Have you heard of a technique called back button focus? In this free video, world renowned outdoor photographer Ian Plant takes you on a wildlife safari in Kenya for tips on back button focus. When you are doing wildlife photography, you should use your camera’s predictive autofocus mode because this allows you to track the animal as it moves. But what if the subject doesn’t fall on one of your autofocus points? Ian solves this problem by disabling the front shutter button focus, then enabling the back button focus. Using his own camera, he shows you how this button works. Whenever you press the button, the camera will find the focus point. When you release the button, the camera will lock focus, resulting in the sharp image you were aiming to achieve.
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7:52The problem in photographing the hall of mirrors was the wide dynamic range of light. In this editing video, post production instructor, Tony Sweet, shows you how to solve that problem in HDR processing. After combining the seven source images, Tony works his HDR image through tone mapping in the Photomatix default setting. He experiments…
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10:23The six images have been captured, and now it’s time for processing Al Capone’s cell. Post production instructor, Tony Sweet, drags the HDR-processed RAW file into Photomatix, his favorite HDR software. When he runs into a problem with an overexposed skylight, he corrects with tone mapping and the white point point tool. He discusses saturation,…
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9:07The prison barber shop images have been captured. Now it’s time for processing the HDR photograph. Post-production instructor, Tony Sweet, will show you how to export the RAW photo files to the HDR stage and into the master folder. You will learn how to work with Photomatix software. How to use tone mapping for color…
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8:43After capturing the prison yard in extreme lighting conditions, how would you go about processing the yard? Post-production instructor, Tony Sweet, walks you through the steps to achieve the final HDR photograph. Using Photomatix software, he discovers haloing around the clouds and pulls back the strength. In the default setting, Tony makes general adjustments: white…
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Do I keep my thumb on the back button all the time when photographing birds in flight?
You should keep on focusing whenever you are tracking moving subjects.
Since starting to use BBF some time ago, and getting used to it, I find it difficult to come up with a reason NOT to use it. Is there one?
The photo of the tree and big cat was not taken with the lense he is holding in his hand.
Will simply using back button focus bring me excellent results he demonstrates in this video…?
Of course not…
It’s seems a bit deceptive… (sigh)
Until that time. . .
Hi Earl, the lens is irrelevant to back button focus, as it is a feature of the camera. All of the photos shown in the video were taken using back button focus. And of course simply using back button focus won’t ensure that you get great photos. It is a technical feature that allows you to more effectively track moving subjects and recompose without losing focus when using predictive autofocus – which is exactly what I say in the video. There’s nothing “deceptive” about it.