Photo Tips For Noobs.

[DrivenMind]

Alright well I was going through my Formula D photos from earlier this year and I made a startling realization. Tons of them were out of focus. Now we could write this off as me simply being a bad photographer, but realistically the shots were ruined for two reasons.

Reason 1) At the time, (up until a month or two ago) I thought it was normal to not use autofocus. In fact I felt like I didn't really take the picture if I didn't focus the camera manually. Silly I know. Now this ideaology screwed me, and the reason why; is reason number 2.

Reason 2) Because of the way DSLRs work, you have to use the depth of field preview button to get a realistically idea of what your DOF looks like. Now because I wasn't using my autofocus, I was shooting what appeared to me to be sharp images. The only problem was they only looked sharp in the view finder. Because I was shooting with such a shallow depth of field (f/2.8), the actual, accurate range of focus was almost entirely imperceptible to my eye.

So in retrospect; Here's the lesson learned. Learn to use your autofocus, and learn to focus your camera manually for shots you want to specifically alter the focus on.

Anyway here's one of the neat ones I nabbed of an STi in the parking lot.

[Nemesis]

A lot of entry level DSLRs dont offer a DOF preview, but good tips though man!

[changaroo]

theres nothing wrong with manual focusing the lens, especially when you get a focus confirmation light in the viewfinder when you hit focus anyways. dont blame the MF.

blame the fact that you shot that picture at 160mm with a shutter speed of 1/50th. unless you had IS or a tripod, 9 out of 10 times its gonna come out blurry. :taun:

[87 Turbo II]

Yeah on the photo forum there are a few people who strictly won't autofocus. Then the professional photographers that take REALLY REALLY nice photos tell them that, although admirable, it is the dumbest way to feel like you're actually doing the work yourself. focus isn't a biggie for manual, exposure however, is. You may need that time you save with AF. Nice pic tough and good advice.

[Repost Squintz]

that looks exactly like my buddies sti..

[GPJamesMVT]

hey, thats my car! Nice! :)

[Nemesis]

Yeah on the photo forum there are a few people who strictly won't autofocus. Then the professional photographers that take REALLY REALLY nice photos tell them that, although admirable, it is the dumbest way to feel like you're actually doing the work yourself. focus isn't a biggie for manual, exposure however, is. You may need that time you save with AF. Nice pic tough and good advice.


We have autofocus for a reason, people that use cheap lenses dont like autofocus because its always hunting. Cheaper the lens = inefficient lens IQ= can never obtain autofocus lock. You can always tell how well a lens IQ is if it can obtain a lock in dim to low light.