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Photography tip - focus mode
Jan. 26th, 2010 12:30 amI figure if I've struggled with some aspect of photography and found a solution, the answer will be useful to others too.
The general purpose "pick the likely-to-be-the-best focal distance" focus mode gets it right a lot of the time, but there are times when the average distance of a bunch of prominent features in the photo isn't what you want at all. For example, if you're trying to get photos of a monkey moving around in a tree, the generic focus mode is likely to think the nearer branches are just as important, if not more so, than the somewhat obscured monkey. Very frustrating.
What to do? Most cameras have a focus mode that uses a single point to focus on. That point is usually in the center of the screen, though some cameras will allow you to change the location (and even the size) of that point.
Of course, if you leave that mode active on your camera, you also have to remember to put your subject in the center of the screen at the start of every photo. You can then half-depress the shutter button to focus the camera and then shift your view to get a better composition before completely pressing the button.
Have you learned any good photography tricks lately?
The general purpose "pick the likely-to-be-the-best focal distance" focus mode gets it right a lot of the time, but there are times when the average distance of a bunch of prominent features in the photo isn't what you want at all. For example, if you're trying to get photos of a monkey moving around in a tree, the generic focus mode is likely to think the nearer branches are just as important, if not more so, than the somewhat obscured monkey. Very frustrating.
What to do? Most cameras have a focus mode that uses a single point to focus on. That point is usually in the center of the screen, though some cameras will allow you to change the location (and even the size) of that point.
Of course, if you leave that mode active on your camera, you also have to remember to put your subject in the center of the screen at the start of every photo. You can then half-depress the shutter button to focus the camera and then shift your view to get a better composition before completely pressing the button.
Have you learned any good photography tricks lately?
