English 136
Photographing a moving subject
Situation: You would like to snap an action shot of a moving child or pet. The
autofocus is activated, but because the subject is moving, the image may be
blurred. In particular, when the distance between the camera and the subject
is changing, it is difficult to lock the focus on the subject. Here are some hints
for successfully capturing images of moving subjects.
k Reasons for unfocussed images
When the shutter release button is gently pressed halfway, the camera’s
autofocus works by determining the distance between the camera and the
subject. Once the subject is in focus, if it then moves before the picture is
snapped, the image may be out of focus. This often happens when you once
lock the focus on a subject and then wait for the right moment to snap the
picture. And, conversely, a blurred image may result if you press the shutter
release button all the way in one step in an attempt to quickly capture an
action scene, thus failing to activate the autofocus in time.
k Preventing blurred images (How to use the manual focus [page 52])
In addition to the autofocus, a manual focus mode is also incorporated in your
camera. In the autofocus mode, the distance between the camera and the
subject is automatically determined when you press the shutter release
button halfway. In contrast to this, with the manual focus mode, you manually
set the focus by specifying the correct distance between the camera and the
subject before taking the picture.
k How to photograph a moving subject
1 Set the camera’s focus mode to the manual focus. Set the focus distance
to the correct distance between the camera and the subject.
2 When the subject is at the set focus distance, gently press the shutter
release button all the way down.
<Advantage of using the manual focus>
i Images can be quickly captured without waiting for the autofocus to
activate.
i Because you are presetting the focus distance, the focus can be more
accurate.
<Using the manual focus effectively>
i When photographing a moving subject, press the shutter release button
just before the subject reaches the focus distance, and the shutter will be
released when the subject is at the correct distance.
i Use manual focus to avoid incorrectly focussed images when there is an
object between the camera and the subject you wish to focus on.
