94 PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY
CORE SKILLS HOW TO ACHIEVE ACCURATE
FOCUS FOR PIN-SHARP SHOTS
With a mid-aperture of around f/8, your depth-of-field
will be a little more forgiving on your focus than
a wider aperture. But this definitely doesn’t mean
that you can be lax with your focusing. To give
yourself the best chance of achieving an accurate
focus, set your camera to single-point AF mode.
This means that you’ll have one AF point that you
can move around and place wherever you like
in the scene. This will prevent your camera
from becoming confused aboutwhat
exactly you want it to focus on.
Next, put your camera inits
continuous focusing mode.
This means that as long as
you’re continuing to half-press
th e shutter button, your camera
will keep refocusing. This is
great for genres with moving
subjects, such as sports, wildlife
or street photography. For thebest
re sults, place your AF pointwhere
yo u want your subject’s headto endup
in the frame, and then trackthemwithyour
ca mera as they walk into thescene.Oncethey’ve
moved into the perfect position and you’re happy
with the framing, fully press down the shutter button
to capture your shot.
3.3
Above Switch your camera to single-point AF and its continuous focusing
mode. Then track your subject through the frame until you’re happy with
the composition, and take the shot.1
Setyourfocusmode
Setyourcamerato its
autofocus mode. Then
navigate to the menu and select
the continuous focusing mode. This
means the camera will keep focusing
while you’re half-pressing the shutter.
To set up AF-C, check your camera’s
manual, as methods will vary between
different cameras.2
Usesingle-pointAF
Gointoyourcamera’sAF
Area menu and select
single-point AF. This will give youa
single focus point that you can move
around for a totally accurate focus.
Use the D-pad while looking through
th e viewfinder or the back screenwhile
using Live View to move the AF point
around your composition.3
Focusandshoot
Half-presstheshutterbutton
to bring your image into
focus. Continuing to half-press will
mean your camera keeps re-focusing
on the subject. The active focus point
will be represented as a small box that
you can move around your viewfinder
or rear screen in Live View. A full press
will then take the shot.SET UP YOUR CAMERA FOR SHARP RESULTS
TIP
USEA
TI LTINGSCREEN
If you’reusinga camerathat
hasa tiltingscreen,switch
it to LiveViewmodeand
experimentwithusingit to
helpyoucompose
your shot.