How to get your camera in focus every time

The autofocus on modern digital cameras is remarkably accurate and astonishingly fast. But even with its capabilities, autofocus needs to be used correctly to get the best results. In this guide, I’ll run you through the autofocus system and teach you how to get pin-sharp images every time. 

Here’s what we’ll cover:

  • AF modes
  • AF points
  • Shutter speed and focal length 

AF modes

The first thing you need to decide is whether you want single or continuous focusing mode. This is controlled by your AF mode, denoted as follows:

One Shot / Single Shot / AF-S

The most commonly used of the focusing modes, and the one that most cameras will be defaulted to. Single shot mode is used with static subjects, such as still life, stationary people or landscapes. Do remember that you’ll need to re-focus every time you move the camera.

AI Servo / Continuous / AF-C

This mode is used with moving subjects (such as wildlife or sports photography) and works in the same way as all focusing modes in that you half-press the shutter button to activate focusing. However, in continuous mode, the camera will keep focusing and refocusing as you track your subject and move the camera around, as long as you keep the shutter button half-pressed at all times. 

AI Focus / Automatic / AF-A

This is an automatic mode where the camera will switch from single to continuous as needed. The camera will remain in single shot mode unless something starts moving, whereupon it will switch to continuous focus. It can be useful if you’re shooting in a situation where movement might start unexpectedly – for instance when shooting kids or pets, who, as we all know, have an ability to start moving when you least expect it!

AF points

As previously mentioned, a camera’s autofocus is activated by half pressing the shutter button, whereupon the autofocus points will light up (either in the viewfinder or on the LCD screen, depending on your camera). The number of autofocus points that a camera has varies hugely depending on the model. Modern cameras tend to have anywhere up to just under 500 AF points, meaning around 90% of the image is covered. 

When your camera is in automatic AF (autofocus) selection mode, you’ll know where the camera is focusing by which of the AF points light up (usually in red or green). However, to get perfect focus, I’d recommend always selecting your own AF point to focus on your subject.

As a rule of thumb, my cameras are usually set to the centre AF point. But using manual AF selection means that I can move this point around to focus on the right part of the shot. Cameras nowadays also often give the option to choose a group of AF points to cover a larger area of the shot.  

You might also notice that cameras have both phase detection and contrast AF points. Phase detection AF creates pairs of images that are based on the available light coming through the lens. These are then analysed to determine focus. Contrast AF instead analyses the pixels directly on your camera’s sensor to ascertain whether the subject is in focus. Contrast AF takes longer to process, but it is slightly more accurate (although phase detection AF is more than accurate enough). Contrast AF is best suited to landscape and portrait photography where the subject isn’t moving, whereas phase detection AF is ideal for moving subjects such as sports and wildlife.

Shutter speed and focal length

Looking beyond your AF modes and AF points, there are other factors that will help you to get sharper and more accurate focus. One of these things is understanding how the focal length of your lens should influence your shutter speed. In short, the shutter speed you use should be as fast or faster than the focal length of your lens. So, if you’re using a 200mm lens, you’ll want a shutter speed of 1/200th or faster. As focal length increases, lenses become heavier and using a faster shutter speed will help to prevent any blur. Obviously, if you’re shooting fast moving subjects, you’ll need faster shutter speeds to freeze action.

Back button focusing

Back button focusing is a subject all in itself but to sum it up briefly, you can use a button on the back of your camera to focus with your thumb. This means that you no longer have to press the shutter halfway to focus and can just use it to fire the shot. You might wonder why you’d want to use a different button to focus with. 

Probably the primary reason to use back button focus is to remove the need for refocusing if you take your finger off the shutter. Because it’s so natural for photographers to keep our finger half pressed down on the shutter button to focus, we never really stop to think about what an awkward manoeuvre it is! It’s very easy to accidentally take your finger off the shutter and then have to refocus. The huge advantage of back button focus is that it allows you to set the focus once, and that focus will then stay set until you change it again manually. This can be particularly useful in situations where you need to make sure you’re focusing on the same subject time after time.

The other reason to use back button focus is speed. If a subject is in motion, saving that fraction of a second between the moment you press the shutter halfway to focus and then release the shutter to take the shot can lead to a sharper image.

In conclusion

Following these steps will help to ensure that you get sharp shots and will help to ensure that you get your camera in focus every time you fire the shutter.

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