Focus . . .

Maybe it’s just me, but why can it be so hard to focus sometimes? Is it that there is so much to do that choosing one or two things to concentrate on is downright difficult? Or, is it that fun opportunities trump work, which can be OK, for awhile, but eventually those responsibilities won’t be able to be put off any longer? Once the decision has been made to buckle down and focus on a task at hand, it can be eye opening.

Photographically speaking, focus is important. It shows what a photographer is trying to express by drawing attention to an object or person or part of a whole. Yet, achieving focus on the subject in your pictures can be as difficult as focusing on areas of your life. For DSLR users, I have a few tips to offer and aid in finding focus this month. First things first, it’s time for you to tell the camera what you want to focus on and don’t rely on the camera to know what you want automatically. When in auto mode, the camera chooses the focus points based on the shooting conditions. Sometimes this works, but sometimes it doesn’t and when it doesn’t it can be frustrating. You end up with your subject out of focus and something in the background in focus. To correct this, put your camera in manual, aperture priority, shutter priority or program mode, choose a focus point and take back creative control.

It can turn your world upside down, in a good way! Now that you are out of auto, the first thing is telling your camera where to focus. Go ahead get bossy! Most modern cameras have at least nine auto-focus points (some have many more), which are the spots the camera will look to achieve focus when you have your lens set to auto-focus. Using the selection point button, you can choose one of the nine points by highlighting one and then using the dial to move the highlighter to the different points. If you highlight all the points the camera chooses automatically which point for each shot, so choose one. Often, the center point is the most sensitive and hence fastest at achieving focus, because it uses cross type focusing and the others don’t. But, maybe you don’t always want your subject in the center of your picture. What then? You can do one of two things; either change your auto-focus point to one of the others that is closer to your subject or focus using the center point and then recompose your shot. To do this, push half way down on the shutter button and when focus is locked in, you will either see a red highlight of your focus point and/or hear a beep, keep holding the shutter down half way while recomposing your shot and placing the subject where you would like; then push all the way down on the shutter button taking your shot.

While recomposing, it is important to remember to keep your subject in the same focal plane or risk loosing focus. Now, go out and practice, practice, practice!

This year, we are offering suggestions of ways to practice and hone the skills you may learn from Backyard Sisters and feel free to let us know how it’s going.

To Recap:

• Getting out of auto mode and telling the camera where to focus, will give you more creative control in your photography.

Challenge Yourself:

• Think about what you want to say in your photos this week and how focus can help convey that message.
• Use any mode but auto and use the center point to focus lock and recompose
• Also, try switching auto focus points using the point selection button

Cavort:

• Try using the eyes of a person or an animal as your focus point in a photo this week. If the person is angled and the eyes are not on the same plane, focus on the eye closest to you.

Keep in mind, according to Mark Twain, “you cannot depend on your eyes if your imagination is out of focus.”

Imagine away,

Susan