If a Photo Is Not Tack Sharp, Is It Junk?

It is my extremely subjective answer that most of the time the answer is yes! I must admit that I'm addicted to sharp, sharp, sharp!

There are, of course, exceptions to this. Event photography is one, and the other is when the photographer is deliberately blurring for effect. But even when one is showing off bokeh, there usually is a portion of the photograph that should be tack sharp.

95% of the photos that I see online are not as sharp as I would like to see them. There are several reasons for this:

• The photographer is not anal about sharpness.
• The photographer did not focus correctly or there was camera movement.
• The lens did not focus correctly.
• The photographer did not do post processing sharpening (may not be necessary)

Most of the time, there are two reasons why online photographs are not as sharp as they should be. One is a direct result of the photographer not optimizing the photograph to its display size. Two, the limitations of the website displaying them.

The number one rule in post process sharpening is that it should be the very last step. I never sharpen my photos until after I have resized them. But there is a major problem with displaying photos online in general. That is, the websites tend to resize them depending on the viewing situation. When a photo is optimized for a specific size, then displayed at a larger or smaller size, the sharpness goes to hell. That really bugs me!

My idea of the perfect photo display website would allow me to upload several different predesignated sized versions of my photos that would only be displayed at those sizes. I could optimize the sharpness perfectly for each photo and they would display as intended. Is there such a website? I haven't found it.

Preaching to the choir. One of the most annoying aspects of this site is that it will automatically resize uploads greater than 1000px without warning you first. Additionally, even when I link to full res images, sharpened properly, the display size is squashed and I can't force people to click through. So I've learned to post within conformed sizes.

Flickr is another prime example, though I find their resizing to be far less destructive to IQ.The internet is a crapshoot for photographers and if they're serious about their work they need to take steps whenever possible to display it in its best light (no pun intended).

There are a lot of other photography forums where unless its tack sharp then its junk,that's why ime here its more about the joy of photography and capturing images,if tack sharp is all your interested in then that's your choice which i respect and look forward to viewing your images.
All photographers aim for sharpness i for one struggle to attain it due to age and budget limitations,ime not junking all my pictures because of that.

I'm a perfectionist and that has cost me dearly in camera gear! And it will continue to cost me. For me, it is a joy to not only capture the image, but to make it look its very best. And I am willing to go the extra mile and extra dollar to achieve it.

And Mike, I also look forward to viewing my images as I don't have a camera right now!

My brother inlaw is a perfectionist,fashion photography,product photography,silk screen printing even boat building,the guy is spot on, he has however lead a frustrating life because hardly any one understands his need to achieve perfection.

Understand that while I strive for tack sharp in my own photos, I understand the learning process, and that not everyone has the same goals for their photos - and I think that's great. I think there is a tendency to just be over-critical on the internet, as it costs us little of our own souls to poke at others for the sake of poking. So like you, Mike, I love the low key atmosphere here that allows you to ask for a critique and know you're not going to get hammered by the "photography gods", whoever they are.

Nick is a pro, and I aspire to make some kind of business of my work, and as such I would hate to think that someone looking to sell their work isn't "willing to go the extra mile", as Nick says, because I certainly wouldn't want to hire them. But "good enough", while unacceptable to some, can be more than satisfactory for person's situation. I would hope that those who are here are here to learn, so while it may be "good enough" for now, the desire to grow is there, because when you start figuring it out it can be that much more enjoyable.

Tack Sharp or Go Home...lol

Hmmmmmm.

I'd suggest you look at this photo and see if you'd send it to the Trash Bin.

I strive for sharpness because I want my photographs to be as if I were looking at the scene with my eyeballs. If a scene is tack sharp, through my eyes, I want my photograph to represent what I was seeing. If I want blurred or soft I want to produce that only for those particular chosen images.

A perfectionist's life can be a problem. I guess I'm a selective perfectionist. It depends on the situation. Camera gear companies love me!

My wife points out many areas of my life that she wishes I was MORE of a perfectionist. Like keeping my mancave clean. Putting the dishes away neatly. Driving under the speed limit. Dressing nicer. Buying better quality furniture. And the list goes on and on...

One of my problems is that I expect every photograph that I see, whether it's mine or somebody elses, to be perfect. I only keep my absolute best shots and consider the rest garbage. I generally don't get myself into the position of criticizing other people's photos because I tend to be too harsh and brutally honest about my opinion.

But I absolutely love photography and truly enjoy going the extra mile to make my photographs the best they can be and special to me.

I have no desire to be the best photographer. Quite frankly, a lot of my stuff sucks! It is junk to most photographers. But it is really, really sharp junk to me and very special!

If a customer pays money for one of my prints, I consider myself successful. Well, artistically wise, not business wise! I will probably shell out $1,000 on gear for every $1 I make from customers. Obviously I'm not in it for the money! Just the notion that somebody found my creativity worthy enough to purchase makes it all worthwhile!

Besides being a perfectionist, there must be other psychological conditions I suffer from, at least that's what my wife says! :topsy_turvy:

Well you must have guessed if the 800E doesn't live up to your expectations,i wont be insulted if you give it to me

480sparky said:

Hmmmmmm.

I'd suggest you look at this photo and see if you'd send it to the Trash Bin.

Click to expand...

That shot works as is. I actually downloaded the tiff version and did some pixel peeping. Had to be a film shot originally? still though it works as is.

I strive to make my photos as sharp as possible. Sometimes I find myself going a little to far and have to back off a little. It really is a fine line to get it in the sweet spot.

Don Kuykendall said:

That shot works as is. I actually downloaded the tiff version and did some pixel peeping. Had to be a film shot originally? still though it works as is.

Click to expand...

Well, given it was taken during the Great Depression, and is one of several images that brought the feeling of the country to everyone at the time..... I would HOPE that it was film.

It seems on FB sharpness is not a must...

Sharpness is always strived for and those always seem to be my favorite shots. But if its composed correctly and the subject holds your interest it could still be an amazing shot...

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I think that old photo could be a little sharper. :chuncky:

Tack Sharp

I think that we all strive for tack sharp, but don't always achieve it. I do agree with Tami Jo that composition is an important factor in any image, even those that are not quite tack sharp.