Photography with Kristen Duke~Get FOCUSED!

*For a printable version of this tutorial click here.

I’ve been planning this post in my head for a while, but couldn’t seem to find the right explanation to relay to all you folks out there. Lets cross our fingers this makes sense.

A lot of you asked about getting the background blurry, and I talked about f-stop early on and the importance of a lens with a lower apperture (1.8 or 2.8).

Now I’ll talk about the next step which is multi-point auto focus. Yes, I use auto focus as opposed to maual focus. Meaning I don’t turn my lens to focus just by eye (I don’t trust my eyesight) I use the sensor on the camera to assist in focusing for me.

Now, this is a 4th dimension of things you will have to “fiddle” with as you are taking shots. I started this method probably 2 or 3 years ago (I really can’t remember when it started, but its changed everything for me). With enough practice, it’s become natural to me. When I stop to think about all the things I am adjusting as I take shots, its amazing its all set in my brain now…I would have never thought it 5 years ago.

SLR’s when you look inside your viewfinder, you see a few things. I want to point out the diamond of red lights you see…well, you see the lights when you hold your shutter button part way down.

Get your camera–do you see it?

When you first get your slr cameras and shoot on auto mode, the camera is focusing the full frame for you. Everything is in focus, all lights are red, nothing artsy about it. Though I only shoot in full manuel, I hear that AV mode and the other non-auto modes can use the multi-focus points, too.

Well, we are going to change our focal point.

Take a shot like this (my baby turned 1 pics)

If I had it set on the above diagram and had all the red lights show up, you would see the flowers between she and I more in focus. But I wanted to focus on her cute little face, so I selected just the middle red light to come on, and it looked like this inside:

So the most in focus of the entire image was her face, and the flowers between us are big yellow blobs because they were thrown out of focus. Got it?

Now lets rewind just a tad. Have you heard about back button focus? I’m sure some of you have (so many photography enthusiasts on here) but if you haven’t, I’m going to educate you:)

I’ve just read up on this tonight, and it’s late, so don’t quote me on other make/model cameras.

Back Button Focus–The idea is to separate the focus function from the shutter function. While this technique may take a little getting used to, in the long run you’ll be more accurate with your focus.

A lot of you probably have your camera set so that you focus by pushing the shutter button partway down, it will focus, then all the way down to take the picture. By switching modes, you will now have a new button to focus (that BACK * button) and the shutter is just to take the picture. From here, your focus will be controlled by the * button on back of the camera by your right hand thumb. When you press the * button the Auto Focus will be engaged and will focus on whatever the red box in your viewfinder is set on. To stop focusing simply take your thumb off the * button.

If you want to try it (and have a Canon camera–not sure how Nikon’s do this) follow these steps:

1. Go to MENU, custom function 4 and set it to setting 1. (setting 0 is default)
2. Turn your AF setting to AI Servo. (I’ve used One Shot and seems to be ok, but my research is showing AI Servo, so I am trying it out.

Ok, so now that you are set on back button (have you located the cute * near where your thumb grips?) lets try another focal point.

To get those great off-center portraits, I use the focal point (or little red light) all the way to the right or left. I more often use the left, as in this shot below:

I actually did a similar shot as the one with the flowers above and focused on their faces (off to the left) through a chain link fence. (Both sessions I photographed in the past week). The little red dot was RIGHT on their faces. If it wasn’t, I’d focus on the fence and they would be blurred (which can be a cool artistic shot in and of itself).

So I am constantly changing my focal points as I see fit throughout a session.

If you are set to back button focus, you will use both of those buttons, one to select which focal point or red dot to use, the other to focus. Here is my camera, the canon 5D:

First you push the button with blue arrow. It will light up all the red lights in the view finder. You turn the dial (green arrow) to go through your options….1 focus in center, 1 focus to left, all focus/all lights. Once you have selected via the dial, you then push the back button * to focus and then SHOOT!

Oh, I hope that made sense because as I mentioned, a whole new world opened up to me once I did this.

Another pic—

Mmm, now doesn’t that look delicious? Part of a calendar I helped with a few years ago. I picked one chocolate chip to focus on above and had a low f-stop and all else went blurred in varying degrees.

Lastly, when you have people, always have the focal point land on the white of the eyes. Close up or distant, go for the whites. Crisp eyes are number ONE in deciding if a portrait is great or not. (Isn’t my sis in law beautiful)?

I feel like I’ve answered most questions and not sure what to cover next, so make your voice heard if you have something! To see more from the images above, check my blog.

To read more on back button focus, click here or HERE.

Have a great day!

-Kristen

**Grab a button and you will have access to all of Kristen’s posts in one click!

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Comments

1

Melanie says:

May 27, 2010 at 5:53 am

Wow. I get it. Thanks Kristen, this will make a difference in my shots as I am always frustrated the red dots aren't lighting up on the part I want to focus on. I'll just do it myself!
Not that taking pics of fabric and paint brushes is as exciting as faces, but I can make it a close second :)

2

Jennifer says:

May 27, 2010 at 5:59 am

Thank you for this info! I did not know about the * button for focusing. I will have to try that. I have really enjoyed your photography posts, they have been very helpful to me.

Questions: What f-stop would you set your camera on to get everyone in a group of 4-6 people in focus and still get nice bokeh?

Do you have any tips for taking pictures/camera settings of children, who are always moving?

Do you use custom or auto white balance? If custom, how does that work?

3

Krista Nash says:

May 27, 2010 at 8:02 am

I consider myself a photographer who knows just enough to be dangerous. I know how to adjust many of the settings but still really struggle with how to get them to work all together. Perhaps some posts on the following:

ISO – what it means, when to use it/adjust it, what combos of shutter speed, aperture and ISO work best in which situations (i.e. Indoors vs outdoors). Why does higher ISO make my indoor pics come out grainy?

How to take good indoor pictures when lighting is not good.

Night time photography tips.

How to use that meter you see inside the camera when looking thru the lens. Is it a light meter?

What do the numbers on the various lenses mean? How
do you understand these numbers so you will know what the lens is capable of.

Loving your posts so I know anything will be helpful. Thanks!

4

Lynn from For Love or Funny says:

May 27, 2010 at 10:13 am

I'm like Krista (above) – I know enough to be dangerous. Thank you for arming me with more knowledge so I can be even more dangerous! I'm bookmarking this post for later study!

5

Kristen Duke Photography says:

May 27, 2010 at 12:42 pm

Melanie, you will be surprise how taking pics of fabric and paint brushes can be fun with great photography! Using this focusing technique will be sure to help:)

Jennifer, I covered some of your questions in previous posts (group photography, white balance), but I can include others in future posts.

Krista, check for my 2nd post where I talked about ISO, indoor, but light meter is a good suggestion.

Lynn–go for more dangerous!

6

Amy says:

May 27, 2010 at 12:56 pm

it sounds interesting. Complicated, but interesting. I have the * button on my original Canon drebel, but I cannot find the function buttons to change. I'll need to open up the manual and see if its possible.
It feels a bit overwhelming!

thanks for the tutorial. I'm sure I'll get it sometime!

7

Esther says:

May 27, 2010 at 1:51 pm

I have always wondered about this! Thank you so much for giving us this information. You are wonderful!

8

Jenny says:

May 27, 2010 at 2:03 pm

Thanks for this great post! Now I need to figure out how to do this on my Nikon…

9

pmthreads says:

May 27, 2010 at 3:18 pm

I don't have the dial on my model, but I'm sure I can figure out how to jump between the points ~ thanks for the tip!

Right now I am doing something similar ~ I set my focus to always be the center dot, put that dot on what I want to focus on & press down the shutter button part way to lock the focus. Then I move the camera over to frame the shot the way I want & then take the picture. It's great because I can quickly move the focus all over without having to change any settings.

10

Anonymous says:

May 27, 2010 at 3:31 pm

Thank you! This is a tip I have never heard before. I can't wait to give it a shot!

11

Mandy says:

May 27, 2010 at 4:03 pm

we're on the same wavelength – I posted about "focus" yesterday – - I used to change around my focus point like you (picking different red dots) but then I took a photography class and learned the trick of "focus lock" where you keep your red dot set on the middle and then lock your focus and slightly pan over – that way you don't have to keep adjusting your focus point – - I posted about it: http://craftedition.blogspot.com/2010/05/photography-tips-focus-lock.html

anyways, love all your tips!! i think getting a good focus point is what makes the picture great

12

Juli says:

May 27, 2010 at 5:34 pm

Thank you so much for posting this…I have never heard of Back Button Focusing. I will give it a try. Getting that look is one of the things I am struggling with right now. I think that I have the white of the eye focusing…the red dot is right on the inside corner of the eye, but then I see them on the computer and it's not as sharp as I would like. Hopefully this will help. :)

Love all your posts…thank you!

13

Taylors says:

May 27, 2010 at 6:20 pm

I love these photo series. You explain it very well. I am currently trying to shoot everything in manual and I'm sure as you know it is a lot of trial and error. I know on my camera it will tell me what each picture "combo" (iso, shutter speed and f-stop) I used, but when I transfer my files onto iphoto I cant find that information again, and I like to delete the photos off my camera after I've uploaded to the comp. Do you know how I can find out what "combo's" I used for each picture on the comp.? Does that make sense?
Also, I'd like to learn more about lenses too. Any tips on that? Thanks so much!!!

14

Kristen Duke Photography says:

May 28, 2010 at 3:11 am

Taylors–I don't use iphoto, but in PS, I can right click on the image and have options to view the data in the pop up bar. I also talked about lenses in a previous Idea Room Post:)

Mandy–from what I understand if you are using the center focal point and recomposing, it won't matter too much if you high a higher fstop, but if you have a really low fstop as I often do, it will be focusing in the middle with your subject off to the side a bit out of focus.

15

Love~Bre says:

May 28, 2010 at 4:41 am

Thank you again for sharing, I'm enjoying all of your posts :) I can't wait to try this on my camera!

16

amanda says:

May 28, 2010 at 5:25 am

Kristen, that is amazing! I had no idea my camera could even do that, and it solves so many frustrations I've had lately. Thank you so much!
My Canon body is slightly different, I noticed other commenter(s) couldn't find the dial, it is near the shutter button on mine.
Amy – I couldn't find the right function settings right off either, but try putting the camera in one of the manual shooting modes, any mode above auto on the dial.
That makes the "menu" items change. (at least for me)

Over all, I found that to be one of the most (surprisingly) simple new techniques to walk through.
Thanks again, Kristen!
You're so kind to share all this with us. :)

17

Melissa says:

May 28, 2010 at 9:56 am

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I get it! I was always confused be the whole back button focusing, but you explained it very well.

18

Bularz Family says:

May 28, 2010 at 2:48 pm

thank you, thank you, thank you for this post! i tried it yesterday & WOW what a difference that made it getting my focus right on. love it when someone is able to explain something & i actually have that "ah ha!" moment.
i would love a post on nailing exposure. that is something i still struggle with….

19

laurie coleman photography says:

May 28, 2010 at 6:00 pm

Thank you so much for this post! I swear I've been losing my eyesight as I've tried to manually focus some of my images and the auto focus sometimes doesn't quite cut it either, so I will be trying this out!

Also, I'm not sure it it's been covered, but I was wondering if you have any suggestions on posing people. I struggle to pose teenagers, adults and families so that they look natural and so that the arrangement looks balanced. Any advice would be very appreciated!

Thanks again!

20

Carla G. says:

May 30, 2010 at 1:02 pm

Thanks Kristen for another awesome, informative and educational post! I have learned so, so much from each posting! I have to admit that some of the photoshop posts went over my head, but everything else has taught me more than I've ever learned in any photography class or book. Your photography is so inspiring! Perhaps you could think about teaching an on-line class this summer. I know I would sign up!!

21

Karen says:

May 31, 2010 at 3:10 am

Thank you SO much! You explained this with great clarity! I can't wait to go try it out… :)

22

The Hatch Family says:

September 22, 2010 at 1:48 pm

I did made the changes on my Canon Rebel, but when I focus, there are no red lights at all? Any help? Thanks!

23

shanell says:

January 1, 2012 at 8:35 pm

hello i just wanted to thank you for this article, i have the 60D i think my back button is in a different place up next to the * button… also it actually says af-on when i hold it down it focuses for me the * button wont do it on my model just wanted to let you and anyone else know that might be wondering the same thing.. :)