Auto Focus or Manual Focus?(Short post)

I use auto focus more often than not because it’s convenient, and in most situations I shoot in, it works. Your experience may vary. From my own experience, when it doesn’t work, it’s either due to uncontrollable movement or dark surroundings. When I use auto focus it is because I can get a razor sharp image much faster than I could by using manual focus(in most settings I find myself in). In the image below, I used manual focus, in addition to my LCD display. Had I used auto focus, the moving grass would have confused the camera. And who knows how long I would have sat there trying to get the desired shot. I used my LCD display so that I could magnify the intended subject in order to make sure I was getting the sharpest image possible, then I focused on the model’s face, dropped the magnification back to normal, all the while taking extra care to stay as still as I possibly could so as not to lose focus, then I took the shot…

Below is an example of auto focus with a busy foreground…

Now imagine if the first image focused on the grass, and not the model. Contrarily, imagine if the second image focused on the background, and not the kid hitting the piñata. In my opinion, I would have tossed both photos. But that’s just me.

Deciding when and how to use auto or manual focus can be a game changer for you. It was for me.

Feel free to drop a comment, like, follow, share, and as always, you can ask me questions and if I know the answer, I’ll answer it. If not, I’ll do my best to find the answer.