How to Fix Blurry Photos in Lightroom and Capture One

Have you ever taken an image that looked great on the back of the camera, but upon closer inspection on a larger screen, was found to be slightly out of focus? This is a very frustrating position to be in as a photographer. This tutorial provides options to help reduce blurriness and enhance texture and detail in your images.

Whether you are using Lightroom or Capture One, this tutorial by the talented Kayleigh June will show you some of the tools in each of the software and provide a comparison so you can decide which method or which program you prefer.

June begins by stating that the results are not going to be perfect when you have not managed to nail the focus in camera, but editing programs have improved dramatically, leading to much better results which get you closer to where you need to be.

Beginning with Lightroom, June zooms in on the eyes of the subject in an image which are just not sharp enough and then takes us through some options other than the sharpen slider. Moving over to Capture One, a similar journey is taken with equivalent tools, before the tutorial ends with a comparison of edits. You can make up your own mind as to which software you think has come out on top with sharpening images that are slightly out of focus.

Kim Simpson's picture

Kim Simpson is a photographer based in the West of Scotland. Her photographic practice is an exploration of the human experience, with a particular emphasis on themes of identity and belonging.

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3 Comments

I often shoot with a slow shutter speed and use IBIS to stabilise the camera (for shots with deliberate movement) but can still get blurry photos if I don't hold the camera steady enough. I'd much rather work on my technique than waste time using software to correct poor technique.

That's great if you have the ability to take and retake and retake. But, in scenarios where you have one chance, software technique comes in handy.

Oh absolutely, its always best to get the technique right in camera, however, sometimes chance situations occur such as sudden action or unexpected movement which throws your planning out the window. Shooting kids for example would result in a couple of blurry shots for most photographers.