Auto-Focus or Manual Focus

   When you shoot your camera you probably use the user friendly settings of the auto, or green square on your settings dial. I know I did for a very long time after I bought my first digital camera. If you want your pictures to look professional and crisp, you may want to try a few simple tricks. Here's one; if you have a dslr camera, most commonly referred to as a camera with a removable lens, try turning the auto focus feature off and focusing manually!

   When shooting a subject with a small stage and you can anticipate where the action is going to be, like dance, a baseball infield, or portraits you can manually focus where you want the crisp and clear focus to be. This alleviates a duty of the camera allowing it to work faster, and in most cases better. I have found that focusing on the volleyball net where I know certain players populate, I can get faster shutter response by turning off the auto focus and manually focusing. I do the same thing in baseball games most of the time. There are times however when you simply can't keep up with quick movements and simply must use the auto focus, that's okay! It will become easier with practice I guarantee you will get images you are proud of! Now get out there and shoot!