Diffraction and its important role in photography
Lighting in photography is one of the most important aspects of photography. Lighting is the main reason in forming a successful image. Therefore, in order to achieve the best texture, color freshness and brightness in your subjects, it is necessary to control and manipulate the light correctly. One of the most important skills in photography; Ability to divide light, size of light spread; and its control; and seeing the angle of light; So that you can capture attractive images with the right lighting.
When a photographer talks about lens diffraction, he means that the sharpness of the image will decrease at smaller apertures such as f/16, f/22, etc. When you set your lens to these smaller apertures, small details in the image will appear blurry. This issue may be a concern for beginner photographers, which is completely normal, but if you are familiar with the effects of lens diffraction on the image, you can make a good decision and capture the sharpest possible photos.
What is light diffraction?
As you probably know, aperture is the opening of the lens that allows light to enter the camera. When the aperture is wide (open), light freely passes through the aperture to the digital sensor. But when the aperture is too small (closed), the light rays from the small aperture are scattered onto the digital sensor. This “diffraction” can cause light rays to hit adjacent colored pixels. In fact, diffusion causes light to hit the wrong pixels, causing blur. This effect is more pronounced in digital sensors that have a higher megapixel density, because they have smaller pixels.
Avoid diffraction
Diffraction is a physical phenomenon. No matter how good your lens is, at smaller apertures the difference will reduce the overall sharpness of the image. If you want to have the sharpest photo possible, this is the only way around the split. If you need a high depth of field, you can use the focus stacking technique at f/5.6 or f/8, where the separation is diffraction.
Theoretically, it is possible to correct the difference through a process called deconvolution sharpening. Deconvolution sharpening will be most useful when you have the best lens model with precise optical specifications. For this reason, deconvolution sharpening does not reduce the diffraction effect much for general purposes. However, while photos can be sharpened in software, the best way to reduce dispersion is simply to open up the aperture.
Considering all these technical issues, differentiation can be a different and unconventional topic. But, its effect is obvious and important in your photos, and it’s better to pay attention to it when shooting. Especially for landscape and architectural photographers—or anyone who wants sharp photos with a high depth of field—it’s important to understand the effects and pitfalls of shooting at closed apertures. There is a difference in all your photos; and—if you’re not careful—it can reduce the overall clarity of your favorite photos. However, by understanding the differentiation effect, you can avoid this problem.