Foto Friday — Tips #3 and #4

by MC Soft Focuz

#3. To focus much faster by preventing the camera from hunting for focus, set up the camera to use "back-button focus."

You want to dissociate the focus function from the shutter release.

On Canon cameras:

• Hit Menu
• Select Custom Functions
• Goto custom function #4 ("Shutter/AE lock button")
  
• Set it to option #3 ("AE/AF, no AE lock")

Now your camera is set to focus ONLY when you hit the * button with your right thumb. This is the best way to control the focusing action of the camera. You pick a subject at a particular distance, then hit the (new) focus button, ie. the * button, until the green light in the viewfinder indicates a focus lock (green solid circle), then can take as many photos as you want without the camera re-focusing each time.


#4. Never use on-camera flash.

• It is super-fugly.
• When you learn to depend on creating light, you will never learn to "see" light.
  
• It is intrusive, and you can't get as close or take as many pictures without annoying people.
  
• You lose the background (thanks to Kenan for this tip.)