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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1:44Capturing the Chaplin’s Office
In this high dynamic range photography tutorial, the challenge is to include all the intricate details: religious murals, chipped wall paint, hard sunlight patterns, and deep shadows. In this video course, professional photographer and instructor, Tony Sweet, will show you how to combine all the lighting elements. Tony uses manual bracketing at f22. On either…
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4:44Processing the Chaplin’s Office
How do you process an HDR image that includes extremes of light in an old prison? In this how-to editing video, post-production instructor Tony Sweet takes you through the procedure. He sandwiches the eight exposures into one HDR photograph, moves it into Photomatix. Using the tools, he pushes the contrast way up, then dials up…
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2:12HDR Photography Tutorial: Capturing Hall Mirrors
Photographing a hall of mirrors? Now there is a challenge! In this video, professional photographer and instructor, Tony Sweet, takes you into the old prison for a complex lesson in High Dynamic Range photography. “The lighting is difficult because of the skylights and mirrors,” Tony explains. Shooting with a 14mm lens at f22, he makes…
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2:10Capturing the Tower Window
In this video on HDR photography, professional photographer and instructor, Tony Sweet, solves the problem of the bright, blown-out, tower window in the old prison. He comments, “Given the wide range of natural light, this is an ideal HDR candidate.” In the first step, Tony takes one aperture priority image, using the average light reading…
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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.