Pre-focus the moment
March 12, 2011 
8 Comments
Please comment below on how I could have improved the title of this post. It’s an article about pre-focusing your DSLR to capture moments that otherwise couldn’t be captured, but I can’t think of a clever title. I guess I should just write the article already…
There have been several situations where I walked away from a shoot with a great picture that no other photographers at the event were able to get. The trick I used to get the picture is called pre-focusing, and I think photographers often overlook this helpful technique. This technique is extremely useful for sports or action photographers who want to capture fast-moving moments.
SMASH! - Jim Harmer
One of the first times I used this technique was shooting a high school Junior Miss Pageant. The girl was about to smash three blocks of ice with her head and two hands at the same time. Especially in the low light, I knew that I probably couldn’t wait for the camera to try and autofocus at the very instant that the girl smashed the ice. Autofocus would take too long and I’d miss the shot. So I focused on the blocks of ice, locked the focus by using the switch on the lens to change it to manual, and then waited for the moment and snapped the shot. Since I didn’t have to wait for focus, I walked away with a cool shot, and the other photographer (with a $6,000 lens on) walked away with a blurry mess that was barely recognizable as a photo.
Another time I used this technique was while watching a dolphin show. The trainer climbed to the bow of a boat and held out a stick. I didn’t take a genius to know that the dolphin was about to leap out of the water and touch the stick with its nose. All the other photographers waited and waited for the dolphin to come out of the water, then tried to autofocus and grab the shot at the right instant. It didn’t work for most of them. I focused on the stick, locked focus, and then simply waited for the dolphin to squish my shutter button. Yahtzee!
Another great situation where pre-focus is helpful is when shooting the classic water drop falling into a beautiful blue bowl of water. Since the lens is so close to the subject, and a low aperture value is used to get a fast shutter speed, there is usually a shallow depth-of-field in this type of shot. Because of the short depth-of-field, it can be tough to capture proper focus at the very instant the drop hits the water. The answer? Obviously, it’s pre-focusing. Take this shot by putting the camera on a tripod, place a pen or your finger on the surface of the water where the drop will hit the water, focus on the pen or your finger, lock focus, then just wait for the moment and don’t worry about not focusing fast enough.
An alternative to using the traditional pre-focus technique is to use back button focusing. This will allow the photographer to separate the focus from the actual taking of the picture which will help dramatically in getting action photos.
Further Reading:
- Focus and recompose, or compose and focus?
- How to Take Pictures of Water Drops
- Teleconverters and autofocus: What every wildlife photographer should know
- Back Button Focusing – Easier than you think!
Thanks for sharing your techniques. I just discovered this site and am already learning and improving.
I’ve said that least 2443231 times. SCK was here
I definitely wanted to develop a quick word to be able to appreciate you for all the great strategies you are showing at this website. My considerable internet look up has at the end of the day been recognized with reliable facts and strategies to share with my co-workers. I ‘d believe that most of us site visitors are definitely blessed to exist in a fantastic community with many special people with very helpful plans. I feel quite fortunate to have discovered your entire web page and look forward to some more entertaining moments reading here. Thanks once more for a lot of things.
I wish to express my thanks to you just for bailing me out of this condition. After surfing around through the the web and meeting suggestions that were not beneficial, I thought my life was over. Being alive without the presence of answers to the difficulties you’ve solved as a result of your good report is a serious case, and the kind that would have in a wrong way affected my career if I hadn’t discovered your web blog. Your ability and kindness in dealing with the whole lot was useful. I don’t know what I would have done if I had not discovered such a solution like this. I’m able to at this time look forward to my future. Thanks very much for the specialized and result oriented help. I will not hesitate to suggest the sites to any individual who requires guidance about this problem.
I’ve discovered the same thing myself, but overcame it with perseverance and commitment. You actually can achieve something you need in life in case you just create a selection and stick at it.
I am not sure where you’re getting your information, but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more. Thanks for excellent info I was looking for this information for my mission.
If people today connect with your self on an individual level, they may be more prone to wish to look at your company.
I had been wondering if you ever considered changing the layout of the blog? Its well written. I really like what youve have got to say. But you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got a lot of text for only having one or two images. You could space out better?