Evening star., 1952-11-16
Camera Angles;

sharpness, or clarity OF image,
is a highly desirable character
istic in at least 80 per cent of
all photographs. A few pictures
are deliberately softened up be-
tween the exposure and the
print, but are done so for Spe-
cial effects beyond the scope Of
this article. Accidents, careless
ness, and faulty equipment ac-
count for most Of the fuzzy
shots that are so irritating to
the fan with the snapshot cam
era. Let's see how we can get
a sharp picture every time.
First and most important is
focus. Unless you deliver a
sharp image through the lens to
your film, nothing that you do
after that will make a bit of
difference. There is no trick in
the book that will make an out
of-focus image sharp once the
shutter clicks. So, get that To-
Gus sharp at the start. With a
view or reflex camera, you have
the entire scene to look at on
the ground glass screen. Just
move the focusing knob back
and forth until the image hits
tie high point of sharpness.
Other cameras have range
finders which can be relied on.
Still others have a focusing scale
which is accurate enough If your
estimate of the distance from
subject to lens is right. I you
are having any trouble estimat-
ing footage or distance, use a
tape or measure to check
gueSSes. Box cameras and
the like are apt to have a fixed
focus which insures a sharp i'm
age except at very close range
generally under six feet), at
which point a supplementary
closeup attachment will correct
the focus.
Getting q Critical Point
Focusing sharply may present
an occasional problem to the be-
ginner. Some scenes you wish
to record may be in great depth
and you may try with the lens
wide open to focus all of the
scenes from foreground to back
ground and it will not be sharp
at any one point. When this
happens. focus on a point which
is about one-third of the dis
tance from the nearest object
to the furthest object - then
stop down the lens and the en-
tire scene will be sharp.
There are several other fac
tors that can play havoc with
the clarity of the negative image
if you are not alert. Unsteadi-
ness of the camera is one of
them. If the camera shakes or
moves during the exposure, your
chances of getting that sharp
image go. Instead you will find
a multiple image whose effect is
more apparent if the picture is
enlarged. Camera movement
can be minimized by placing it
on a tripod, holding it to some
steady object with a clamp, or
by placing it on a table or other
firm foundation. Lacking these,
brace the camera against the
head or body depending upon
the type of f1nder), and hold
your breath during the ex-
posure; and if possible brace
your body against a tree or
building for steadineSs. In ad-
dition to this, step up the speed
of the exposure if your camera
permits.
Movement of the subject will
also make it hard to get a crisp
image unless you take precau-
tions. You don't have re-
course these days to the head
clamp of the daguerreotypist, SO
you will have to stop subject
movement by increasing the
shutter speed. An exposure of
1/100th of a second is as slow
as we would recommend if the
subject is moving. Rapidly NOV
ing subjects may require even
faster shutter speeds to insure
a sharp clear image.
Dirty Lens Trouble
The lens may be source of
trouble unless you give it the
best of care. Your camera can
be steady, the shutter properly
set and the lens stopped all the
way and you still find a fuzzy
image on the negative. This
may have been caused by a lens
that hos a Rlyno nf duet ~, ifc