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How to Capture Tack-Sharp Images with a Telephoto Lens
How to Capture Tack-Sharp Images with a Telephoto Lens
by Keenan Hursh
Imagine you’re out on a trip in an area of pristine wilderness and out of nowhere a rare and beautiful animal emerges from the woods and walks right in front of you. As soon as you see this animal you quickly switch lenses to some sort of telephoto, you rapidly try to dial your settings in or maybe you opt for “auto” since you’re short on time, you raise your camera, focus on the animal, and start to capture some images. Before you know it, the moment has passed, and this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has ended just as quickly as it began.
You quickly look at the images on your camera’s small LCD screen and initially, everything looks ok. It isn’t until later that day when you open the images up on your computer in Lightroom that you realize not a single image you captured is tack-sharp…
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. This exact scenario has happened to me countless times, especially when I was new to wildlife photography, and there’s simply nothing more frustrating. You had your camera and the right lens ready to go, you lined up a nice composition and experienced a magical and fleeting wildlife encounter but the images simply aren’t usable…
For whatever reason, and trust me there are many, the images you captured just aren’t sharp. This is a very common issue when it comes to photography and especially wildlife photography where higher focal lengths are quite common. There are many potential factors that may have caused a lack of sharpness in your image and in today’s article, we’re going to take a look at the main ones.
Let’s get right into it and dive into some of the key information and practices that will enable you to capture tack-sharp images every time you use a telephoto lens.
You quickly look at the images on your camera’s small LCD screen and initially, everything looks ok. It isn’t until later that day when you open the images up on your computer in Lightroom that you realize not a single image you captured is tack-sharp…
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. This exact scenario has happened to me countless times, especially when I was new to wildlife photography, and there’s simply nothing more frustrating. You had your camera and the right lens ready to go, you lined up a nice composition and experienced a magical and fleeting wildlife encounter but the images simply aren’t usable…
For whatever reason, and trust me there are many, the images you captured just aren’t sharp. This is a very common issue when it comes to photography and especially wildlife photography where higher focal lengths are quite common. There are many potential factors that may have caused a lack of sharpness in your image and in today’s article, we’re going to take a look at the main ones.
Let’s get right into it and dive into some of the key information and practices that will enable you to capture tack-sharp images every time you use a telephoto lens.
The Challenges of Shooting with Telephoto Lenses
Obviously, you can use a telephoto lens for pretty much any type of photography depending on your style and the types of shots you’re aiming to capture. I’ve used them countless times to capture landscapes, sports, and even portraits. That being said I primarily use telephoto lenses to photograph wildlife and considering the nature of most Backcountry Journeys trips, this article will largely discuss this topic in relation to wildlife photography. Almost all of this information can be translated to other styles of photography but to keep things simple we’re going to focus on wildlife specifically. With that being said let’s take a look at some of the main challenges that come along with telephoto lenses and higher focal lengths.
One of the main challenges when it comes to photographing wildlife is the fact that your subject is likely moving. Of course, this motion or movement varies between different animals and different scenarios, but wildlife is usually on the move, and images of animals in motion are often more compelling and interesting. The reason this movement is a common issue is that you must take this into account and calibrate your camera settings accordingly. For instance, your settings should look quite different for an image of a hummingbird in flight and an image of a bison grazing as these animals are moving at completely different speeds.
Another challenge that must be overcome is an entirely different type of movement. Not only is your subject moving but you and your camera are moving as well. No matter how steady you can hold your camera and lens this is something that must be taken into account. Because you’re shooting at higher focal lengths everything Is magnified. This magnification is good when it comes to increasing the size of your subject but bad when it comes to unintentional motion created by the photographer. A slight shift in your position or breath and even the motion of pressing the shutter button itself can destroy any hope of sharpness if the proper precautions aren’t taken into account.
And finally, another very common challenge when it comes to photographing with telephoto lenses is knowing which camera settings to choose. Many wildlife encounters and photo opportunities are fleeting, and you often don’t have time to thoroughly think about and select camera settings or shooting modes. This can make an already challenging situation a complete nightmare and can cause you to either miss the shot or capture an image that isn’t even close to sharp.
Obviously, you can use a telephoto lens for pretty much any type of photography depending on your style and the types of shots you’re aiming to capture. I’ve used them countless times to capture landscapes, sports, and even portraits. That being said I primarily use telephoto lenses to photograph wildlife and considering the nature of most Backcountry Journeys trips, this article will largely discuss this topic in relation to wildlife photography. Almost all of this information can be translated to other styles of photography but to keep things simple we’re going to focus on wildlife specifically. With that being said let’s take a look at some of the main challenges that come along with telephoto lenses and higher focal lengths.
One of the main challenges when it comes to photographing wildlife is the fact that your subject is likely moving. Of course, this motion or movement varies between different animals and different scenarios, but wildlife is usually on the move, and images of animals in motion are often more compelling and interesting. The reason this movement is a common issue is that you must take this into account and calibrate your camera settings accordingly. For instance, your settings should look quite different for an image of a hummingbird in flight and an image of a bison grazing as these animals are moving at completely different speeds.
Another challenge that must be overcome is an entirely different type of movement. Not only is your subject moving but you and your camera are moving as well. No matter how steady you can hold your camera and lens this is something that must be taken into account. Because you’re shooting at higher focal lengths everything Is magnified. This magnification is good when it comes to increasing the size of your subject but bad when it comes to unintentional motion created by the photographer. A slight shift in your position or breath and even the motion of pressing the shutter button itself can destroy any hope of sharpness if the proper precautions aren’t taken into account.
And finally, another very common challenge when it comes to photographing with telephoto lenses is knowing which camera settings to choose. Many wildlife encounters and photo opportunities are fleeting, and you often don’t have time to thoroughly think about and select camera settings or shooting modes. This can make an already challenging situation a complete nightmare and can cause you to either miss the shot or capture an image that isn’t even close to sharp.
How to Get Tack-Sharp Images
Now that we’ve covered some of the primary issues involved in wildlife photography specifically shooting with telephoto lenses, let’s dive into solutions for all of these problems. In this section, we’ll take a look at some of the best practices to ensure tack-sharp images.
Fast Shutter Speeds:
So, we’ve discussed two distinct types of motion or movement that can prevent an image from being sharp. Whether it’s the movement of the subject or the unintentional movement of yourself or your camera, shooting at faster shutter speeds is a great way to counteract any form of movement and increase your chances of capturing a sharp image. I often shoot wildlife handheld, so I need a fast shutter speed to counteract any camera shake. I also like to photograph birds and other fast-moving subjects, so I need a fast shutter speed to freeze their motion as well.
Exact shutter speeds will vary depending on the situation. As your focal length increases and as the speed of your subject increases you will need to increase your shutter speed accordingly. For fast-moving animals that I often photograph at or around 600mm I never go below 1/1,000th of a second and often shoot at even faster shutter speeds if possible. Keep in mind that as you increase your shutter speed, you’re letting less light into your image so you will need to compensate for this by altering your aperture and/or ISO. Bottom line, faster shutter speeds will do a better job of freezing any motion and will increase your odds of capturing a tack-sharp image.
Stabilization:
So, shooting at faster shutter speeds will help to freeze any motion but this isn’t always the perfect fix. Perhaps you’re shooting in a low-light situation or maybe the animal you’re photographing isn’t moving much at all. Super-fast shutter speeds aren’t always required to get a sharp image and sometimes they’re completely unrealistic. Another way that you can compensate for the unintentional motion caused by yourself is stabilization. You can achieve this in several ways so let’s break it down.
One of the easiest ways to stabilize yourself and equipment, that will work with any type of gear, is to use a tripod or monopod. Simply giving your camera and lens a steady surface to rest on and eliminating the weight you would otherwise have to support yourself goes a long way. If I’m shooting early in the morning or late in the evening and know I can’t shoot at super-fast shutter speeds, I’ll use my tripod to increase stability. And if you’re shooting on an older camera without in-body-image-stabilization (IBIS), then a tripod or monopod will help even more. If you don’t have one of these tools at your disposal or don’t have time to set them up, you can always rest your camera on something in the environment or even sitting down and resting your elbows on your knees can help a ton.
Another great way to increase stability, if possible, is to use your equipment to its full capabilities. Many telephoto lenses come with built-in optical stabilization and most modern mirrorless cameras come with excellent IBIS. Both of these can work incredibly well and are complete game-changers when shooting handheld. If your camera has IBIS or if your lens has built-in stabilization, you should definitely use these features when shooting handheld.
Bottom line, it’s never a bad idea to increase stability however you can. This will only work in your favor.
Autofocus:
Another great way to increase your chances of capturing sharp images is to make sure your Autofocus settings are correct. This is especially important if your subject is in motion as your autofocus will need to change as the subject's position relative to you changes. It’s called something a little different for each camera manufacturer but make sure you’re shooting in a continuous AF mode so that the focal point is constantly changing and following your subject. For Sony’s this is called AF-C or Continuous AF and in my Canon 6D Mark ii I use the AI Servo option. If your subject is moving around you’ll want to make sure that your camera is tracking them and keeping the focal plane where it needs to be. This is especially important if you’re shooting at wider apertures and working with shallow depths of field.
Additionally, an extremely powerful and helpful feature that many modern mirrorless cameras have is AI-assisted subject recognition. This feature may not be perfect but modern cameras can actually recognize wildlife subjects and even more specifically their eyes and set the focal point themselves. This technology is incredibly impressive and makes it even easier to make sure your subjects are in focus and sharp. If your camera has this feature, I strongly recommend you use it to your advantage.
Burst Mode / Continuous Shooting:
So, you’ve set your ideal shutter speed, stabilized yourself and your equipment, and selected the ideal settings for your camera's autofocusing capabilities. You’re off to a great start but why not go the extra mile and increase your chances of success even more? Another beneficial thing you can do is to change the drive mode of your camera. This is simply changing what happens when you press your shutter button and most modern cameras have many options.
When it comes to photographing wildlife, I almost always shoot in a continuous mode which means that as I hold the shutter button down my camera will continue to capture images. And, on top of that, I usually opt for the high-speed option so that I can capture as many images as possible in a short period of time. This will allow you to capture more images of your subject, whether they are moving fast or not, and will increase the likelihood that at least some of them are nice and sharp. At the end of the day, this is a numbers game, and shooting continuously will increase your chances of success.
Understand How Your Camera Works:
And last but certainly not least it can’t be overstated just how important it is to understand your basic camera settings and capabilities. Having a thorough understanding of the fundamentals like the exposure triangle and how changing the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO will alter your image will only work in your favor. Additionally understanding the different shooting modes on your camera can allow you to operate more efficiently and increase your chances of success.
As I mentioned before many wildlife photo opportunities are fleeting and happen quite quickly. Knowing how to dial in your camera settings in a flash will increase your chances of not only getting an image but also getting a tack-sharp image. When I’m photographing wildlife, I often predetermine what shutter speed and aperture I’ll use and set the ISO to auto. This reduces the number of variables I have to think about and lets me focus more on the subject and composition. If I have more time, I will manually control the ISO as well, but I often find myself shooting this way. You can opt to shoot in the Aperture Priority mode which allows you to control the aperture and lets your camera automatically select the shutter speed and ISO. Or you can opt for shutter priority and let your camera determine the appropriate aperture and ISO. Bottom line, the less time you have to spend thinking about and changing settings means you can spend more time focusing on the actual image you’re capturing.
At the end of the day there are many different combinations of camera settings and modes that you can select. Many of these can lead to razor-sharp images but it’s ultimately up to you to understand how these features and settings work. Having a fundamental understanding of the tools at your disposal will only increase your odds of success.
Now that we’ve covered some of the primary issues involved in wildlife photography specifically shooting with telephoto lenses, let’s dive into solutions for all of these problems. In this section, we’ll take a look at some of the best practices to ensure tack-sharp images.
Fast Shutter Speeds:
So, we’ve discussed two distinct types of motion or movement that can prevent an image from being sharp. Whether it’s the movement of the subject or the unintentional movement of yourself or your camera, shooting at faster shutter speeds is a great way to counteract any form of movement and increase your chances of capturing a sharp image. I often shoot wildlife handheld, so I need a fast shutter speed to counteract any camera shake. I also like to photograph birds and other fast-moving subjects, so I need a fast shutter speed to freeze their motion as well.
Exact shutter speeds will vary depending on the situation. As your focal length increases and as the speed of your subject increases you will need to increase your shutter speed accordingly. For fast-moving animals that I often photograph at or around 600mm I never go below 1/1,000th of a second and often shoot at even faster shutter speeds if possible. Keep in mind that as you increase your shutter speed, you’re letting less light into your image so you will need to compensate for this by altering your aperture and/or ISO. Bottom line, faster shutter speeds will do a better job of freezing any motion and will increase your odds of capturing a tack-sharp image.
Stabilization:
So, shooting at faster shutter speeds will help to freeze any motion but this isn’t always the perfect fix. Perhaps you’re shooting in a low-light situation or maybe the animal you’re photographing isn’t moving much at all. Super-fast shutter speeds aren’t always required to get a sharp image and sometimes they’re completely unrealistic. Another way that you can compensate for the unintentional motion caused by yourself is stabilization. You can achieve this in several ways so let’s break it down.
One of the easiest ways to stabilize yourself and equipment, that will work with any type of gear, is to use a tripod or monopod. Simply giving your camera and lens a steady surface to rest on and eliminating the weight you would otherwise have to support yourself goes a long way. If I’m shooting early in the morning or late in the evening and know I can’t shoot at super-fast shutter speeds, I’ll use my tripod to increase stability. And if you’re shooting on an older camera without in-body-image-stabilization (IBIS), then a tripod or monopod will help even more. If you don’t have one of these tools at your disposal or don’t have time to set them up, you can always rest your camera on something in the environment or even sitting down and resting your elbows on your knees can help a ton.
Another great way to increase stability, if possible, is to use your equipment to its full capabilities. Many telephoto lenses come with built-in optical stabilization and most modern mirrorless cameras come with excellent IBIS. Both of these can work incredibly well and are complete game-changers when shooting handheld. If your camera has IBIS or if your lens has built-in stabilization, you should definitely use these features when shooting handheld.
Bottom line, it’s never a bad idea to increase stability however you can. This will only work in your favor.
Autofocus:
Another great way to increase your chances of capturing sharp images is to make sure your Autofocus settings are correct. This is especially important if your subject is in motion as your autofocus will need to change as the subject's position relative to you changes. It’s called something a little different for each camera manufacturer but make sure you’re shooting in a continuous AF mode so that the focal point is constantly changing and following your subject. For Sony’s this is called AF-C or Continuous AF and in my Canon 6D Mark ii I use the AI Servo option. If your subject is moving around you’ll want to make sure that your camera is tracking them and keeping the focal plane where it needs to be. This is especially important if you’re shooting at wider apertures and working with shallow depths of field.
Additionally, an extremely powerful and helpful feature that many modern mirrorless cameras have is AI-assisted subject recognition. This feature may not be perfect but modern cameras can actually recognize wildlife subjects and even more specifically their eyes and set the focal point themselves. This technology is incredibly impressive and makes it even easier to make sure your subjects are in focus and sharp. If your camera has this feature, I strongly recommend you use it to your advantage.
Burst Mode / Continuous Shooting:
So, you’ve set your ideal shutter speed, stabilized yourself and your equipment, and selected the ideal settings for your camera's autofocusing capabilities. You’re off to a great start but why not go the extra mile and increase your chances of success even more? Another beneficial thing you can do is to change the drive mode of your camera. This is simply changing what happens when you press your shutter button and most modern cameras have many options.
When it comes to photographing wildlife, I almost always shoot in a continuous mode which means that as I hold the shutter button down my camera will continue to capture images. And, on top of that, I usually opt for the high-speed option so that I can capture as many images as possible in a short period of time. This will allow you to capture more images of your subject, whether they are moving fast or not, and will increase the likelihood that at least some of them are nice and sharp. At the end of the day, this is a numbers game, and shooting continuously will increase your chances of success.
Understand How Your Camera Works:
And last but certainly not least it can’t be overstated just how important it is to understand your basic camera settings and capabilities. Having a thorough understanding of the fundamentals like the exposure triangle and how changing the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO will alter your image will only work in your favor. Additionally understanding the different shooting modes on your camera can allow you to operate more efficiently and increase your chances of success.
As I mentioned before many wildlife photo opportunities are fleeting and happen quite quickly. Knowing how to dial in your camera settings in a flash will increase your chances of not only getting an image but also getting a tack-sharp image. When I’m photographing wildlife, I often predetermine what shutter speed and aperture I’ll use and set the ISO to auto. This reduces the number of variables I have to think about and lets me focus more on the subject and composition. If I have more time, I will manually control the ISO as well, but I often find myself shooting this way. You can opt to shoot in the Aperture Priority mode which allows you to control the aperture and lets your camera automatically select the shutter speed and ISO. Or you can opt for shutter priority and let your camera determine the appropriate aperture and ISO. Bottom line, the less time you have to spend thinking about and changing settings means you can spend more time focusing on the actual image you’re capturing.
At the end of the day there are many different combinations of camera settings and modes that you can select. Many of these can lead to razor-sharp images but it’s ultimately up to you to understand how these features and settings work. Having a fundamental understanding of the tools at your disposal will only increase your odds of success.
Conclusion
And with that, we have come to the end of today’s article. Capturing tack-sharp wildlife images with telephoto lenses can certainly be challenging but with the right knowledge, expertise, and camera settings you can greatly increase your chances of success. I hope this article has been helpful and informative and wish you all the best of luck on your next telephoto photography adventures. Until next time!
And with that, we have come to the end of today’s article. Capturing tack-sharp wildlife images with telephoto lenses can certainly be challenging but with the right knowledge, expertise, and camera settings you can greatly increase your chances of success. I hope this article has been helpful and informative and wish you all the best of luck on your next telephoto photography adventures. Until next time!
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AUTHOR
AUTHOR
Keenan Hursh is a Photographer, visual designer, and creative story teller based out of Bozeman, Montana. He draws inspiration from his frequent excursions into the natural world and always brings his camera along to capture whatever adventures he finds himself in. Keenan is passionate about documenting and sharing fleeting moments from the natural world and focuses primarily on wildlife, landscape, and adventure photography.
When it comes to gear, he primarily shoots digital with his Canon EOS R5 and EOS 6D mark ii but also has several 35mm film cameras that get out every now and then.
At a very young age, Keenan started bringing a camera along on his excursions and immediately fell in love with the art of photography. He started out with his parent’s cheap point and shoot and has continuously improved his craft and gear refining his shooting style and producing more compelling and intriguing images.
Growing up in the foothills of Boulder, Colorado, surrounded by mountains and wilderness, Keenan has developed a deep passion for many outdoor activities. When he’s not out on a shoot or using his camera, Keenan enjoys skiing, climbing, hiking, backpacking, cycling, whitewater rafting, and paragliding. If he’s outside, away from the distractions of society and civilization, he’s in his happy place.
Keenan studied Emergent Digital Practices at the University of Denver while minoring in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Since earning his degree in 2019 he was worked with a wide range of clients, companies, and organizations throughout his career. Apart from photography he specializes in content creation, writing, brand development, and graphic design.
You can view Keenan’s portfolio on his website at www.keenanhurshphoto.com
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"Backcountry Journeys offers guests the unique opportunity to explore our natural world from behind their own lens. We run a selection of hand-crafted Photo Tours, Workshops & Safaris connecting passionate people to exceptional experiences. Locations worldwide.
All Images & Content are property of Backcountry Journeys Photography Tours, Workshops & Safaris LLC - Copyright 2024
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