This is still one of my all time favorite images I have taken. We where actually looking for the Fairy Glen and spotted this cottage.The bridge in the image was designed by Inigo Jones in 1636.
 

This image was taken with my Nikon F80 film camera and scanned in.
 

To view and purchase this image on Alamy, please click here.

This was taken on my old Nikon D100, back when I was a student and use to blag a press pass to Haydock Race Course.

To view and purchase this image on Alamy, please click here.

These two images from a collection I took of the wind farm just off the Rhyl coast. The image where taken from the beach just before you reach the Rhyl Sun Center.

To view more of my Wind Farm images on Alamy, please click here.

Some health diet pills. This image was photographed in my home studio using 1 Bowens light and softbox from above.

To view and/or purchase this image on Alamy, please click here.

This was photographed on our kitchen table, using window light only.

To view (and purchase) this image on Alamy, please click here.

Various citrus fruits including Orange, Lemon and Lime, photographed on a white background in my home studio.

To buy this image on Alamy, click here.

Getting the sharpest possible pictures from your camera is what most people are after. In this post I will go over how I take images to  get the maximum sharpness. My technique is courtesy of Geoff Simpson Photography and his wonderful workshops. This technique only really works with a tripod,  you can do it hand held but it would have to be a really bright day to maintain a higher enough shutter speed.

I use a tripod and a remote release (self timer is fine). I keep my camera in A (Av on Canon) mode 99% of the time, this is Aperture Priority mode. This means I set the aperture and the camera sets the shutter speed, the reason for this is I don’t care what the shutter speed is set at because the camera is on a tripod but I do care what the aperture reads as that helps decide sharpness. If your camera has Mirror Lock Up, then that should be set as well.

Set your aperture to 2 stops from the minimum aperture (biggest number), this is where manufactures reckon is the sweet spot for most lenses. Remember the minimum aperture changes on some zoom lenses depending what focal length your at. So at 17mm the minimum aperture might be F32 but at 50mm it might be F22.

If apertures confuse you then give www.digital-slr-guide.com/maximum-aperture.html a read.

So if your minimum aperture is say F22, then you set your aperture to F11.

Now you need to focus your camera onto something in the scene, I try to pick something out that is about one third into the scene. Most of the time this means moving your camera slightly to make sure it locks on with the focus. If you have focus lock, then use that and then recompose the shot. If you have a manual focus override switch, you focus on the point 1/3 in, switch to manual focus and recompose. This is also one of the reasons to use back-button focusing (if your camera supports it).

Now you have the aperture set, focusing is locked onto something 1/3 into the scene and your ready to take the picture.

You can use self timer or a remote shutter release, either work just fine but I prefer a remote release cord. If you have mirror lock-up on your camera, set that as well (it all helps). Mirror lock-up needs 2 presses of the shutter, the first one locks the mirror and the second one takes the shot. If you are using self timer with mirror lock-up then you should only need to press the shutter once.

Hopefully now your images should be a lot sharper, with practise this technique is easy and you won’t even have to think about it.

Port of Liverpool building at the pier head in Liverpool, this building is now used as office space for various companies.

To buy this image from Alamy, please follow this link.