The Camera Technique that Changed my Life

OK, maybe it’s a bit of stretch to say it changed my life, but it definitely changed how I shoot. Interested? I bet some of you already know it. (NOTE: I’m a Canon user, so I can only speak to their cameras…I’m not sure if Nikon offers this option, but I bet they do. You’ll have to check your manual to be sure).

Drum roll…

It’s “back-button focusing.” In almost all circumstances, I use automatic focus on my lenses…only very rarely do I switch them to manual. I figure the camera is pretty smart at pin-pointing the focal distance. But, one thing I NEVER do anymore is let the camera choose where to focus. What do I mean?

Normally when you half-way press your camera’s shutter, you can lock focus on your subject. And depending on which focal point (those little red boxes that light up inside your viewfinder) you’ve chosen to use (you have the option to pick one point or just let the camera choose whichever ones it wants to), your camera will find the object nearest to the focal point and lock onto it. You press your shutter and take the picture. But what happens when what you really want the camera to focus on is something far away, but all it keeps wanting to do is focus on the nearest object?

Case in point–for the below picture, if I let my camera choose where to focus, it will want to focus on the back of the bride’s head, not the cute little boy’s face. That’s not cool.

Here’s another example…the camera would want to focus on the wall, not the bride.

So what’s a photographer to do? Well, you’ve got a couple of options. One is you choose one focal point and lock your focus with your shutter half-way pressed (and this may be a custom function on your camera). Then you carefully hold your finger on the shutter as you recompose, finally pressing the shutter all the way down to take the photo. And if this method works for you, awesome. For me, I found it a bit too cumbersome…if my finger slipped any, the focus would be lost and I’d have to redo. And with many things happening so quickly during a wedding day, sometimes I only get one chance to take a shot. I can’t miss it.

Enter back-button focusing. Instead of pressing the shutter half-way, recomposing, and hoping for the best, you can actually focus by pressing a button on the back of the camera with your thumb, recompose, and then snap the shutter to take the picture. On the Canon 5D Classic, it’s also the same button you use to select your focal point:

On the Canon 5D Mark II, it’s the AF-ON button (though, you can also choose it to be the little asterisk button if you want):

What I’ve done is I’ve selected to always use the center focal point (check your manual if you’re not sure how to select a focal point) on my camera. After you decide which focal point you’re going to use, you need to then tell your camera you want to use that back button to focus. Here’s what you do:

1. Go to your camera’s menu, find Custom Functions. 5D Classic:

5D Mark II

2. On the 5D Classic, select Custom Function 4 and choose: 1. AE lock/AF

On the 5D Mark II, select Custom Function 1 and choose: 3. AE lock/Metering + AF start

3. Lastly, I set my type of focus to “Al Servo”–that’s at the top screen on the cameras. Check your manual if you’re not sure.

Now that you’ve got that set up, you can start using your back button to focus. Here are the steps I follow to take a photo:

1. Determine where I want my focus to be.
2. Lock the focus by pressing my back button.
3. Release the button if the object is standing still…if it’s moving, I hold my thumb on the back button and follow it (this is why having it set to Al Servo is important–the camera will continue to refocus as the object moves until you press the shutter).
4. Press the shutter.

Here’s one more example: I focused on the couple’s feet with my middle focal point, then I recomposed to where the road took up most of the photo. A shot like this would not be possible if I let my camera decide where to focus.

I really think one of the things that helped me improve my photography is learning to take control of my camera. This back-button focusing technique is one of the most important tools for controlling the composition of your photos. I highly recommend it.