Here’s a subject that I hear asked of me on a somewhat regular basis: How come what I wanted to be in focus is fuzzy while something else is in perfect focus?
The culprit is more than likely, your Auto-focus. It’s trying to think for you, but sometimes it over-thinks - Or, more likely, doesn’t know what you were thinking.
The camera’s default focus point is in the center, and if what you wanted to be in focus is not in the center too, things stop working as planned. Having your subject in focus is critical to making a great photo. To do that, you need to be in charge, don’t let that little guy (or gal) inside your camera make all the decisions for you.
Here’s a few tips to learn how to get better control of at least one of your so-called “Auto” functions.
1. We all know (at least you should know) that putting something in the middle of your composition is a bad thing. So here’s one work-around to the Auto-focus being in the center - This is how I always shot most of the time too:
Temporarily put your subject, that most important part that’s got to be in sharp focus, in the center of your viewfinder, then press your shutter button halfway and hold it. At that moment, that little guy/gal inside will focus on whatever is in the middle of the screen, choose a White Balance and set your Exposure depending on your camera settings and available light. Don’t let go of that button yet!
As long as you continue to hold the button down half-way, all of those settings will remain unchanged. Now, Recompose your scene by moving your camera slightly until the subject falls into place for your composition - Remembering the Rule-of-Thirds when possible.
Now, continue to push the shutter button all the way down to take the picture - And Bam, your photo’s in focus. Another advantage to this trick, especially on Point-n-Shoots, is that it speeds up “Shutter Delay” since all the pre-thinking that that little guy/gal inside has to do, has already been done. It’s just a matter of having him/her trip the shutter - Great for fast grandkids, puppies, cars or horses.
One problem that may appear, so watch for it, is, as your camera locks the exposure as well as focus, if the lighting is drastically different when you Recompose, your exposure may be off. Time to try methods two or three.
2. All DSLRs, and many Happy-Snappy/Point-and-Shoots, have a feature that allows you to manually select between the various focus points available on your camera. Most of the time it’s usually a button press, then rotating a dial on the back of the camera while looking through the viewfinder. You’ll see the various focus points highlight one at a time as you cycle thru your choices. Some cameras only have four focus points, while others can have 30 or more! You’ll have to break out your manual for specifics.
I’ll generally do this when my camera’s on a tripod, and what I want in focus is, or is going to be, in a different area than the center. Then it’s just a matter of hitting the button when ready.
Big reminder - Don’t forget, as I do on many occasions, to reset the focus point back to center when done!
And lastly #3. Now, I know some of you are getting lazy and forgetful with all this great new technology, while others have no idea what life was like before cameras had “auto-everything’ on them - Just the same, don't forget you also have an option to manually focus your lens.
Not many do, but even some point-and-shoot cameras have a manual focus setting too. I know it’s scary, but turn off your auto-focus, it's either a switch on the camera body (Nikon) or a switch on the lens (Canon), locate the manual focus ring on your lens (generally the slimmer ring) and just focus manually. I know it can be tough at times, I’m not real good at it myself, but with a little practice, it’s very easy and fast to do - it's also easier to achieve focus in low-light situations this way - As many Auto-focus systems don’t work in low-light.
Again - Make sure you're in control. Make the camera (and the little guy/gal inside) work for you. For better photos, don't let it (him or her) make all the decisions for you. Leave those moments for tacky touristy vacation photos and family picnics.
Thanks again for reading along,
Tony D. Locke, MM
