#Be focused photography how to
#Be focused photography manual
#Be focused photography plus

Instead, you should use it in the select scenarios I discuss below: Macro and close-up photography

#Be focused photography manual

Got it? When should you use manual focus?ДЄutofocus technology is great, so I certainly donвЂ™t recommend switching to manual focus all the time. As with the live preview mentioned above, zoom right on in so you can be absolutely sure you got the point of sharpness you needed.

After taking a manually focused image, check the result on the LCD.

If you shoot at f/8, however, you can stray slightly behind or in front of your subject without worry. If you shoot at f/2.8, you mustВ get the focus right.

Consider narrowing the aperture to give yourself a larger margin of error.

Magnify the image, then adjust focus until you see вЂ“ while zoomed in! вЂ“ perfect sharpness.

Switch over to your cameraвЂ™s Live View function, where you preview a live feed of your cameraвЂ™s sensor on the LCD.

Sounds easy, right? It can be, though itвЂ™s sometimes difficult to perceive focus through the camera viewfinder, so I do have a few tips for you: Now, when youвЂ™re in a scenario where manual focusing is necessary (more on that in the next sections!), youвЂ™ll need to simply turn the focus ring until your main subject comes into focus. You should immediately see the focus shift, as different areas of the scene go in and out of focus. Look through your camera viewfinder, then twist the focus ring to one side. Second, find the focus ring, which is often near the middle of the lens barrel (if youвЂ™re using a prime lens) or near the end of the lens barrel (if youвЂ™re using a zoom lens). Check your lens manual if youвЂ™re unsure whether this is the case.) (Note that certain lenses cannot focus manually in such cases, you wonвЂ™t find any switch. It will likely be labeled with вЂњAF/MF,вЂќ where вЂњAFвЂќ activates autofocus and вЂњMFвЂќ activates manual focus.

#Be focused photography how to

ThatвЂ™s where this next section comes in handy: How to manually focus: step by stepДЇirst, locate the focusing mode switch on your camera or lens. So itвЂ™s a valuable skill to have, and one that I recommend pretty much every photographer learn, no matter how useless they think manual focus may be.

If you know how to manual focus, you can switch away from autofocus when required, and you can still get the shot. Yet on the whole, most cameras and lenses will get it wrong on occasion, which is why manual focusing is so critical. Certain cameras offer autofocus algorithms that detect eyes and faces with outstanding accuracy, and certain lenses are lightning fast, even in high-magnification scenarios. Now, the efficacy of your camera and lensвЂ™s AF technology can vary.

When focusing through foreground elements.When choosing between two dominant subjects.Here are just a few scenarios where autofocus technology frequently gets things wrong: It may lock focus on the wrongВ parts of a scene, and it may fail to lock focus completely. вЂ¦but there are certain situations where it struggles.

But why is manual focus useful? Is it right for you? Why is manual focusing important?

With manual focus, instead of letting your camera and lens decide where focusing will occur, you do it all yourself. ThatвЂ™s manual focusing: where you take control, twist the lensвЂ™s focus ring, and change the point of focus. But you, as the photographer, can override your lensвЂ™s autofocus mechanism and adjust focusing via a ring on the lens barrel. By default, most lenses do this automatically, which is known as autofocus. LetвЂ™s dive right in, starting with the basics: What is manual focus?Д®very image requires focusing, where the lens shifts its elements until you get sharpness in a particular spot.

#Be focused photography plus

I give you a step-by-step lesson in how to manually focus, plus I share plenty of scenarios where these focusing techniques make sense (and I also explain when you should avoidВ manual focus, because itвЂ™s not always a good thing!). You see, manual focus is (somewhat) advanced, yet it can be a game-changing technique вЂ“ if you know when and how to use it for outstanding results.Д«elow, I tell you everything you need to know to get started with manual focus. What is manual focus, how does it work, and why should you use it in your photography? ThatвЂ™s what I aim to answer in this article.