focus on the part you want in focus, then recompose while holding your shutter button halfway down so it's locked. As long as you're not on a very narrow depth of field it will stay sharp. And don't rotate the camera, slide it parallel to your subject while recomposing.

Honestly the best thing I learned from this was I can zoom into pics on my mark iv with my fingers I’ve been using the zoom button and that’s it wow so excited

I love your photos... I want to become a professional photographer! You're such an inspiration. Thanks for posting this video! 📷❤︎

Using the proper shutter speed, distance from the subject, focal length of the lens, f stop, how you hold the camera and enabling vibration reduction on your camera and or lens are all very important factors. After a nature shoot I did recently using a 500mm lens I have become obsessed with focus. I had some amazing shots that shine even more because the focus and I had some other shots that were ruined because I was more focused on capturing the moving subject in the right moment. I also learned that an f 5.6 when you are using a very long lens is not the same as using an f5.6 with a shorter lens, which was very surprising to me since I know that the closer you are to your subject the thinner the focus range will be. With long lenses however the depth of field becomes more shallow. I recently shot a concert for a friend of mine who is a director and a mutual friend who was present (VIDEOGRAPHER) suggested I lower my shutter speed when I expressed to him how the poor lighting forced me to shoot at iso3200 at which point I told him that I am shooting at that speed because the subjects are moving. Had I taken his advice I could have maybe shot at a better iso but almost every picture would have been blurry. So it's a give and take between all the factors you are facing during your shoot. If focus is your primary concern, and it should be, I would recommend studying all the ways the things I listed in the first sentence effect focus and in what circumstance you should focus on one or several of those factors more than the other(s).

Eminem: His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy A lens fell on his sweater already, 85mm 1.2's a fatty

These are the factors for sharp images. A Pro would pay attention to every one of them. 1. Some lenses are sharper than others and some are designed for reproduction Zoom lenses generally are not as sharp as fixed focal length lenses. I don't know how big your watercolors are but you don't want to use a wide angle lens. Probably a fixed lens, 85mm to 180mm would be proably be about right. You can also rent a lens like this for around $20-$40/week if your camera can use interchangable lenses. 2. Since you are photgraphing a stationary object, use a tripod, cable release and if you can lock up the mirror if you are using a DSLR If you don't have a cable release or can't lock up the mirror if you are using a DSLR, use the self timer. 3. Adjust the distance btw the camera and the lens so that the painting fits comfortably in the viewfinder with equal margins left and right and top and bottom. If you are using a zoom lens set it to the middle of its zoom range. 4. Position the camera in the center of the painting. Imagine a diagonal from the upper left corner to the lower right corner and another from the upper right corner to the lower left corner. Position the lens where the two diagonals cross. 5. Use a low iso, around 100 is best. If that kills your exposure add lights. The best approach is to use at least 2 lights. Depending on the size of the picture, you could start by positioning one 2-3' from the left edge and the other 2-3' from the right edges of the picture. If they are directional, aim the one on the right a little past the left edge. Aim the one on the left a little past the right edge. adjust their distance from the painting so that the lights cross in the middle of the painting and the light is pretty even over the entire picture. If the photo isn't large you could try one light 2' to the right of the lens and the other 2' to the left. if you do this be careful that they are behind the lens front and that the lens or camera doesn't cast a shadow on the painting. 6. Find the Optimum f stop for the lens. If you use a small aperture, f16, f22, f32 you will get difraction. If you use a big aperture you will have very shallow depth of field and focus will be super critical. Most modern lenses are sharpest btw about 2 stops up from wide open to 3 stops down from fully closed. Most often this will mean roughly f/4 - f/8 on most lenses. Take a series of photos f/4, f/5.6 and f/8.0 and f/11. keep the exposure the same by adjusting the shutter speed. Then look at 10x enlargements of the resulting series. Look first in the center, then at the corners. It will be likely be sharper in the center than at the corners. If there is too much difference btw the sharpness at the center and the corners, you can try moving the camera a little farther from the painting to see if you can get a little better compromise. 7. Use a shutter speed of at least 1/50th of a second and 1/100 is a lot better. -sfoAlan

To get sharp focus each time there are a lot more options that can be used together, waaaaay more, but hey you introduced them to look into it! Keep plane of focus parallel to the subject, use spot metering, shot in burst, use a good autofocus selection, hold your breath, don’t press the shutter button (squeeze it) and don’t do it with the tip of the finger, be calm, use a fast shutter speed, shoot in well lit areas or use a strobe (even a speed light will do), and take it slow (but not too slow). Keep your elbows closed to your body and spread your legs shoulder width apart ( in other words get a tripod stand like body position).

When did you get a mkIV? Not that it matters to me, just curious. For sharp photos sometimes you have to stop down, depending on your lens. Look up what the "sweet spot" is online. It's pretty simple, you just google your lens and sweet spot. Sometimes it's wide open, more modern lenses are made to be that way. Some older builds, like the Canon 50mm F1.4, they get a little soft wide open, and you are better off shooting at a more narrow aperture for sharpness. This of course reduces your background blur, so it's a balance of what you want. Also, for ultimate sharpness with ultimate blur, primes beat zooms, but that doesn't make zooms useless. Most 70-200mm F2.8 models are very good for portrait work, especially the Canon since it has no focus breathing. This means as you stand closer to your subjects the lens loses some of its focal length, so 200mm might be more like 130mm on some lens, but on Canon it is still 200mm. This is another thing you would want to know about your lens, and is easily found. If you don't do portraits exclusively and can only afford a few lenses, a 70-200mm F2.8 would be on any list I would suggest for serious use, and it makes a great portrait lens as well as just about anything else. I also would suggest looking at macro lenses for sharp portraits (by this I mean ones that do 1:1 ratio for magnification). I know they don't always have the widest apertures, but they are designed to have sharpness at even the closest focusing distance, and as a result are jsut wickedly sharp for portrait work. They have the added benefit that they often are sharper than non-macros all the way to the corners! I use a Sigma 105mm F2.8 macro for really tight shots, ones where the face of the model will be close to the outer edges. At that range depth of field is more important than background blur, since there won't really be much background, so not having a super wide aperture is ok.

Sharpness is also effected by Shutter Speed. Use your Shutter Speed wisely to get a super crispy image. Your Shutter speed must be double in number while shooting in Low Light Situations e.g: 50mm lens, SS 100

Thank you so much Jessica for your awesome videos. I’ve been inspired by your work to get back into portrait photography. I’ve learned to use Lightroom and have become creative with model poses. I was recently wondering about how I could get sharper photos and, coincidentally, you posted this video. Thanks again!

I've been a successful photographer for 8 yrs and have never used a prime lens. My favs have been the 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8. But....I decided to purchase the Canon 50 1.2. The focus was hit & miss. Until I watched this video tonight. I was using Spot AF but with 1 pt. Your suggestion to use 15 pts was exactly what I needed for beautiful sharp images! Such a simple adjustment has made a world of difference. the 50 wide open is now my new fav....thank you!

New to photography. Started taking pics with my 12 year old who got me interested. She definitely has a much better eye. Your videos are a huge help. So thank you.

Continue to inspire me Jessica I’m going to grab my camera - have exact camera you are using such a beast of a camera, I love me my Cannon. Have the 1.4 nifty 50 so attaching that. It’s cold up here in NY - no excuses. Getting out from under the covers now. Keep these videos with the touch of humor coming girl. You the best.

i love your tutorials because you include humor and have a great personality :) thank you for making these, just found your channel yesterday and i've already improved quite a bit

Hi as retired wedding and portrait photographer the creative apertures are between f 2.8 - f 5.6 studio work F 8 these are based on making your filters and with out for studio work F 8 gives you optimal sharpness for children and adults when shooting wide apertures for a professional result when every thing is hanging on the result a triple offers the best result

If you aim your spot focus point (I always have it in the center) to the eye and then make your composition, there’s always half a second or so between focussing and taking the shot. I find that when the model moves a few centimetres the eye can get out of focus. Even on 2.8. So lately I tend to shoot on 3.5 or 4.0 to be safe.

You can also try shooting in live view! The contrast based AF will be more accurate than the phase detect AF the camera has

Thank you immensely, you've really helped me develop a more accurate sense of "my style" over the last year by helping me with the more techincal side of my camera. You're very admirable, keep up the awesome work!

Don't remember where I heard this tip from, but if you're worried about whether or not the eye is in focus after you take the shot, try stopping the aperture down a little bit to maybe f2 or even f2.8. You still get the bokeh and you get more of the face in focus because your DOF is deeper than if you're shooting at f1.8 and below

One thing not sure if you’re aware of but the most important thing I think you missed besides what you mentioned is that points of contrast especially lines or sharp gradation changes are the most important places to go to for focusing the ACTUAL focus point. Because many people have dark dark eyes & focusing on the pupil as many do might not work. Talking about anticipating where the viewers eyes are going next! Also you probably should’ve touched on glass & proper aperture settings. You started the vid as if everyone’s glass wide open is sharp & don’t mention sweet spots, closing down aperture...like there’s so much missing - not saying in a bad way but if you’re gonna make it complete for beginners then make it really complete. What about people who don’t use canon, what are their focusing methods called? Proper conditions for sharp shots, as in lighting, reciprocal rule...how reciprocal rule applies to long glass.... Just saying as constructive Criticism Thanks for the vid though! (Not sarcastic)

Lol my Canon doesn’t even have spot AF. 😂😭 I’m more like broke af

I love your fun personality!I struggle with Canon Eos R and Canon 24mm 1.4 that was so expensive and I am a live streamer. Just not sharp as I see other streamers. I have no idea what else to do. I use continuous focus because of video making. But this video is amazing as all your channel and as I said you are so fun and could be even stand up comedian or actress. Thank you!

I always struggle getting clear photos with the low f-stop and always have to just up it on my camera .I never really thought of the focus options as something that could help so i'm definitely going to try that!

My "pro tip" for getting sharper images: Sold both my obsolete Canon bodies (5DMarkIII & M4) and Canon glass on CL. Bought Sony A7R3 and 7III with various GM lenses. Mapped "eyeAF" to select button *middle of wheel." All my portraits now sharp AF. Done. ༼♥ل͜♥༽

I never used a 50mm lens when I shoot portraits. I always use a telephoto lens like a 105mm, 135mm or a 200mm. Shooting with a telephoto lens will compact the persons features and is more appealing. I like to shoot with an F-stop of 1.2 or 1.4 or even 2.8 so I can control the depth of field of the image. When shooting portraits or head shot you want the model to stand out from the background, not to blend in. The wider the lens opening is the shallower the depth of field is. The smaller the opening of F stop is (like f8, f16 or f22) the more in focus the whole image is. Also you need to know how the ISO will effect the focus - to low and your images can also be soft.

You break it down really well making these tutorials easy to understand. Thank you !

Extremely thankful for this because my assignment this week is taking portraits! So glad I subbed :)

One of my favorite options on the Canon 5D IV is "AF menu Nr 4" -> "Orientation linked AF point" -> "Separate AF pts: Pt only" If my camera is in a horizontal position, I take a shot with my chosen AF point being the top one in the middle, but then I move my camera in a vertical position (camera grip at the bottom), move the af point at the bottom, take another shot, move the camera back in the horizontal position, normally my AF point would be now somewhere to right (vertical bottom = horizontal right), but because of "Separate AF pts: Pt only" the camera remembered the last time I had my camera in a horizontal position and automatically selects this AF point, the top one in the middle. Looking at Jessica's AF menu there is no love from her for this option. :(

Your quality is unreal - loving the content 🙌

Not sure if you will see this, but this has helped me so freaking much. I've been trying to learn manual for awhile and haven't had much luck. I have shot the best photos I have ever taken after watching this!

you'll never understand how much this video helped me improve with all of my settings. thank you so much

i need you to do an advanced selfie photoshoot pleaseee

The audio sounds so much better! Wondering if you upgraded? Loved the video!

You have just solved all my problems and doubts. My portraits are never 100% focused but this video is the key!! !!!THANK YOU

Shooting with the 5D iv helps greatly also... That thing just works and works well! I love mine. Thanks for your thoughts!

Eye-Autofocus Sony Squad ayyyyy

One thing most viewers who have a 5d mark IV and a 50m 1.2 probably know this. I think doing a video with a more mainstream setup like a rebel and 50m 1.8 or even the kit lens may be of more benefit to more viewers.

This is probably one of the most useful photography Tips-videos I have watched. Thank you!

Helpful video for a Canon user, have to say though the EAF we are seeing on some cameras now is a game changer, it frees you up to concentrate fully on the composition and thanks to its accuracy enables more fluidity/movement of the model.

I love Jessica sense of humor. Her videos always educational but hilarious

Nobody will probably read this but I hope you have a great day today!! ☺️💛

This really helps. Thanks. I been having problems with focusing the object using potrait 50mm 1.4

I have a Canon camera as well. I did an internship with a photographer this summer learning how to edit photos in both Lightroom and Photoshop. It is not easy but I would like to learn how to use my camera because when I have a job after I graduate next spring I would like to have more experience. My major is communications with a concentration in both video and audio production. I love production work. My college does not have photography so I guess I will have to learn all of this on my own. I would love to get proficient with photography and editing.

“Lets get the popcorn pop” ahahahaha I love it Jessica

When ever you upload it makes me so motivated to just get up and film ahhh you are so inspiring 😍❤️ Ps I’m a comedy small youtuber 😂💀

I think the main reason people end up with focus problems is their body is swaying and they don't realize it. You can steady the camera all you want, but your legs are going to sway unless your back is against something. You really have to crouch/tuck a little in order to reduce sway in the legs. I see your technique, and you tend to hunch forward, which is not going to reduce your sway. Your back will constantly cause jittering/shaking from that position because you're basically hanging your torso over your hips. You need to be completely vertical, then just crouch a bit. It's better for your back too. Also, always put one leg in front and one leg in back while crouching, that will better brace you and allow you to put foot pressure in either direction to basically wedge yourself steady. That way if you do sway, you're going to sway side to side rather than front and back, and it allows more control over your front/back movement and to move front or back quicker. Side to side sway might alter your framing a little, but it won't really alter your focus like a front and back sway will.

Jessica is so precious 🥺

Post notification squad!

Dang she really uploading at 6am

Spot AF first, then Sony eye AF nails it every time. Great tip about the angle of the camera.

I recently bought a camera and you are the one that I immediately subscribe to👏🏽 your videos are helping me to make better photos, thankyou!

I love the tips! I guess I’ll be renting my gear for sharper images! 🤣

Short Guide: Get a Sony Camera and use Eye-AF - Done.

The body and the lens speak for themselves. Moreover, she is such a great Photographer as well.

For portraits (headshots) - I shoot with my 1DX MKII and 70-200 F 2.8 IS MKII or my 100mm F2.8 IS macro with profoto A1 - I also use spot auto focus and I ensure the focus point is on the eyes and my shots are sharp every time. In the studio I use my Profoto D2 1000 and D2 500! For a full length shot I use my 24-70mm F 2.8 MKII or 11-24mm (making sure the subject is in the right place of course) if I want more in the frame!!

Try not to go any slower than 1/160 as your shutter speed as well to get rid of motion blur.

So you can't get a blurry background at f4? I do all the time.

With mirrorless you can zoom in and see in the viewfinder if it is actually in focus, I find this is a big + over my DSLR

love how everyone in this thread is an expert at defining these camera terms, bickering about who is right and wrong and what are the best settings. does it matter? go out, shoot, come back to the computer, analyze, find room for improvement. forget about the technicality: that comes naturally after using your camera and pushing it to its limits. the best settings for the best possible portraits depends entirely on style, time of day, and the tools you have available. settings will likely have to change every moment depending on lighting conditions and the mode you shoot in. I shoot mostly indoor concerts and shows, so i'm constantly shooting with a wide open aperture, the slowest possible shutter speed that won't produce too much movement (generally 1/50, 1/60 and 1/125 indoors) and i push my ISO to its limits on my new a7iii, even going as high as 10,000 ISO if need be. Again, forget about the "best possible settings" and go out there and shoot in manual. you'll find what works best if you let your brain do the thinking, and take the camera off auto mode.

❤️ Thank you for the videos. They do make a difference and are making an impact in actual people’s lives. Keep it up!

When u recompose, ur shooting the eyes with the edge of lens which results eyes to come out soft and not sharp.

Out of curiosity...does it decrease the clarity/sharpeness of a photo if you were to import the photos from your camera to your phone and editing at the highest resolution, versus importing them on the computer?

Also depending on what camera you have. Shooting at 1.2 Or 1.4 is hard especially using cropped body. You can only go so high on the ISO without getting grainy. You can only go so high with the shutter speed to balance them between ISO. Also for the angle shots (low, high, rule of third, golden mean) Make sure you are focusing on the subject’s eye; hold the shutter button (to keep the focus) then reposition the frame/angle the way at you want. That’s how you get it sharp shooting angles. Also know that the sharpest focus point in the middle.

Having a fast enough shutter speed is crucial I dot know why this wasn’t mentioned

.......didn't expect Eminem to be mentioned. Lol I'm shook. I was having some trouble with this thank you so much!! 😭 Edit: trouble with getting sharper portraits

Wow love her professionalism great job

Thank you so much for this video! Have recently had this issue with my 7D and wasn't able to work out what was wrong with my camera. You are a legend! As always

friends: oh omg you're so good at photography ! ! ! me: *heh heh, they don't know it's photoshop >:)*

My biggest problem... hand shake. I've got to start shooting less pretty models lol

I can save you 5 minutes here -shoot manual focus and use the 5x>10x zoom feature assigned to a function button. I use an f/0.95 lens btw. -If for some reason you don't have f/0.95 you could use a f/1.2 or above...

Simple and sharp straight to the point. I love it. It works.

Hi Jessica, I hope you are doing well. Great fan of your videos and I love watching them. I have a simple question. I am really getting confused with my DSLR which is canon 200D. I shoot watercolor painting videos on this channel, but I see I am unable to achieve the sharpness in my my painting videos. Is this a lense issue. I am not getting that crisp sharp colours in my video. I would love if you recommend any lense or camera setting as suggestion for perfect sharp videos.

Maybe you've missed the most important point. Shoot with speeds above 1/1000th. And yes, you may get a sharp photo with lower speed, but most winners you'll get with above 1/1000th. And shooting at max aperture...?!?!? The best results are always a stop or two after max. At 1.2 what are you trying to achieve? Almost everything is out-of-focus due to so tiny DoF. And why the whole thing with a 50 mm. The moment your model is with bigger nose (or chick bones) you ruin it all. 85 mm is better than 50mm (cause it's above 70 - proven less distortion). Additionally why limiting yourself to having half face out-of-focus when the 70-200 @ f/4 or f/5 is perfect with an amazing bokeh? That doesn't mean that 50 mm is not an option of course (I shoot with it as well). Just sayin' that for a sharper focus there are many better options than the current proposed. Or at least mention the speed, which is the most important for best results.

Shooting at 1.4 is just too risky for me. I have always stopped down to f2 or f2.2. It a safe focus and sharper on most lenses. The dof effect is still there with my full frame. Anys, beautiful picture you have there. It makes want to go out shoot.

love the transitions in this video

*Helpful video!! Thank you!* 💖

If you really want to get sharp photo don't shoot at 1.2 The best sharpness comes with 2-3stops.(every lens different) Make a test and you will be surprised.

Finally found a beautiful RU-vidr on camera tips😍😍😍

The lighting on this video is......LIT🔥🔥

1/8,000 shutter speed with Sony eye focus = Sharpest Eva!!!! Yeah Boi!

Forget the photos, talk about your jawline.

Very good video with succinct information... You asked for personal tips on getting sharp portraits... My personal tip on how to get good focus on the eyes is to use a Sony mirrorless camera such as the A7iii with full-time Eye-AF, including animal Eye-AF...

5d mark IV has a stabilized sensor so is the equal of having a stabilized lense , so I'm sure this help a lot when shooting with 50mm 1.2 at full aperture

I subbed because of the Eminem part LMAO

First of all: You're so beautiful. That's it

Almost 2 million subscribers, still has the factory canon camera strap. I love it

With a shallow DOF lens if you have a subject who has problems with swaying back and forth out of the focal plane either sit her down or at last resort use AI SERVO to track her movements. Also It never hurts to take backup shots to guarantee the focus is nailed.

So what you surprisingly don't address in this video is the difference between SHARP and small depth of field. Two completely different concepts, as I know YOU'RE aware of Jessica, but many of your viewers are not.