Lesson 17ª

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

Focus

What do we mean when we say that an object in a picture or the entire picture is in Focus? It means the picture is sharp and that the viewer can see the details found in it. If a picture is completely out of focus, it means that the picture (or most of it) is blurry. A picture can be completely in focus, completely out of focus, or even some parts can be in focus while others are not.

picture

picture

picture

There are 2 types of focusing systems found in cameras:

1- Manual: we turn the focus dial in the lens until the subject we wish to photograph is sharp. Compact cameras do not focus manually.

2- Automatic: it focuses after we press the shutter softly (not completely) before actually shooting. Several brands of SRL and DSRL cameras offer different automatic focusing systems. The majority offer the function of several (different) focus points. You can choose if you want the camera to focus in the middle/centre, to the right or left, etc. In the viewing window (the window where I can see what I'm shooting), you will see the different focus points. You can choose the one you like best depending on the situation.

If we want to focus an object found to the right, but the automatic system is set to focus in the centre, first, we need to place the central point on the object we want to focus. Then, we need to press the shutter just a little (without actually taking the picture) and, without releasing the shutter, we move the camera to the position we want the object to be (this means moving the object we want to focus to the right in our view window). Finally, we take the picture.