Have you ever taken an image that looked great on the back of the camera, but upon closer inspection on a larger screen, was found to be slightly out of focus? This is a very frustrating position to be in as a photographer. This tutorial provides options to help reduce blurriness and enhance texture and detail in your images.
Whether you are using Lightroom or Capture One, this tutorial by the talented Kayleigh June will show you some of the tools in each of the software and provide a comparison so you can decide which method or which program you prefer.
June begins by stating that the results are not going to be perfect when you have not managed to nail the focus in camera, but editing programs have improved dramatically, leading to much better results which get you closer to where you need to be.
Beginning with Lightroom, June zooms in on the eyes of the subject in an image which are just not sharp enough and then takes us through some options other than the sharpen slider. Moving over to Capture One, a similar journey is taken with equivalent tools, before the tutorial ends with a comparison of edits. You can make up your own mind as to which software you think has come out on top with sharpening images that are slightly out of focus.
I often shoot with a slow shutter speed and use IBIS to stabilise the camera (for shots with deliberate movement) but can still get blurry photos if I don't hold the camera steady enough. I'd much rather work on my technique than waste time using software to correct poor technique.
That's great if you have the ability to take and retake and retake. But, in scenarios where you have one chance, software technique comes in handy.
Oh absolutely, its always best to get the technique right in camera, however, sometimes chance situations occur such as sudden action or unexpected movement which throws your planning out the window. Shooting kids for example would result in a couple of blurry shots for most photographers.
So you just ditch any photos with minor unintended blurring?
Same goes for any editing you do in post. Sounds like you shoot jpeg only since using software to correct or enhance is just a panacea for poor technique. That's good for you.
But sometimes you just can't see the micro blur or focussed missed by 1/10 of a millimetre in the viewfinder even punched in. And the smart brush I have set up for this purpose literally takes a few seconds.
Really? A blurry photo is a blurry photo and using clarity makes the image even more worst!
Not necessarily. Not all blurry photos are the same. Some can be saved up to a certain point, as demonstrated in the video. Also, clarity wasn't the only adjustment she used. In addition, the adjustments don't need to be applied to the entire image. You can just mask where it's needed.
Move it to the right not the left, problem solved.