There’s no feeling quite like the dread that sets in when you are reviewing your photos from the day and you notice that some of those stellar images you snapped are soft and out of focus. For photographers who like to shoot with a wide aperture, sometimes hitting your focus is like walking on a tightrope – and missing by just a tiny little bit can seriously ruin your day.
The watch is the focal point of this shot, and some careful technique helped ensure that it stayed tack sharp.
Editing can do a lot to save a picture; you can make areas of it brighter or darker, you can modify colors and add your own distinctive style – but there’s no way to completely fix a shot where the focus simply missed.
Fortunately, when shooting in controlled situations, there’s a useful trick for making sure each and every shot is in razor-sharp focus.
Why are some of my shots out of focus?
In a perfect world, cameras would adjust correctly to the lighting and dynamics of every shot and deliver focus with pinpoint precision. Unfortunately, reality gets in the way.
There are a few reasons why your shots sometimes come out a bit soft, meaning that the camera has decided to focus a bit too far in front or behind the target you were actually aiming for.
Lack of contrast
Cameras determine focus based on contrast. When you try to focus on an object that doesn’t have much contrast, say a smooth white wall, for example, there isn’t contrast for the camera to lock onto. Sometimes the camera will hunt for a focus point, shifting back and forth for a few seconds, and then give up. Sometimes the camera focus will latch onto a different part of the picture, putting your true subject out of focus.
This shot was supposed to be focused on the red ornament, but finer details in the background and the flicker of lights grabbed the attention of the camera’s autofocus instead.
After flipping over to manual focus and choosing the focus point more deliberately, the final shot looks a whole lot better!
This can also be a problem in low light conditions. Once again, the camera doesn’t have any strong contrasts to grab onto and can miss its target.
Bad focus caused by user error
As much as we hate to admit it, user error can cause some missed focus problems too. If you lock your focus on a target, then either move the camera or wait too long and allow the target to move significantly from where it once was, the resulting shot isn’t going to be razor-sharp.
Another common problem for shooters using autofocus is when the focus locks on an unintended part of the image, leaving the main subject blurry. One good way to counter this is to choose a more specific focus mode, such as single point focus.
The focus of this shot is tight on the King, emphasizing the piece’s importance in the game.
Here the autofocus grabbed a different part of the frame, leaving this picture without a clear subject or purpose.
Slow shutter speed
Some blur that looks like missed focus could also be the result of using a shutter speed that is too slow. The resulting movement in the camera from pressing down the shutter button can blur out the fine details in your shot.
If your shot isn’t turning out right, take time to consider whether it might be because of one of these common problems before you throw your camera at the wall in frustration.
So how can Live View help me with focus?
Live View is a mode where you can see through your lens using the LCD screen on the back of your camera. It can be used to pinpoint your focus in situations when your subject isn’t moving and your camera is on a tripod.
The advantage of using the camera’s LCD screen is that you get a 100% accurate look at how the picture is going to turn out once you press the shutter button.
The camera is set up in Live View mode, ready for precision focusing.
In Live View mode, you can focus up to 5 times magnification.
Some cameras can even zoom to 10 times magnification, helping guarantee that the focus is precise, even at f/1.8.
This technique is mostly useful at wider apertures when your camera’s autofocus may miss its target, even with using single point focus. When shooting at a wide aperture of f/4 or lower, the margin for error is very slim. With an extremely narrow depth of field, missing your focus by even a couple of centimeters could make those crucial details in your shot looks soft.
If you are taking a landscape photograph and are using a narrow aperture (such as f/16) to keep as much detail in focus, there is a lot more room for error.
What about using the single point focus mode?
For precision focusing, the single point focus mode goes a long way.
This is a mode where you can choose just one point for the camera to automatically focus with, rather than allowing the camera to consider the entire scene.
Single point mode was a good choice here in order to make sure the focus was accurate on the orange insect.
When you need to nail a tough shot on a moving subject, single point focus is definitely the way to go. For stationary subjects, however, shooting in manual focus mode and using Live View to ensure your focus is tack sharp removes any potential for trouble. Even single point focus can have issues with accuracy in dark or low contrast situations.
Read more here: 6 Ways to Use Live View to Get Sharper Image and here 4 Tips for Using for Live View to Get Sharper and More Creative Images.
Less misses, more keepers
Discovering what subjects you like to photograph and chasing unique moments with a camera is a thrill. And practicing your focusing technique and using tricks like Live View focusing can help you make sure you come home with more and more keepers after every shoot!
