When you are taking photographs there can be so much to remember. Have I gotthe composition right? Do I have a point of interest? Have I chosen all thecorrect settings for the type of shot? And after all this, you still have tomake sure your final photograph is going to be beautifully in focus. Thisphotography basics article is going to focus in on focusing, with an overviewof the choices you have in order to obtain the correct focus for the type ofshot you are taking.

In most cases your camera will focus when you press the shutter halfway.This is what is called Auto Focus (AF). AF is perfectly acceptable when you arephotographing subjects that do not move around (such as a portrait, or even alandscape). Depending on your type of camera this may be called One Shot AF orSingle Shot AF.

When your subjects are mobile, there is another type of AF you can use,Continuous Auto Focus (CAF). In this mode your camera will be constantlyfocusing on the subject, which is ideal for moving targets, such as speedingcars or athletes. There are a couple of downsides, such as the batteries areunder constant strain from all the focusing and refocusing. Remember to takespares in this case. There is also the chance of some noise in your picturescaused by the constantly adjusting focus, as well as a small increase ingeneral wear and tear on the camera’s mechanism.

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Knowing what focus type to choose is one thing, but how does the camera knowthat you want to focus on Aunt Bessie, and not the trees that are behind her?To understand this we need to understand the photography basics that determinethe focal point (or focus area) the camera is choosing.

In reality, your camera does not know (or even care) what your subject is.Why would it – it’s a machine after all! But your camera is designed to set upa focus point, or areas, within the frame of the shot. Standard AF selects arelatively wide area around the centre of the frame for its focus. You willnormally see this as a rectangle or brackets in your viewfinder or LCD screen.If your camera has Centre Focus (CF), the area of focus is reduced to a square.CF could be used, for example, when isolating one person from a crowd ofpeople.

Finally, some cameras go another step and include a feature known asMultipoint Focus (MF). In this case, the camera can select from a number ofareas within the frame, so that the photographer does not always have to havethe centre point as the area in focus. A number of modern compact cameras use avariation of this to produce Face Detection, in order that the photograph willbe focused on peoples’ faces. This function is particularly useful at socialgatherings where the photographer wants to easily, and quickly, take shots offriends and family.

Hopefully, this article has helped you to understand some of the photographybasics regarding the way your camera interprets focus points, and the types ofauto focus options you have available to you.

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