7 Things you Should Probably Know About Camera Focus

Zeroing in on the perfect frame and adjusting camera settings according to the lighting is just half the job done. Many such ‘perfect’ photographs have been ruined because the photographer did not pay attention to the most important thing – focus. So focus on focus – yes, that is correct—as it can make or break your photos.

But there are a couple of more things about camera focus which you must know, just so that you can prevent images from ending up in recycle bin.

1. Camera focus comes in two modes, Auto and Manual. The camera decides for itself the best spot to focus and lets you click photos, that’s Auto Focus (AF) for you. You play around with the lens and rotate it clockwise or anti-clockwise to focus on your desired spot, that is Manual Focus (MF).
2. Want to capture the minute details of life through your expensive camera? Then do some justice to it by not shooting in auto focus. Things like dew on flower petals, or eyes of a cat should be best clicked in manual focus. The camera gets confused on where to lock the focus points when you click in auto mode. So switch to manual focus mode. Now isn’t that a classic example of “Do-it-yourself’?
3. Single Auto Focus lets the camera focus on a stationary subject when the shutter release button is half depressed. But let’s say you are at a sporting event and would like to capture a fast moving athlete without losing time in focusing all the time, then opt for continuous auto focus.
4. Usually DSLR cameras have a collection of AF points spread all across so that you can choose the one which suits your composition best. But often, the point you want to focus on is tucked away in a corner where there is no AF point. What do you do then? The answer is very simple, just get the AF point to the desired spot when the shutter release is half depressed and then move your camera back to the intended frame and click!
5. Another way of making life simpler in terms of getting the correct focus is if you know beforehand what you are going to photograph and where it is going to be. You can either use a model to stand in and set the focus manually or focus to something very close to where you actually want to focus.
6.  If you are in a habit of shooting in manual focus, then take care that you switch back to auto focus once your photography session is over.
7. If you are looking to capture some quality landscape photographs, then try focus stacking technique, which allows the camera to click many photos with different focal points. This way, the image is sharp and in focus from foreground to background.