If you look around Facebook, Flickr, SmugMug, and other online photo sites, you'll see a lot of photos. A large percentage of them are blurry and out of focus. I often ask myself if the person that posted them realizes how easy it would be to have taken a MUCH better photo.
A lot of photos I see on these sites are out of focus. There's an easy fix for that. Make sure your digital camera has locked focus before taking the picture. If your digital camera is having trouble focusing, improve the lighting.
Digital cameras often have a hard time focussing in low light situations. You may not even realize the light is too low as the human eye adapts to light levels quickly and easily, but if your camera can't focus, consider the lighting.
If you're inside, turn on the lights in the room you're in. If your camera still has trouble focusing, look to see if there are other lights you can turn on to increase the light levels in the room. Sometimes turning the light on in an adjoining room helps.
If there are windows in the room, open the drapes or blinds. Natural light looks best for photos and doesn't cost a penny. Try moving your subject over by the window. Some of the best portraits are taken with window light.
Turn the camera's flash on if necessary. While not always the most flattering light, a photo taken using the camera's flash that is in focus and sharp is always preferable to a blurry out of focus photo without camera flash.
If you have a DSLR or prosumer digital camera that has a hotshoe for an external flash, use it. Adding an external flash is the easiest way to DRASTICALLY improve your camera's focus ability, especially if the flash unit has a focus assist beam. Not only will your photos be in focus, they'll look MUCH better too when properly lit with an external flash.
As you can see, with a few simple considerations, it's fairly easy to make sure your photos will be sharp and in focus. If the photo is worth taking, isn't it worth taking an extra second to make it better?
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