9 Tips To Improve Focus In Your Photos

Getting a precise and adequate focus in your photographs should be one of the points that you have to master to get more and more spectacular photos.

How many times has it happened to you that you thought you had taken a photo-worthy of an award and when you saw it on your computer you realized that a not too

correct approach has ruined the shot?

So that this begins to happen to you a lesser number of times and you can go, little by little, improving this vital part of a photograph, here are a series of tips that I am sure will help you.

 First of all: You must know the different modes of focus

Of course, before reading any kind of advice, you should know a series of basic concepts.

First, your camera can offer you the choice between manual focus and automatic focus.

With the first ( Manual Focus ), the photographer has to conveniently move the lens of his objective to be able to focus. This mode is typical of SLR cameras.

The second ( Auto Focus ), is the camera that is responsible for adjusting the objective lenses conveniently so that the object is perfectly focused. This mode is present in practically all types of cameras (including, of course, the SLR type).

Finally, comment that this last mode, in turn, is divided into 2 or more modes, depending on whether what we are trying to photograph is a static or moving object.

These modes, in the Nikon world, are known as " AF-S ", " AF-C " and " AF-A " and in the Canon world they are known as " One shot AF ", " AI AF " and " AI Focus AF " are best suited for stationary objects, moving objects and all kinds of situations, respectively.

You can go deeper into these modes and the basics of focus through the article Focus: Decide What To Draw Attention On In Your Photo [AHMF31 day 17].

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Sharpness: Technique and Method

I Know The Modes, But What Is It About Focus Points? And What Should I Know About Them?

When one makes use of any of the automatic focus modes, one has the possibility to indicate, through the focus points offered by the camera, the area of ​​the scene in which the camera should try to find the element in focus.

It is common to hear: "the Nikon D7000 has 39 focus points", "the Canon EOS 7D has 19 focus points" ...

In this sense, a greater number of points will offer greater versatility when determining a correct approach in the shot.

But it is not only the number that matters but the quality of these points. In fact, when talking about focus points, a distinction has to be made:

Vertical or Horizontal: They allow us to determine the point of focus by analyzing only information in one of the two dimensions.

Type Cruz (Cross-type): They use information from two - dimensional to try to be more precise in establishing the focus. In the case of the Nikon D7000, as you can see in the image above, only the center 9 are cross-type sensors.

Therefore, not only a high number of focus points will be important, but also that a large number of them are cross-type, in order to have a better focus.

What About Area Of Focus? Can I Only Select One Point? How Do I Select A Larger Region?

Continuing with the explanation, you have already chosen the autofocus mode and the region of the scene in which the camera should search for the element to focus, now it only remains to indicate to the camera the surface on which it should try to find this element.

For this, the so-called AF Area Modes arise. Among which we can find:

"Single Point"  (Nikon) or " Manual AF Point"  (Canon): The photographer decides the exact point at which to try to focus. This is how you can define more precisely the region in which to try to focus.

" Dynamic"  (Nikon) or " AF Point Expansion"  (Canon): In this mode, the photographer selects a focus point again, although the camera will consider focusing on this point and the points around it. Being able to vary the definition of "surrounding points" between 9, 21, 39, etc.

" Auto-Area AF"  (Nikon) or " Automatic AF Point Selection"  (Canon): This is a mode in which the camera determines the region to focus on. To do this, it is based on looking for skin tones (to try to focus on people), elements closer to the objective, elements in motion, etc.

3D: Through this mode, the photographer initially selects the point where he wants to start focusing, but, from this initial selection, the camera follows and tries to keep the initially selected element in focus.

How to Remove Scratches From Camera Lens 

Other modes: There are other modes, although present in a smaller number of cameras. For example, on my Nikon D7000, video recording offers modes such as the following: " Face-priority AF", "W ide-area AF", " Normal-area AF"  and " subject-tracking AF".

I'm sure he left me in some way, but, as you can see, we have covered a few and, without a doubt, the most important and most used.

# 1 Locate Your Camera Manual and See What Your Camera Offers and How You Can Select All These Modes

What an introduction, right? Yes, it has been very broad, but it is essential that you know all the modes and the functionality they offer.

Once you know them, the most appropriate and, therefore, my first advice is to retrieve your camera manual and see which of the indicated modes it offers you and, most importantly, what you have to do to select one or the other.

I know you haven't used it in a long time, but this may be a good time to retrieve it from the trunk of memories. If it is not possible, look for it on the Internet, you will surely find it :)

# 2 Brighter Lenses Will Always Focus Better

This is not properly advised, but it is something you should know. Cameras focus, regardless of the aperture selected for the shot, with the diaphragm at its maximum aperture.

The larger the aperture, the more light and therefore the greater the ability of the lens to achieve a better focus. Especially in not too light conditions.

For this reason, keep in mind that brighter lenses will generally also offer better and faster focus.

# 3 Use The Central Focus Points

The central focus points of your lens will be the fastest and most accurate and, not only that, but, usually, cross-type points are usually located there, so it is the most suitable region to carry out the focus.

Of course, then you must recompose the shot to correctly frame the subject in focus and place it, for example, in one of the strong points of the photograph. You remember the rule of thirds, right?

Finally, if you are going to focus and then recompose, be especially careful when you are working with shallow depths of field, as we explained in this article.

# 4 Use Your Camera's Focus Assist Light or Flash

"AF-Assist", in English, is a function offered by cameras and flashes, through an assist light, so that in poor lighting situations, the camera can focus correctly.

Enable this functionality when you need it and keep in mind that, depending on your focus mode, you can use it or not.

AF-A. You can always use it in this mode.

AF-S. You can only use it when the selected focus point is the center.

AF-C. You can never use it.

3D . You can always use it.

So, as you can see, in poor lighting situations, forget about the continuous servo mode ( AF-C ), since you will not be able to use the assist light, and do not forget to make use of this focus assist functionality.

# 5 Focus On Contrasting Regions: Chromatically or At the Textures Level

It is one of the first rules of the approach, but I do not want to let it escape. As you know, your camera being able to focus properly is because it is able to find enough contrast in the region it is trying to focus on.

Have you ever tried to focus on a completely smooth wall of the same color? It is impossible.

Why? Well, because the camera is not able to find a region with sufficient contrast.

Therefore, when focusing, always look for areas with sufficient contrast: corners, edges, surface changes, etc.

# 6 Light Up Everything You Can The Scene

Light is essential, not only for a correct exposure but also for a correct focus.

For that reason, whenever you can, increase the light in the scene. If you are indoors, try to open the windows as much as possible, turn on all the lights, use reflectors, etc.

All this with the aim that the lighting is sufficient so that the focus system of your camera feels comfortable and does its job well.

# 7 Beware of Exposure Time and Shake

I know this is not advice that directly affects the sharpening process, but its consequences are similar to those of a wrong focus: soft and out of focus images.

Make sure to set an exposure time short enough to avoid shake problems and, if you have it, use the anti-vibration systems that your lens can provide.

If what you are thinking about is taking shots in which you need a too long exposure time, don't hesitate, use a tripod.

# 8 Use The Focus Mode That Offers Live View

I have not wanted to go into detail about the different ways to obtain the exact focus distance that our cameras have. If you are interested and are not afraid of English, in the first point of this article you have a very good description.

The fact is that if you have an SLR, and it has Live View functionality (which allows you to see the scene on the screen and not in the viewfinder), the focus method that uses this mode, and which is called Contrast Detection, is much more accurate, although slower, than the one used with this functionality disabled ( Phase Detection ).

So, if you are using a tripod or you have the possibility of using  Live View and you want to obtain the best possible focus, make use of this functionality and, therefore, its focus mode.

# 9 Don't Forget The Manual Mode. Sometimes it is the only or the best option

Sure, manual mode can be very time consuming, time-consuming, and requires special expertise, but it is sometimes the best (and sometimes only) option.

So you should consider it and, when the occasion comes, make use of it. If you remember, a while ago we were talking to you about 7 situations in which you should turn off the autofocus on your camera.

So don't forget, there are situations where manual mode will provide the best performance for your focusing process.

Can You Give Us The 10th Advice?

As you will surely leave me some advice that you consider important to improve the precision of the focus in the photos that we have taken, I have left this last section to encourage you to share your experience with us .

You know, the comments are all yours to help complete this article, which I hope will help us to gradually improve the sharpness of our photographs. Until next time!