📷 Why Are My Photos Blurry? All the Reasons and How to Fix Them

You've taken what you thought was the perfect shot, but when you look at it later, it's blurry. Frustrating, right? 📸 This episode breaks down all seven main reasons your photos might be blurry and gives you practical fixes for each one.

In this episode, you'll learn:
✅ How camera shake ruins photos (and the proper technique to eliminate it)
✅ The reciprocal rule for shutter speed that prevents blur
✅ Why your focus might be off and how to manually control it
✅ How to handle motion blur in your subjects
✅ When shallow depth of field becomes a problem
✅ Why a dirty lens makes everything soft (and how to keep yours clean)
✅ How high ISO affects apparent sharpness (and when to use a tripod)

Whether you're using a camera or your phone, these seven fixes will transform your photography. From the breathing technique that stops camera shake to the simple habit of cleaning your lens after every shoot, you'll get actionable advice you can use immediately.

📸 What You'll Learn:

✅ Tip 1: Camera Shake - You're Moving When You Press the Button
Learn the proper holding technique, breathing method, and when to use a tripod.

✅ Tip 2: Wrong Shutter Speed for Your Focal Length
The reciprocal rule prevents blur. Using a 100mm lens? Minimum 1/100th second.

✅ Tip 3: Your Focus Is Off - You've Focused on the Wrong Thing
Manually select the focus point and always check your shots.

✅ Tip 4: Your Subject Is Moving - Motion Blur
Learn exactly what shutter speeds you need for different subjects.

✅ Tip 5: Shallow Depth of Field - Not Enough Is in Focus
When to close down your aperture to keep everything sharp.

✅ Tip 6: Dirty or Smudged Lens
Clean your gear after every shoot - takes 30 seconds, makes a massive difference!

✅ Tip 7: Low Light and High ISO - Noise Disguising as Blur
Use a tripod to stick to ISO 100 for the highest quality.

📱 For Phone Photographers:
Everything applies to phone cameras too! Hold with both hands, use the volume button to shoot, tap to focus on the right spot, and clean that lens regularly!

🔗 Related Episodes:

Episode 222, The Best of The Photography Explained Podcast: 29 Essential Photography Tips That Actually Matter

Episode 220, The Photographer's Eye: See a Great Photo Before You Take It

Episode 152, How My One Photo Rule Will Help You Take Better Photos

⏭️ Next Episode:
Episode 225 - I Just Got My First Camera - What Do I Do in the First Week?

🎯 Your Action Step:
Take 10 photos this week, but before each one, ask yourself "What could make this blurry?" Run through the seven things in your head.

🌐

Check out my splendid course How To Become A Real Estate Photographer on my website Rick McEvoy Photography.com/courses

Check out my splendid course How To Become A Real Estate Photographer at Rick McEvoy Photography.com

Transcript

You've taken what you thought was the perfect shot, but when you look at it later, it's blurry. Frustrating, right? Let me show you why this happens and how to fix it.

Blurry photos are one of the most common problems photographers face, whether you're using a camera or your phone. You line up the shot, press the button, everything looks good on the screen, and then boom, disappointment. But here's the good news - there are only a handful of reasons why photos turn out blurry, and once you understand them, you can fix every single one. Today I'm breaking down seven main culprits and giving you practical solutions for each.

Hello and Welcome

Hello and welcome to episode 224 of the Photography Explained Podcast.

This episode is titled: Why Are My Photos Blurry? All the Reasons and How to Fix Them.

A very good morning, good afternoon, or good evening to you, wherever you are in the world. 🌍 I'm your host, Rick, hi 👋, and in each episode, I try to explain one photographic thing to you in plain English in less than 27 minutes (ish) ⏱️, without the irrelevant details. Yes, really. 💯

I'm a professionally qualified photographer based in England 🏴 with a lifetime of photographic experience, which I share with you in my splendid podcast. 📸 💝

Let's get into this.

Right, blurry photos. We've all been there. You think you've nailed the shot, but when you review it properly, it's just not sharp. Sometimes it's slightly soft, sometimes it's completely unusable. A blurry photo can be down to one or more of the things I am going to tell you. Some are about how you're taking the photo, some are about your settings, and some are about what you're photographing. Over my 40-plus years of taking photos, I've made every single one of these mistakes, so I know exactly what causes them and, more importantly, how to avoid them. Let me walk you through the seven main reasons your photos might be blurry and give you the practical fixes for each one.

Tip 1: Camera Shake - You're Moving When You Press the Button

This is the number one cause of blurry photos, and it catches everyone out. Camera shake happens when your camera moves while the shutter is open. Even the tiniest movement - and I mean microscopic - can turn a sharp image into a blurry mess. The longer your shutter is open, the more any movement shows up in your photo.

Here's what actually happens: when you press the shutter button, if you're not holding the camera steadily or if you press too hard, you introduce movement. At fast shutter speeds like 1/500th of a second, this might not matter. But at slower speeds like 1/60th or 1/30th, any shake becomes very visible.

The fix is simple but needs practice. Hold your camera properly - two hands, elbows tucked into your body, feet shoulder-width apart. Breathe properly - take a breath, let half of it out, hold, then press the shutter gently. And lean against something solid - a wall, a tree, a lamppost - to stabilize yourself.

For my architectural photography, I use a tripod for every photo I take to get the sharpest photo I can every time. And for my landscape and travel photography too thinking about it.

Tip 2: Wrong Shutter Speed for Your Focal Length

There's a fundamental principle in photography that prevents blur from camera shake: the reciprocal rule. If you're shooting handheld, your shutter speed should be at least 1 over your focal length. So if you're using a 100mm lens, your minimum shutter speed should be 1/100th of a second. Using a 200mm lens? You need 1/200th or faster.

Why? Because longer lenses magnify camera shake. That tiny wobble that doesn't show up at 24mm becomes massive blur at 200mm. It's physics, and you can't beat physics.

Now, this doesn't apply below 1/60th second - you can't just take a photo handheld with an 8mm focal length with a shutter speed of 1/8th second. But if you can let me know how, ha!

Modern image stabilization helps significantly - current systems can give you five to eight stops of extra leeway, with some manufacturers claiming up to 8.5 stops on their latest lenses. So that 100mm lens with good stabilization might let you shoot at 1/6th second instead of 1/100th. But try this out first and makes sure you know the limits. Pushing to the max every time might not work.

Tip 3: Your Focus Is Off - You've Focused on the Wrong Thing

Sharp focus doesn't mean a sharp photo if you've focused on the wrong part of your scene. Modern cameras have brilliant autofocus systems, but they don't read your mind. They focus on whatever you tell them to - or whatever they think is important. And what the camera thinks is important might not be what you think is important.

The solution: take control. Focus on the main subject - usually your subject's eye if you're photographing people, or the nearest part of your main subject for everything else. Half-press your shutter button to lock focus, recompose if you need to, then take the shot.

I also check after I have taken a photo to be sure. I zoom in on the back screen and check. If it's not sharp where I wanted it sharp, I take the photo again. Simple as that. As I am photographing buildings though this is not normally a problem.

Tip 4: Your Subject Is Moving - Motion Blur

This one's different from camera shake because your camera is perfectly still - it's your subject that's moving. If your shutter speed is too slow for the action you're photographing, you'll get motion blur. A person walking might need 1/125th of a second. A child running might need 1/500th. Birds in flight? Try 1/1000th or faster. An F1 car – who knows ha. But I do hope to find out.

The key word here is "might" - it depends on how fast they're moving and what direction they're moving relative to your camera. Something moving directly toward you can be less of a problem than something moving across your frame.

To fix motion blur, you've got three options. First, increase your shutter speed - simple. Second, pan with your subject, keeping them in the same position in your frame while they move. This keeps them sharp while blurring the background, which actually looks brilliant for sports and action. Third, use burst mode and take multiple shots - you'll increase your chances of getting one where your subject is perfectly sharp. But this is my least preferred option. Try to get that one super sharp photo.

Tip 5: Shallow Depth of Field - Not Enough Is in Focus

This catches out so many people who've just learned about aperture and background blur. They open up to maximum aperture, f/1.8 or whatever it might be, get lovely blurry backgrounds, but then discover their subject isn't fully sharp. What's happened? Their depth of field is so shallow that only a tiny slice of their image is in focus.

At f/1.8, your depth of field might only be a centimeter or two. That's fantastic for artistic shots, but it means if you move slightly after focusing, or if your subject moves, they'll be out of the focused zone. It's especially problematic with portraits - you might get one eye sharp but not the other.

The fix depends on what you need. If you want more of your subject in focus, close down your aperture - try f/4, f/5.6 or f/8 instead of f/1.8. Yes, you'll lose some of that dreamy background blur, but your whole subject will be sharp. For group photos, try f/8 or f/11 to make sure everyone's in focus.

But if you love that shallow depth of field look, just be more careful with your focusing. Use single-point focus on the most critical part of your subject - usually the eye nearest the camera. And make sure you and your subject stay at that exact distance after you've focused.

Tip 6: Dirty or Smudged Lens

Your lens can be dirty - fingerprints, dust, smudges, whatever - and it can make your images look soft and hazy. Sometimes you don't even realize it until you're reviewing your photos later.

The problem is, a dirty lens scatters light in all directions instead of letting it pass through cleanly. This reduces contrast and sharpness across your entire image. It's particularly bad if you're shooting toward a light source - street lights at night, the sun, bright windows.

The fix is embarrassingly simple: clean your lens. Use a proper lens cloth and a bit of lens cleaning solution for stubborn smudges. I use disposable cleaning cloths. I clean all my gear when I get back from a shoot, so it is always clean and good to go - I check it before going out on a shoot as well of course.

For phone cameras, this is even more important because your phone probably lives in your pocket or bag. That lens gets dirty fast. A quick wipe with a clean soft cloth before you shoot can make a massive difference.

Tip 7: Low Light and High ISO - Noise Disguising as Blur

This last one is a bit sneaky. Your image might not be technically blurry, but high ISO noise can make it look soft and lacking in detail. When you bump your ISO up to handle low light - say ISO 3200, 6400, or higher - you're introducing digital noise. That noise breaks up the fine details in your image, making it look less sharp overall.

It's particularly noticeable in shadows and mid-tones. Your photo might look OK on your camera screen, but when you view it properly, it looks muddy and soft. The sharpness just isn't there.

But, here's something important: if you have the choice of a noisy photo or a blurry photo, a noisy photo wins. You can't fix a blurry photo. But always use the lowest ISO that you can to get a sharp photo handheld.

I always use a tripod so I can stick to ISO 100 to give me the highest quality. I keep my ISO at 100, and use whatever shutter speed is needed - sometimes several seconds. The result is clean, sharp images with no noise, even in really dark conditions.

Quick Recap

Right, let's quickly run through those seven things that cause blurry photos and how to fix them:

Tip 1: Camera shake - hold steady, breathe properly, use support when needed

Tip 2: Wrong shutter speed for your focal length - follow the reciprocal rule, faster is safer

Tip 3: Your focus is off – check and change the focus mode or manually select the focus point, focus on what matters, check your shots

Tip 4: Your subject is moving - increase shutter speed, pan with movement, or use burst mode.

Tip 5: Shallow depth of field - close down your aperture if you need more in focus

Tip 6: Dirty lens - clean it regularly, check before shoots

Tip 7: High ISO noise - use a tripod, open your aperture, keep ISO as low as possible

Fix these seven things, and your photos will be noticeably sharper. Promise.

What If I Use a Phone to Take My Photos?

Everything I've just explained applies to phone cameras too, though some of it works slightly differently.

Camera shake is not often a problem with phones as there is so much going on tech wise. But they're lighter and easier to wobble. So if camera shake is a problem, hold your phone with both hands, brace your elbows against your body, and tap the shutter button gently. Better yet, use the volume button to take the shot - it's steadier than tapping the screen.

For shutter speed and ISO, most phones handle this automatically, but you can often take control in pro mode if your phone has one. 

Focus on phones is brilliant these days. Just tap on your main subject before you take the shot, and your phone will focus there. Make sure you're tapping on the right spot though - this is crucial.

And dirty lenses - honestly, this is probably the biggest issue with phone photography. Your phone lens gets touched constantly, gets pocket fluff on it, gets smudged. Clean it regularly. It makes a huge difference.

What I Do

For my professional work, I've developed some very specific habits around keeping my images sharp.

I always use a tripod. Even if I could technically handhold at the required shutter speed, the tripod guarantees sharpness. It's just professional practice. I can also take my time composing, checking the image, making sure everything's perfect.

I use the lowest ISO for the highest quality. With my camera on a tripod, I can stick to ISO 100 for every shot, which gives me the cleanest, sharpest possible images with zero noise.

I keep my lenses immaculately clean. I clean all my gear when I get back from a shoot so it is always clean and good to go. I check it before going out on a shoot as well of course. Takes 30 seconds and saves so much hassle.

I manually select the focus point. I don't leave it to the camera to decide what's important. I choose exactly where I want sharpness, and I verify it after taking the shot by zooming in on the back screen. But I use autofocus as it is much more accurate than my ageing eyesight ha!

Your Challenge

Here's your challenge: take 10 photos this week, but before each one, ask yourself "What could make this blurry?" Run through the seven things in your head. Just that conscious check before pressing the shutter can dramatically improve your hit rate of sharp photos. You'll start developing the habits automatically, and soon you won't even think about it - you'll just naturally shoot in ways that produce sharp images.

Related Episodes

If you're enjoying this New Year focus on improving your photography, you might want to check out the previous episode - Episode 222 - The Best of The Photography Explained Podcast: 29 Essential Photography Tips That Actually Matter.

And here are some other recent related episodes - Episode 220 - The Photographer's Eye: See a Great Photo Before You Take It, and good old Episode 152 - How My One Photo Rule Will Help You Take Better Photos.

Next Episode 💝

Next time, I'm answering a question for everyone who's just got their first proper camera: I Just Got My First Camera - What Do I Do in the First Week? I'll walk you through exactly where to start, what to focus on, and how to make the most of those exciting first days with your new gear.

Get in Touch & Subscribe! 🤝

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For everything else, visit RickMcEvoyPhotography.com 🌐 - ask questions, get my weekly email, get in touch. 📱 Text me directly from the podcast feed. Find me on YouTube by searching Rick McEvoy. 📺

Check out my courses page 🎓 for "How to Become a Real Estate Photographer." 🏠

And check out my resources page which takes you in all sorts of splendid directions.

This episode was brought to you by a cheese and pickle sandwich 🥪 and a Coke Zero 🥤, consumed before settling into my homemade, acoustically cushioned recording room. 🎙️

I've been Rick McEvoy. Thanks for giving me 27-ish minutes of your time. 🙏 This episode will be about 23 minutes long after editing out the mistakes and bad stuff.

Thanks for listening. 👍

Stay safe. 🛡️ Cheers from me, Rick! 🍻