I never let the camera take control of focus–it's a recipe for blurry pictures. Other than spot focus, you have the ability to choose a small group of between 3 and 5 focus points and tell the camera to choose the best of those points, or you could set your camera to determine which focus point to use all on its own. However, there are other focus selection options on most DSLR cameras. Spot focus is great because you have exact control over where the focus is placed. My thumb has become adept at constantly moving around the focus point using the four-way selector on the back of the camera as I compose a shot through the viewfinder. There are ways that you can activate multiple focus points at once, but in doing so, the camera is just choosing the best of both worlds and compromising between the focus selections to set the focus in the middle somewhere.ĩ9% of the time when I'm out shooting I use spot focus, which allows me to move around the focus point in the viewfinder. I hope I didn't confuse you earlier when I said that the camera can ONLY focus on one specific spot in the photo. If you find that this is the case, check out this article on focusing and recomposing. This is especially true on entry-level Canon Rebel or Nikon D3500 DSLRs, which do not have many focus points. Sometimes, the spot in the picture where you want to focus will not have a focus point available. Notice the red illuminated focus point right on the ant? That's where I'm setting the focus for this shot. To do this, I set the camera to spot focus and used the four-way selector on the back of my DSLR to move the focus point onto the ant. In the picture below, I chose to focus on the ant on the flower, since that is where I wanted people to look. This spot generally blinks red when the camera sets focus. Those markings show you where the camera is focusing. When you look through your viewfinder, you see a bunch of dots (Canon) or small boxes (Nikon). It is physically impossible for a lens to focus on two spots at once. Your camera ALWAYS focuses on one specific spot in the scene. Now that you're shooting manually, it's time to take control of your focus as well. When you were shooting in automatic mode on your camera, the camera would automatically find the subject and focus for you. For landscape photographers, check out this article on where to focus in landscape photography. When shooting portraits, you will almost always focus on the person's eye, since that is where the viewer of the photo will look first. So if you want your photos to come out crystal clear and sharp, you need to focus PRECISELY and make sure you have enough depth-of-field to make the subject come out sharp. Did you know that, with these settings, only 1.4 inches (3.5 centimeters) of the photo is sharp? That means that, if you focus on the person's cheek, their eyes and nose will be partially blurry. Suppose that you're using a 100mm lens and standing 7 feet (2.1 meters) from the subject. This means you're usually shooting your portraits at f/2.8 or a similar low aperture. Now that you've learned how to use shallow depth-of-field from the second part of this series, you want to use it all the time in your portraits to get a creamy background behind the subject. Suppose you're taking a portrait of someone. ![]() ![]() I often ask students where they are focusing, and I get answers like, “On the model's face.” The fact of the matter is that “the face” is far too large of an area to focus on for intimate portraits. The #1 mistake I see from beginning photographers in terms of getting clear pictures is that they aren't being precise with their focus. The #1 focusing mistake of beginning photographers You can avoid those issues by understanding how to properly focus your camera. It is not uncommon for photographers to think that something must be wrong with their equipment if the photos don't come out sharp, but most of the time I find that the reason is simply a product of mistakes the photographer makes when shooting. ![]() I have to admit that I get this type of question SO OFTEN that I dedicated an entire WEEK of training in my beginner class to teach how to get crystal clear and sharp photos. Still, her pictures don't look as sharp as she would like them to, and wondered why that is. This morning, I got an email from one of the students in my Photography Start Course who said she spent $2,000 on an expensive camera and another $1,500 on a high-end lens. Now, I'll teach you all about focus and why your photos may not be as sharp as you'd like them to be.
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