​Advanced techniques for taking sharp photographs

First of all, I often take blurry pictures these days. Every professional photographer does. The only difference is we don't post them online! Still, canvas prints I bet I take far fewer blurry photos than other photographers, and for good reason. Taking sharp pictures involves a number of different techniques, and only by combining these techniques can you achieve a higher success rate.

Back AF button

Almost 90% of the photographers I've asked don't use this feature that most cameras do. When I asked them how to focus, photo canvas online the answer was to press the shutter half and then the shutter half again. The problem with this is that every time you shoot, the camera refocuses. What happens if your subject is far away and a group of people walk in front of you? You can't shoot, but you have to wait until there are no obstacles to refocus and shoot.

Almost all cameras have a button on the back called af-on. This button can be set to focus via menu Settings. This allows you to focus once and then take as many shots as you want, panoramic canvas leaving the focus in the same position and the shutter just the shutter.

A single point of focus

One of the truths a photographer should know is the difference between "letting the camera decide what to do" and "telling the camera what to do." Many people half-click the shutter and the camera decide how to focus. Most of the time, the camera will find the right thing to focus on. Because the subject is usually the most prominent thing in the picture, the camera can easily detect the sharp contrast and focus. This works most of the time, but it's a problem if you start with a prime lens and go for shallow depth-of-field effects.

If your model is 3.5 meters away and you shoot with a 200mm f/2.8 lens, the depth of field is only 38 mm! Do you want the camera to decide where the 38 mm should be? What if it's on the tip of the nose? The model's eyes are out of focus.

There should be a button on the camera (upper right corner of the example) showing the camera's focus selection. The default setting is to activate all pairs of focus, and the camera decides which one to use. Press this key and use the joystick (or arrow key) to manually select to activate the focus. Once selected, you'll see only one focus working, not a bunch of focus lights. If you want to focus the model's eyes now, focus the selected pair on the eyes and press the focus button. Now that the focus is fixed, the only thing you have to worry about is the camera or model moving.

Automatic servo focusing

The name is interesting, but the Settings are useful. If you haven't found servo focus mode yet, moving the camera away from "single shot" is a revolution in your level of photography. Here's an example of how servo focus works: say you're filming a wedding and you're at the end of the aisle and a couple is walking up to you. Because the light is not good here you use an f/2.8 aperture with a depth of field of only 15cm. In single focus mode, every time you press the focus button, the camera will focus once, and then you have to press the shutter. With a depth of field of 15cm and a moving model, the chances of getting a clear picture are slim. One way to do this is to press the focus button and the shutter button as quickly as possible, and then try a few more times. Another method is to focus on a certain position in advance and take a photo when the model walks into the position. There is only one chance. You don't want to do that at a wedding!

Set the camera to servo focus and everything will be different. Since the 1980s, servomotors have been a standard feature for sports photographers shooting moving objects. Using servomotors, the camera can automatically track your model towards you, changing focus at all times. Whether the model approaches or walks away, it is the same. In the menu Settings, you can even adjust the focus sensitivity of the servo.

With the normal method of focusing, this picture might not exist. I don't like gambling. If I use autofocus, how does the camera know to focus on him and not on anything else in the frame? I chose a focal point and aimed it at the singer's face. Then I used the back focus button and waited for the moment to come. When he looked over, everything was ready. All I had to do was press the shutter.

Examples of photo

This is one of my favorite photos I've ever taken. This is my nephew Will and his father Billy. I think it's a perfect picture of father and son, with just the right background. With normal focus, the chances of getting this shot are almost zero. Sure, you can pray and shoot the birds in random shots, hoping for a miracle, but what if it doesn't happen? For this shot, I used single focus and autofocus, holding down the focus key while he rotated to track focus. This allows me to focus with my thumb and prepare the shutter with my forefinger. And believe me, when you start taking pictures like this, this is really important.

Examples of photo

This photo was taken at Carlsbad State beach, California. The surfer girl noticed my camera and ran over to say hello and talk about photography. I took this picture of her as she turned to chase the waves. I put a single focus on her back and used servo focus so the camera would keep track of her focus. When the right moment came, I pressed the shutter.

Conclusion

When I learned these focus skills, they really changed my world and became part of my workflow. I use automatic focus almost 90% of the time. Use single focus only when it is too dark and you must use an auxiliary focus lamp. Use single focus mode when using an auxiliary focus lamp. I can't think of any reason to refocus the shutter. The same goes for choosing auto-focus versus auto-focus. My chance of using auto-focus is probably only 1%.

If these tips are new to you, I encourage you to try them. I admit that using focus keys and single focus takes some work, aluminum photo prints but eventually you get used to it. I can now focus with my eyes closed, and using the focus button helps too.